As a loyal follower, customer and friend, I owe it to you to share our story of how we came to this incredibly hard decision. 

This is the end of Gal Meets Glam Collection, for now. The collection is, and forever will be something I am proud to have created. It has provided me with knowledge about an industry I love, insight about a customer I champion and the opportunity to connect with individuals and professionals who echo my love and appreciation of an aesthetically driven lifestyle. 

Our decision to end the collection comes consciously, and stems from the lengthy disagreement between how we wanted to build Gal Meets Glam and how our business partner felt it should be run. 

In the very beginning, our dreams for Gal Meets Glam Collection were to make 8-10 dresses per season. I was excited for the promise of opportunity, felt prepared for it, and wanted to craft a brand that felt like a definition of myself and a voice missing in the marketplace. I was eager to define that voice and represent it personally. I felt pride and excitement for what we were setting out to build.   

When we initially signed with our business partner, we were very excited by the opportunities they provided us. Amongst them, was an existing wholesale model which we naively saw as a benefit within the hard-to-navigate world of fashion brands. 

Over the months leading to launch, we carved out time, worked long hours and were so graciously met with enthusiasm for the brand on launch day and those collection launches after. In truth, it was one of the best days of my life. 

Quickly, our efforts toward a small, thoughtful collection, were directed toward scaling the brand to meet the needs of wholesale. We began transitioning into the pressure of designing 30-40 dresses per month in order to meet demand for our partner. 

To be honest and fair, we actively questioned this process, but in our inexperience, we continuously silenced that concern because of the trust we placed in those around us who had been in the industry for a long time. I will never forget this life lesson. 

Overtime, this problem intensified and continued to weigh on me as a designer and creator of the brand. It became very hard for me to support 30-40 new styles when the dresses that were designed with love and care were shown just thirty days prior. 

While the design control technically remained in my hands, I slowly felt as though the brand was getting away from me. My desires for new print, pattern, or silhouette continued to be challenged and ultimately adjusted for the needs of wholesale. What the brand stood for was constantly in debate. 

Over time, my creativity began to subside. It was demotivating for me to pour my heart and creative energy into building collections that were never recognized. It was frustrating to fight for the changes that would never come to be. 

When you’re being told exactly what is “needed” for a specific market or asked to constantly repeat the same styles, the wind is taken from your sails. I felt as though my brand had become someone else’s business to do with as they pleased.

The really tough questions soon followed: Am I Gal Meets Glam? Or is Gal Meets Glam whatever we are told we are in the marketplace? Do I push to keep making products that I love and believe in? Do I succumb to the requests and demands that are being asked of us? These are the hardest of questions when you have employees you love and care about on the line. These are the questions that kept me up at night. 

These differences in design direction, company operations, and brand values, ultimately became points of contention so large that we ultimately decided to part ways with our business partner. 

Throughout this experience, the hardest thing to face was the feeling of failing. Am I choosing to give up too soon? Should I continue to keep going? Isn’t this what everyone strives for in their career? But ultimately, I knew this was the best decision for the brand, for my family and for me as a human being. 

I have made the decision to turn off the shop.galmeetsglam.com website on August 8, 2020. Customers will be able to order any dresses until then, but please note all new orders going forward will be on a final sale basis. We are hoping that in the future, maybe in some shape or form, Gal Meets Glam Collection is able to continue on without me, still serving a purpose and bringing joy to people’s lives. With the current state of our world, this is all up in the air right now.

I want to give a huge heartfelt THANK YOU to all of our incredible customers and community for the love and support you have given us since we launched. It was far beyond our wildest dreams. Seeing the stories, the tags, the friendships, the beautiful photos, the heartfelt messages, the weddings and special moments, big and small, from customers all over the world, was the most rewarding part of all of this. You truly changed our lives, and I am forever grateful. 

Looking forward. I want to continue to create. At my core, I am a creator. Aesthetics are my inspiration. They enliven and fulfill me. I don’t want to ever question my purpose again. I want to be true to it, focus on it, and share it with you in a way that makes us both proud to participate.

The time is right for me to evolve, adapt, change and set the foundation for a future even brighter than our past. Our blog, juliaberolz.wpengine.com, will change its name to juliaberolzheimer.com later this summer, with updated and refreshed branding. 

With Julia Berolzheimer, we are developing a new platform that will enable me to create from my heart and bring content and products that I hope will inspire you more than ever before. Along with it, consistent, exciting product collaborations with some of our very favorite and most loved companies. 

Transitioning to our new Julia Berolzheimer brand has allowed me to move forward with who I am today to share refreshed interests, tastes, and passions that I hope you will join me in celebrating in the coming months and years. 

Thank you for all you do. 

xx, Julia