D-VIP Exclusive Feature: Janet of Orangefish

Orangefish is your online boutique that features Fresh Fabulous Finds! Members also receive fantastic discounts on all of their amazing items! Of course anything fabulous deserves DivaGirl exposure so kick back, grab a glass of red and allow me to pleasure your mind with everything to do with Janet and how the magnificent Orangefish boutique came to be!


Janet, your products are very diverse with wide ranges to cater to everyone across the board. What was your main inspiration for Orange Fish?

"The goal has always been to highlight artists for their one of a kind designs.”

My Vision for Orangefish was and still remains offering super unique items that you can’t find just anywhere. My job is to find it first! I get it to market first and if it does happen to explode into the bigger box stores we stop carrying the item. We want all the items we provide to be unique and your first spot to find them - something you can't just walk into a store and buy. The goal has always been to highlight artists for their one of a kind designs. Most artists have busy schedules and no time to properly market what they have to offer, so that's where we come in.

That's an amazing Vision Janet! There is something to be said for staying unique and diverse in a market of mass production. Have you always wanted to only represent Canadian artists and when did you decide to expand internationally?

One of the many unique designs The Bra Bag! Keeps your girls firm.

Initially, I did just want to stick to marketing Canadian artists but then I realized many benefits of expanding my business internationally. This helps to elevate the Canadian artists pieces because you get more traffic to the site from buyers all over. This creates much more visability which is fantastic for an artist. We now have pieces from many places I never thought I'd ever branch out to like China and Sweden.

It's all about exposure so the more the merrier! Okay so tell me about your name, Orangefish. How did the name come about? I personally think it's really catchy and makes me think of waves in open water.

(laughs) Well I love the outdoors! I used to teach personality temperaments that match your true colour to your personality - it's the Canadian version of Myers-Briggs. I learned from an instructor my colour match and as he was going through all of the colours - I had many Ah Hah! moments.

I discovered my true colour is Orange with a personality fit for troubleshooting, helping and rescuing, a real people person and very social. Orange is the kind of person you invite to a party and you're lucky if they make it because you're merely their one stop of many that night. They are also the kind  that source and find - this is one of my main joys with my work. My colour fills that need within me - it's like a game of scavenger hunt. I decided on Orange because it's my personality and at the time I was creating it, it was my favourite colour.

Fish are creatures that fascinate me. Thet are always constantly moving, even when you think they’re asleep they are always doing something to stay afloat. Also, from the marketing side I wanted to integrate fishing terms into the product descriptions so that women who may not get it at first can learn and impress their husbands. I come from a learning background - I was an e-learning consultant for ten  years working in strategy so being able to have my customers learn something new when they come onto our site is important to me.

The name combine Orangefish appeals to all sexes and I wanted the option where both would shop from us. 

Amazing! I love it! What has been the most rewarding experience for you in providing busy people with unique, feel good pieces?

I'd have to say when men come to us looking for the perfect gift for the women in their lives. Men aren’t our target but are usually so trusting with our advice. When we get that anxious email or call under the gun because it's last minute and an anniversary is coming up, we do all we can to get the good stuff in their hands. Men don't care about spending they just want to make the person happy.

My favourite experience would have to be when a male customer came to us via email looking for something special for his girlfriend. He was under pressure and had been searching for something different without having any luck, now left with finding something last minute. I asked what type of pieces she liked and decided to recommend our Fancy Lotus Ring. It's this beautiful ring that comes with tons of different coloured marbles that you can change to match your look. He was really unsure in the beginning, but after some reassuring he went with it.

We ended up getting this big, long email from him later saying how happy she was with it! She was so over joyed and he sat with her for two hours watching her change all the marbles! It was amazing creating that sense of happiness in peoples lives. Some people find gift giving so stressful and with us it doesn't have to be. Our male customers are high repeaters and love that they can leave it all in our hands.

 

    It's fabulous to know that you always have your customers covered. What a amazing story!On the topic of the Fancy Lotus Ring, what is your favourite item available right now?

Wow, that's a tough one to answer! I really do love all the pieces so this may take some thinking.

 (after thinking for a few minutes) Okay so one of my favourites really is the Fancy Lotus Ring. It's sterling silver and the alternating marbles makes it really fun - comes with 30 different marbles. Once my customers know you can change the marble, people want it and get really excited! It's makes a great gift and is our number one seller. The collection expands into necklaces and earings too. The ring has been featured at the Oscars and it's marked at an amazing price point. It speaks to all women and they love it.

It's perfect for travel too. You just bring one ring and a bag of marbles. All you have to do is change the marble colour and changes the whole look so you don’t have to bring a whole bunch of accessories with you. 

Ssecko Sadal - Mix and match the strap colours to suite your style.

I also love our Ssecko Sandal – They are a not just-for-profit company, Fair Trade and made in Uganda. Part of the proceeds always go back to educating women in Uganda and once they’re educated they get hired by the company. Their Mission is to create a company that is giving back and making things more sustainable for their economy. The product represents empowering women and not having to rely on men in a country where it is very oppositional.

The sandal base itself you buy and then you can get different straps to go with it. You can also change the design of how it's positioned on your shoe – criss cross or flip flop. Again this is really great for travel because you can bring one sandal base and a bunch of different strap colours to match different outfit. It's really transportable and easily accessible.

We love finding products that are interchangeable where people can express their own personality and creativity with how they adapt to the piece. Travel and offering a great price point is also important for us to provide to our customers.

Everything you have really is the essence of creativity Janet! I love your favourite pieces and most of what you carry for that matter! Thank you so much for sharing the details of you and how Orangefish came to be!

To get these amazing products mentioned and more be sure to check out their Website! Also, "Like" them of Facebook, Follow on Twitter, and Pinterest - fun filled boards for your enjoyment.

Orangefish also has a fabulous Mojo Sale going on so be sure to check that out too!

Love what you read? Drop me a line and get an Exclusive Feature for you and your business - julia@divagirlfitness.com. Remember to subscribe to our blog and leave us a comment, let's chat!

Until next week Divas!

Interviewed and Written by: Julia Gallo xox