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Andrea’s JourneyAndrea Tonkin, the creative director behind international fashion brand ‘andAndrea’, usually begins her day with a sunrise walk, listening to podcasts or her favorite music. Behind the fun and sparkles is an artist dedicated to creating clothing that makes women feel the happiest, most confident version of themselves. And no-one is more surprised than Andrea at her brand’s success.
Andrea at age nineteen wearing a skirt and ruffly
shirt that she designed and made herself.
Andrea at age nineteen wearing a skirt and ruffly
shirt that she designed and made herself.
Andrea was born in Western Australia, one of the most isolated cities in the World. Her father was a bank manager, her mother, a home carer. Although Andrea was a relatively late and surprise arrival in their lives, her beloved parents instantly named her their “little bundle of joy”. ‘Joy’ became Andrea’s middle name and the underlying theme for her life.
Andrea on school holidays with her beloved dog Duke.
Andrea on school holidays with her beloved dog Duke.
With an innate love of fabrics and creating, Andrea taught herself to sew and began bringing her imaginings to life. It wasn’t unusual for Andrea to have an idea in the morning, buy the fabric in the afternoon and manifest a creation to wear out that evening.
After leaving high school, a New York trip to visit a friend, opened her mind to exciting and different fashion possibilities. Although Andrea did not return to New York for many years, the initial impressions of vibrancy and vitality, infused her outlook. She developed a love of colorful, daring, street style fashion and musicals, which have never left her.
Andrea’s innate passion for fashion developed into an after-hours interest for many years while she pursued (with her typical dedication), a primary school teaching career and raised her three sons with her husband. Although fashion was “only a hobby” initially, it enabled Andrea to feed her creative desires by regularly reworking vintage shop finds into outfits for work and leisure.
Andrea’s own designs and her vintage recreations often drew admiration and comments from her students, colleagues, friends and strangers on the street. From the age of eighteen, it was obvious to many people… Andrea had a gift.
Andrea's early motherhood phase. Heading off to the beach at Rottnest Island with her first two boys.
Andrea's early motherhood phase. Heading off to the beach at Rottnest Island with her first two boys.
Although Andrea’s love for fashion remained a ‘sideline’ during her early years of commitment to mothering and teaching, an upcoming pivotal event (her youngest son finishing high school in 2011), awakened her inner voice. It was shouting! "What are you going to do in two years after Riley leaves school? How are you going to fulfil your true passion? How are you going to maximize your ‘Joy’ throughout the rest of your life?" At this point, Andrea had no idea what was ahead.
Summer 2020 - Vintage style, Moroccan
inspired jumpsuit.
With a searching heart and open mind, Andrea began paying greater attention to her intuition. Her first 'Ahaaa Moment' came one day by chance. While prepping dinner with the television on in the background, Andrea overheard Oprah chatting with Joan Anderson, the author of A Year by the Sea. Joan was describing how she’d devoted her life to her husband and two sons. In doing so, she felt like she’d lost her sense of identity and was committed to making positive changes for her future years. This resonated with and inspired Andrea. She didn’t want to get to seventy or eighty years of age and say… “I wish I had”.
Although Andrea was grateful for all of her career and parenting experiences to this point, after an extended period of motherhood, she felt she had lost a significant measure of self-confidence.Now that her three sons were turning into independent men, she was totally committed to discovering her next source of joy.
After reading ‘A Year by the Sea’ three times, it was still not clear to Andrea how her dreams would be realized, however she knew it was time to pivot and begin a new journey to find fulfilment.
Doing the 'AA Twirl' baby!
Doing the 'AA Twirl' baby!
“I also sought mentorship from inspirational women who had changed their lives and found more joy. I attended Business Chicks events and Women's Lunchbox luncheons at every opportunity. I always found them inspiring. I would leave those forums thinking… “if she can do it, I can too!” and “I want to be that inspirational speaker up there one day”.
The life stories of these successful women speakers pushed Andrea forward and sewed the seeds of possibility. All she needed to do was follow the thread.
Andrea exploring her inner Hippie soul for a Myer themed dress day.
While chatting with her husband one day, the pieces began to come together. Andrea decided to jump into the fashion world. She knew she had to take a giant step back in order to take a step forward but felt it would all be worth it.
“I didn’t have any formal fashion training, so I knew I had to start at the bottom. I determined two fashion retailers I would be happy to work for as a sales assistant (Witchery and Country Road) and with a huge deep breath, fighting self-doubt and absolutely petrified, I walked in their front doors, no appointment. I couldn’t believe it when I was offered both jobs.”
“From my first day at Witchery, I helped customers in a way I imagined a ‘real’ stylist would. I was on Cloud 9. It was so much fun! I would have happily done it for free.”
“It wasn’t common at that time for people, other than celebrities, to have a stylist. I wanted to style people from all walks of life. I found so much of the joy I was seeking by helping women put aside self-doubts about themselves and their body. I loved hearing my customers’ stories and seeing them do what others now call ‘The AA Twirl’ as they walked out the door. I began to truly understand the transformative power of clothing.”
Andrea hosting an in-store styling workshop.
Andrea hosting an in-store styling workshop.
As a result of Andrea’s authenticity and creativity, her popularity as Witchery’s unofficial stylist grew. Customers began booking in for their own ‘personal styling sessions’. Before long, other Witchery team members followed Andrea’s lead and sales quickly grew.
It was obvious to Witchery’s management and others that something very special was happening.
“Out of the blue, just six months after starting my new career, one of my favorite customers offered me my dream job... to be the Western Australian resident stylist for Myer, the largest department store chain in Australia. A whole new world was opening up for me.”
Myer provided Andrea with her own “Office”, a private fitting room for clients where she was free to provide a boutique experience within the department store. She was in her element! With sparkles flying, she would flit between floors grabbing garments from different designers and pulling together outfits that would best suit her customers.
Andrea’s styling sessions were less about ‘this goes with that’ and more about the life changing effect that clothing has on confidence, state of mind and joy.
Andrea demonstrating how to create a layered look for individuality and flair during a Sass and Bide workshop.
Andrea demonstrating how to create a layered look for individuality and flair during a Sass and Bide workshop.
Light hearted and charismatic, Andrea’s message to her customers was irreverently delivered with her mantras: “There are no rules in fashion” and “Dare to wear and smile if they stare“.
As well as styling women face to face, Andrea became an early adopter of social media. Using an online blog and Instagram, she began offering virtual styling tips based on her own fashion experiences and inspiration from the streets.
Ooh la la... Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Sydney.
Ooh la la... Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Sydney.
Andrea was motivated and eager to learn. For several years she said “yes” to most ‘out of comfort zone’ opportunities.
On Andrea’s personal styling journey, she had many “pinch me” moments...
Fashion Fun! One-on-one styling sesh in Melbourne.
Fashion Fun! One-on-one styling sesh in Melbourne.
With her ‘Personal Stylist' role well and truly accomplished, Andrea began to wonder where ‘joy' would take her next.Encouraged by her husband and three sons, Andrea decided it was time to try her hand at creating and selling her own brand of clothing. After eight years of styling women, it was a natural progression and a way for her to spread even more joy. She began making choices that would support this new direction. Among other time saving steps, Andrea cut back on the travelling and styling she was doing for her beloved Sass and Bide.
Andrea is sharing the stage with Patricia Field (Sex and the City Stylist).
Andrea is sharing the stage with Patricia Field (Sex and the City Stylist).
After overcoming a plethora of challenges (for example, learning how and where to manufacture clothing), Andrea dipped her toes into the fashion pool and opened an online, Mini PopUp Shop comprised of just four garment styles, all in white. Everything sold out within minutes and andAndrea the brand was underway!
With the full time support of her husband and with valued feedback from the andAndrea community, the brand is now selling Worldwide. Australia and the USA are andAndrea's largest markets, however there are customer communities throughout Europe, UK, Canada, New Zealand, UAE, South Africa and Asia. There's now around two hundred styles offered in every PopUp and all of the stats continue to grow.
Although andAndrea has come a long way since its early days, Andrea and her husband are doing their best to maintain the brand's original culture.
"We've never used professional models. We never do fashion shows. All of our clothing MUST be comfortable and easy to wear. I try to make sure our designs are versatile and timeless so our customers can mix and match our garments for years to come. I don't follow fashion trends because ‘there are no rules'. And… I must love what we're doing. If I don't like a particular style, I won't sell it. And of course, this crazy experience must give me joy!"
More Fashion Week fun!
Basically, it's all about being really authentic. Andrea still models the clothes with the help of some UnModels who are often friends she made during her styling days. Each fabric and every design continues to be personally directed by Andrea. She currently oversees the manufacturing and road tests all the pieces before they're offered to customers.
Despite Andrea's achievements - without formal training, she still doesn't see herself as a designer. However, it's undeniable she has a vast amount of fashion experience from listening, observing, sewing and styling, on top of what's clearly a ‘natural gift'.
Andrea's story illustrates that magic can unfold when a person listens to and follows their inner voice.
"andAndrea is my way of spreading Love and aA kisses and joy around the world. I find it hard to believe I'm living my dream. I feel I'm exactly where I am meant to be. I'm so grateful and appreciative of all my aA girlfriends around the world. Without their appreciation of andAndrea clothing, it would never have happened."
More Fashion Week fun!
Basically, it's all about being really authentic. Andrea still models the clothes with the help of some UnModels who are often friends she made during her styling days. Each fabric and every design continues to be personally directed by Andrea. She currently oversees the manufacturing and road tests all the pieces before they're offered to customers.
Despite Andrea's achievements - without formal training, she still doesn't see herself as a designer. However, it's undeniable she has a vast amount of fashion experience from listening, observing, sewing and styling, on top of what's clearly a ‘natural gift'.
Andrea's story illustrates that magic can unfold when a person listens to and follows their inner voice.
"andAndrea is my way of spreading Love and aA kisses and joy around the world. I find it hard to believe I'm living my dream. I feel I'm exactly where I am meant to be. I'm so grateful and appreciative of all my aA girlfriends around the world. Without their appreciation of andAndrea clothing, it would never have happened."