I’m so excited to be offering a few of the 3F NYC pieces in the VentureMom Marketplace, especially the empowerment tanks. They make great gifts.
When she was in high school in California, Teress Stephens had a sewing machine in her bedroom and spent her time creating her own fashions from scratch and reworking pieces she owned. Fashion was always her thing and it would be her career. “I began by working for a private label fashion company and traveled the world. I learned so much about starting a clothing line. I was involved in every step of the process from design to manufacturing to marketing.”
After garnering years of experience, she took a leap and went out on her own to start a consulting company that allowed her to work with several manufacturers at once. She even was instrumental in starting a line of golf clothing for women. “I made so many great contacts during this time.”
But wanting a change of scenery, Teress then took a position where she was required to live in Bali for months at a time over a 2 year period. “People thought it was so glamorous, but it was more like 8th avenue with palm trees. I worked 24/7 but I was doing everything I loved to do.” Then Teress felt it was time to go back to the states, “I hadn’t burned any bridges with the people I had worked with before, so I made a few calls and was back in business doing consulting.”
“I’ve found that creative people have an idea but need someone like me to bring it to fruition.” Teress is not one to shy away from hard work and will do what it takes to get the job done. “One Christmas Eve, a client had orders that were in jeopardy in China. I got on a plane and flew over that night to sort things out.”
She took a break from fashion to help run the US operations of a Belgian based pastry company, “But when Super Storm Sandy hit, I had to come home to help rebuild my house.” Not long after that, Teress decided to really go all in with her fashion experience. “I wanted to create my own line around fashion, fitness and women being phenoms.” Teress calls her new line 3F, for fashion, fitness and phenom, with a play on the spelling of phenom. And it’s based in New York, so her new line became 3F NYC.
Her first product was designed to provide empowerment to the women who wore it. “I created tank tops with empowering sayings on them. You wear the top as a badge of honor for what you’ve accomplished.” Teress wants women to have the power to speak up and know that they are amazing. She hopes that the clothing in her line will help women feel empowered. Sayings like, There is no finish line; Our mind is our strength; and Optimism is endurance; are emblazoned on her products.
The 3F NYC clothing is meant to be season-less and available to every woman, “The price point is not outrageous.” Teress sends a handwritten note to every customer who purchases her goods, “I want that connection to my shoppers. I’m old-school and don’t want to lose sight of personalization”
The line is a blend of sporty and comfortable with polished everyday-wear, and can be found in small specialty stores and online. “I’m using my fashion as a vehicle for empowerment,” Teress says, “I feel so thankful that I have the ability to create a business around my experience and in something I’m so passionate about.”
VentureMom Tip
Keep your relationships intact, don’t burn any bridges.
