Episode 101

From In-Person to Online business with Victoria Close of Bikudesigns

It was so nice to have my guest for this week back on the show again after exactly three years! In episode 7, Victoria Close from @bikudesigns spoke about just taking off with her accessory business and starting to ship internationally. Now she ships her creations all around the world and is trying new things, too. I loved checking in with Victoria to see how far she has come and how much bigger her dreams are moving forward! An awesome transformation!

If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of yourself listening to the episode on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me and Victoria, @transformationswithjayne and @bikudesigns

Victoria Close is a long-term resident of Tokyo and is the founder of the vintage kimono accessories brand, Bikudesigns. She is passionate about all things handmade which led her to set up Overseas Makers Guild, a community to support expats around the world to establish and run their handmade businesses. Victoria is also the founder of Tokyo Instamingle, an IRL meet-up group for Instagrammers in Japan.

In this episode you’ll hear:

How Victoria started moving from an offline business to almost completely online
How Victoria went from struggling to find time to be creative to working her ideal schedule
Some stores she would love to have her products in
How collaborations between businesses can create more value than the sum of the parts
Community building for makers around the world and how you can join
The importance of support and helping others to take a step in a new direction.

Links of things mentioned in this episode:

Native and Co: https://www.instagram.com/nativeandco/

Nadinoo Clothing https://www.instagram.com/nadinooclothing/

Shizen Natura https://www.instagram.com/shizen.natura/

Erica Ward https://www.instagram.com/erica.ward.illustration/

Connect with Victoria:

Website: https://www.bikudesigns.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bikudesigns

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bikudesigns

Facebook VIP Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/254399134978215

Overseas Makers Guild: https://www.facebook.com/groups/347500526246146

Tokyo Instamingle: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1882660371811746