Mondays suck. Especially if you hate your job. But the day doesn’t have to be a total waste. You can now look forward to reading about ReadyMakers who have worked their way into f*&%ing awesome jobs—and maybe find a little inspiration to jumpstart your own career in the process—right here, every Monday.

Natalie Chanin put in stints as a designer (and more) in New York City and Europe before returning to the community where she grew up to become the founder and owner of Alabama Chanin, her lifestyle company dedicated to the principles of Slow Design. (Image by Robert Rausch)

VITAL STATS Name: Natalie Chanin
Occupation: Designer/ Entrepreneur/ Owner Alabama Chanin
Location: Florence, Alabama
Age: 47
First Job: Yard work for my parents. Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur.
Best Job: The one I currently have. Greatest Professional Challenge:  Being an introvert & balancing life with my three-year-old. 
Salary During 20s: $20K  

Hi, Natalie Chanin. How did you get that f*&%ing awesome job?
I would love to say that I had this all planned, but truth be told, I just fell into it…always following my heart. It has always been hard for me to do it any other way.
 

What’s Alabama Chanin all about?
Alabama Chanin is a lifestyle company that focuses on creating an array of products through focusing on slow design and sustainability. We craft limited-edition products for the individual and the home. Our products are made by hand using a combination of new, organic and recycled materials. Each piece is constructed with care by talented artisans who live and work in communities in and around Florence, Alabama. Our products come numbered in one-of-a-kind or limited edition series and are signed by the artisan that made them. We dedicate ourselves to producing quality products that become a part of daily life in this generation and beyond. From farmer to fiber to artisan to home, our products are “grown-to-sewn” in USA.

How did you get your start working in fashion? What got you to the level you’re at today?
I have been designing in some respect since I was a little girl. Inspired by of the work of my grandmothers, mother and aunts, I knew at an early age that garments and textiles were something that I could design and create myself. Spurred by this desire to create, I studied Environmental Design in a Bauhaus-based program at the North Carolina State University School of Design and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1987. While my major was in Design Theory, I also studied extensively in both the industrial and craft-based textile programs offered at the university.

After graduation, I entered the Junior Sportswear industry on New York’s Seventh Avenue, working for companies like Jou Jou and Substudio before moving to Europe-–where for ten years I worked as a stylist, costume designer and, finally, director of documentary films. In the year 2000, I left my work in Europe for a four month sabbatical. This sabbatical consequently developed into a business that brought me home to the community where I grew up. Working in this community for the last ten years has made me the designer I am today. And, through my work, I have been instilled with a commitment to Slow Design, sustainable fashion and luxury products made with authenticity and an intense respect for beauty, humanity and the environment.

What is a typical day like for you?
I am up at 5 am, to drink coffee & read...my favorite time of the day! Maggie, my three-year-old daughter, wakes up and we make breakfast together. Then I dress, clean and organize for the day, stroll Maggie to school and head to the studio. Emails, blog, computer work and then design in the afternoon…another great time of the day. I head home at 5 pm and work in the garden, play with Maggie outside, make dinner, baths, homework and to bed… I was recently told that I have a very “settled” life and, to be honest, I love it that way.

Have you had any role models along the way, in fashion or business or otherwise?
I am fascinated with the new farm and food models: Joel Salatin and all the grass farmers, Alice Waters, small farmers and restaurateurs. And then there are the new crop of business minds that totally engage me: Chris Anderson, Adam Werbach and a host of others. Storytellers also rock my world: I am addicted to The Moth, This American Life, The Southern Foodways Alliance and oral historians.

What are the biggest pleasures of the job? What could you do without?
Designing beautiful fabrics and clothes makes my heart sing…and that design pleasure extends to all the other areas of building a business – web design, designing a model for the business, etc. Day to day operations I could definitely live without! Give me a day to dream and I am in heaven.

What advice would you give to someone who wanted to do what you’ve done?
Buy a copy of QuickBooks and make it your very best friend! Balance sheets, cash flows and financial reports do help to bring beauty to a dreamer’s life… smile.

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