Itching to get your hands on new fashion finds? Desmond Tan and Hazelle Teo have just the avenue for you in their new fashion pop-up store for the upcoming reality show #MindOurBusiness, co-starring Lee Teng and Carrie Wong.

The four must challenge themselves to start a business from scratch selling pre-loved items donated from their celebrity friends, but Desmond and Hazelle might already have an upper hand.

Both started their own fashion blogshops in the past — one was a success and the other failed.

'Alongside the big giants'

Desmond started a male fashion label Atzu in 2010 with two of his friends that featured their own original designs and his stint with entrepreneurship turned out well.

Within a year of the label's launch, the business grew so well to the point where they were featured in Singapore Men's Fashion Week 2011. Atzu would also see loyal customers coming back for every collection.

"Within the year, we were alongside the big giants in the local business. We were on par with them," recalled Desmond, 38, in a recent interview with AsiaOne.

He took on dual roles of CEO and chief marketing officer in the business and he fondly recounted: "I'll always remember my queen-size bed — underneath it were a lot of stocks. I had to do the mailing myself and it was all very hands-on."

Desmond said he was juggling full-time acting, school and entrepreneurship all at once and none of the three friends had time to run the business, closing it after a few years.

'Element of surprise and control'

"Now when I look back, I feel like we shouldn't have stopped in the first place, because it could've been a top 50 SME in Singapore, probably bought by LVMH," he joked.

Desmond expressed interest in starting up another business and mentioned it is something that has been on his mind lately, citing a conversation he had with Hazelle.

He elaborated: "There's this beauty, this challenge, this element of surprise and control that makes it very different from my acting works because in the latter, we're following the scripts and the directors.

"Now, we're the business owners and we make the decisions ourselves. We do things that we think are right until it's proven otherwise, and then we have to steer the boat to keep it afloat."

'Back then, I wasn't so savvy'

Hazelle's business endeavour began after her A-levels while waiting for university to start. She opened up a fashion blogshop where she sourced for her own supplies.

However, a short while into the venture, the radio DJ felt that her business was not doing well and that it was "really not feasible".

Hazelle, 30, told AsiaOne: "Nobody was buying my stuff. Like, I modelled my own stuff and nobody was buying it. I was so upset. And in the end, it was just not profitable and I closed the business."

She revealed she incurred a loss of about $1,000 from operating her blogshop.

She attributed it to her not being "savvy" and having purchased her supplies from the wrong places, like a retail shop in Singapore instead of online outlets like Taobao. In hindsight, she added she should have also consulted experienced blogshop owners for advice.

After Hazelle's time working on her blogshop, she landed a job at a lingerie brand as a sales person. The skills learned on the job greatly benefited her, like what it means to give good customer service.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Hazelle Teo 张颖双 (@heyhihazelle)

And aptly enough after all this time, she's bringing these skills to use on #MindOurBusiness, where the four cast members not only contacted their celebrity friends for item donation but also labelled and determined the prices.

All proceeds from items sold will go to the Goh Chok Tong Enable Fund, which provides persons with disabilities with opportunities to actively contribute to society and lead socially integrated lives through financial aid and supporting their aspirations.

To see Hazelle, Carrie, Desmond and Lee Teng put their skills and experiences into action, you can visit their shop on the dates shown below.

Operating days: Oct 8, 12, 13, 15, 19, 20, 26 and 27 as well as Nov 2, 3, 9, 10, 16, 17, 23 and 24

Time: 1pm to 7pm

A grand bazaar will be held on Dec 1 from 10.30am to 5.30pm.

#MindOurBusiness will premiere on April 22 next year at 8pm on Channel 8 and will also be available on demand for free on Mewatch the same day.

ALSO READ: Jay Chou's Phantaci Be@rbrick, Fann Wong's Moschino bag and more on sale for charity

kristy.chua@asiaone.com

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