Today we’d like to introduce you to Frey Chu.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Frey. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Tastemaker actually began as a vegan leather backpack company that I started in my senior year of college. I was 22 y/o at the time and was shopping for a new backpack. I noticed all the bags that I loved always had some leather accent – the handles, straps, zipper pulls. This is where I realized other vegan-friendly consumers were probably running into a similar situation.
About 4-5 months pass, I put most of my free time towards working on this backpack concept. Long story short, it was really expensive and I didn’t know what I was doing.
One night, my father mentioned he had a friend who had a vegan shoe business in Taiwan. She was a master at vegan-friendly textiles and had worked with shoemakers in her area for years.
It was coming towards the end of my senior year and I just pivoted, hard. From backpacks to shoes, it was an easy pivot because I was never attached to the product; it was the mission that I was attached to. The mission was to provide a vegan-friendly footwear option focused on two things: comfort and simplicity.
So I graduated college and one week later found myself on a flight to Taiwan. I was to live there for four months to network with factories and learn anything and everything about the art of shoemaking.
I came back in August 2017 with newfound knowledge and confidence. I was ready to launch my footwear business and on September 24th, 2017 I officially opened shop.
At the time, I was spending 14 hours a day in my mom’s kitchen, working tirelessly to learn how to run my first business on my laptop.
I spent the next two years in that same seat in my mom’s kitchen (sometimes I still sit there and work just for the nostalgia).
The first two years would turn out to be really…rough. After lots of naive confidence, unrealistic expectations and expensive lessons, I finally started to see some success in September 2019. To this day, I’m still a solopreneur and continue to operate the business every day.
As of today? It’s a wild time to have a small business with the current COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone is suffering and small businesses who have taken huge risks and worked years are now on the brink of going out of business. I feel lucky that my business is 100% online and I don’t have employees, which is why I’m making every effort to help by donating.
We’re currently donating 200 pairs of our most popular vegan shoes to any healthcare worker in the front lines of fighting COVID-19. So far, the email are extremely heartwarming and it’s obvious that our US healthcare community needs more support in many different ways. Most nurses are throwing away their clothes and shoes before entering their homes to prevent any traces of the virus spreading to their family members.
Anyways, I just wish everyone good health, happiness and community. Happy social distancing.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course, struggles are inevitable. But struggles are just lessons waiting to be learned, and some lessons are more costly than others.
It’s cliche, but the biggest lesson I’ve learned so far is to listen to MYSELF.
Everyone has an opinion on what you should do with your business. How you should market your products, what kind of content to make, it’s just hard to silence all of it sometimes and listen to what you know needs to happen.
I also believed that being an entrepreneur looked like working 16 hours a day, everyday, forever. This was such a hard lesson for me to learn. I still struggle with it today. I learned that’s literally the furthest thing from the truth. It’s a recipe for disaster and unhappiness.
For me, I’ve learned to work less and generate more income through allowing myself to live a healthier and happier life. We all know the recipe: work out, eat healthy, good sleep and community. It’s about giving yourself permission to do these.
Let yourself indulge in these things because ultimately it’s all we’ve got.
Please tell us about Tastemaker Supply.
My business is Tastemaker Supply. It’s a vegan footwear company focused on comfort and basic designs.
Our shoes are definitely known for its comfort and durability. I believe what sets us apart from other brands is our attention to the customer experience. Shoes are pretty black and white – you either like them or you don’t and they either fit your feet or they don’t.
I focus most of my efforts on engaging with my customers and delivering the best customer experience possible. I consider my small business a customer-focused model.
I’m most proud of our capacity to donate. We’re a small business, but my father has taught me to give when people need it, not when you have it. The reason is that people in need typically need things immediately, so why wait for me to earn more money to donate when I already have something of value to give?
In 2019, I donated 1000 pairs of shoes to Goodwill. Today, I’m donating 200 pairs of our most comfortable vegan shoes to healthcare workers fighting COVID-19.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Definitely not school. I was an awful student.
Probably playing baseball with friends and family trips to San Jose, where our entire extended family would get together and hangout. It was simpler back then.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tastemakersupply.com/
- Email: support@tastemakerapparel.com
- Instagram: @tastemakersupply
- Facebook: @tastemakersupply
- Twitter: @tastemakershoes
- Other: “Tastemaker” on YouTube
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