Each month we showcase a different entrepreneur whose small business we’ve been following.
These are people who understand the voice and vision of their brand. They know who their ideal customer is and they do a great job staying on brand with all the content they put out—oh, and their followers love them.
This month, our spotlight falls on Maikhanh, founder of Nue Lingerie. Maikhanh and I met through a facebook group conversation about email marketing and we’ve followed each other and kept in touch over the past few months. When Courtney and I decided to start this series, I was immediately excited to interview Maikhanh and share her story with you.
Maikhanh creates the unique patterns you see on her brand site along with choosing the sustainable fabric and colors for each design. She takes all the photos and does regular shoots with her models too.
Scroll through the @nue.lingerie instagram and you’ll see that her lingerie is comfort-focused and sensual – this is a brand made for women, by women. Tasteful, beautiful female body shapes of all sizes and colors coat the walls of her feed and website, with sassy, sexy sayings peppered in.
This is the epitome is body positive feminine. Although Nue doesn’t overtly identify as a radical feminst brand, Maikhanh is unapologetically raging the right vibe. Her branding is fearlessly sexy with the fine art twist to remove the feeling that you’re looking at smut. She is dedicated to showcasing every body style, and she props up other women and shares her inspiration.
Oh – my personal favorite thing about Nue Lingerie is that Maikhanh knows her models and seamstresses personally. If you spend some time looking, you’ll notice that the beautiful women on her feeds are the same women throughout the whole brand. And the people behind the scenes, the seamstresses, they’re not sitting somewhere in a sweatshop. They’re down the road, making every bra and panty set or bodysuit by hand!
Anyways, I can rave about Maikhanh and Nue all day, here’s her interview!
Interview with Maikhanh with Nue Lingerie
We asked Maikhanh these questions and she got them back to us right away! I tell you, this is a super-preneur at her finest.
How long have you been creating lingerie patterns? How did you find this type of work? Did photography come first?
I’ve been designing lingerie for 5 years along with a womenswear line and decided to refocus on lingerie 3 years ago.
I started focusing on the photography when I started my first brand right after graduating from design school. I’ve been shooting my lookbooks and campaigns ever since.
Share a little about your brand. How long have you been “Nue”? Where did the name come from? What is your guiding purpose with your brand?
Nue started only 2 years ago. Nue means naked or bare in French. Its speaks of the minimal and sensual nature of my brand and the women that inspire me.
With Nue I hope to inspire women to love themselves, to bring sensuality and confidence into their every day with sustainable and ethical lingerie.
Your audience is large and really engaged with you, especially on Instagram! How did you build such a loyal following for your brand?
I think my audience engages with me on Instagram because I show a real love and respect for women.
I also regularly share what I love and what inspires me as a designer, that’s how I let my followers get to know me.
What do you struggle most with, with your digital community? Is there anything you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
I struggle the most with sharing information about myself. I’m very private and have a hard time putting myself forward—I’m behind the camera!
When I started, I wish I knew that people actually wanted to know the person behind the brand, to connect with them, and to feel involved in the future of the brand.
Anything else you think is important for readers to know?
We design, tailor, and produce all out of Bali Indonesia for a reason! Balinese fabrication has the reputation of being cheap and of bad quality, but my focus with Nue actually quite the opposite. Balinese people are great artisans and craftsmen. They have a rich history in the arts, lace, and production.
You can find Maikhanh on Instagram @nue.lingerie. Follow her, get obsessed her elegant lingerie—we are.
Do you want to be featured on Brands that Bloom, or know an inspiring entrepreneur that should? Hit us up at info@dandelionbranding.com!
