Natalie Maddon - Solstice Intimates
When and where were you born? Are you guys originally from Tempe, Arizona? What was growing up like for you? Do you have any siblings?
I pretty much grew up barefoot running amuck in a trailer park somewhere in Arizona. I was born in ‘82 in Idaho but moved to Arizona before kindergarten. My husband Joey, our brand photographer, was born and raised here. My upbringing was very Mormon until I was about 13 and then took a quick turn to very not Mormon. My parents divorced and they both remarried a few times and I quickly acquired more step and half siblings. I currently have 5 brothers and a sister. I didn’t have many friends outside my family and not much has changed as an adult. My upbringing definitely instilled in me a sense of creativity, resilience, and a very colorful imagination.
What would you and your friends do for fun growing up in the early days? What are some other interests you have outside of fashion, clothing, etc.? What is it about the 60s/70s style and ascetic that appeals to you the most?
Pre-teen early days I was in full on training to be a righteous homemaker. I was scrapbooking, quilting with grandma, baking bread, etc. My grandma taught me to sew very young, probably like seven. I was making church dresses and scripture covers. My grandma and aunties solely fulfilled my need for friends. I was literally a tiny crafting machine. Not much has changed in terms of my broad interests. I still love chilling with Gma. She’s aware that the skills she taught me have morphed into sewing crotchless underwear but she still loves me and tells me all the time how proud she is. She just cannot follow my business Instagram for obvious reasons.
After my parents divorce and left the church, I really started to figure out my own style. We were definitely not rich so I started making my own clothes and I wanted them to look nothing like a church dress, if you know what I mean. I started exploring my own sexuality and what that looked like visually. You better believe I was the high school sophomore in leather pants on a Tuesday afternoon. I went from very strict rules to anything goes. As soon as I graduated high school, I packed up my car and took off to Los Angeles for fashion school. I think that is where I really discovered my obsession with the 60s and 70s. I would research fashion of the decades and was drawn to the wild and carefree vibes of the 60s and 70s. It represented everything forbidden to me. The women were defiant, their attitude was unwavering, and their presentation was bold. I was hooked.
Prior to starting up Solstice Intimates, what other projects, whether that was fashion/clothing related, or not, did you participate in helping to build and/or simply work within?
When I lived in L.A I had a clothing brand for a couple years with two other friends. We designed high fashion red carpet clothes. I had no idea who the people were that I was designing for. Actually that is still the same. I humiliate myself frequently with my lack of pop culture knowledge. I am the old lady saying “back in my day we didn’t watch TV”. I never really connected with the concept of designing for the untouchable elite. I like to design clothes that make your mom feel hot. So I moved back to Arizona. I made some wedding dresses and then I started a kids clothing line. I worked as a makeup Artist at MAC for a while as well. At some point, I craved more stability and something that I considered to be a grown-up job.
So I got a masters degree in business and worked for almost ten years in finance. You wouldn't believe the number of PowerPoint presentations I have given. I swear I will never do another one. I think as badly as I wanted to fit the mold I had created in my head for what a smart, independent woman looked like, it just never fit for what actually fulfilled me. I was bursting at the seams. You simply cannot hold back a lifelong crafter. I decided I wanted a creative outlet just for after work at my “real” job. I started Solstice and two months later I was at a crossroads. I had to choose between my real job or this absolute hot in the dark at making lingerie. I had never made lingerie before Solstice. I chose it anyway.
When did you first begin to have a fascination with clothing and fashion? What led you to be a seamstress? Who were some of your biggest inspirations growing up and why?
I was fascinated with clothes my whole life. My mom tells me stories of me putting on fashion shows for the Mormon missionaries. They were a captive audience. It was just part of my upbringing to be able to sew. All the women in my family would sew, often together. Many of my fondest early memories are quilting with a bunch of nanas. This probably explains the retro vibes of my designs. Although I do not think any of the nanas I quilted with want anything to do with my current endeavors. I was also extremely lucky to have crossed paths with a seamstress extraordinaire, Kim, who had over 25 years of sewing experience but was stuck sewing the same handbags over and over. She taught me a lot about production sewing and more technical skills than my crafting background let me explore. The first real “it” girl that I remember thinking “now that is a good outfit” was Paris Hilton. I should probably be embarrassed for that but here we are.
Tell me about starting the Solstice Intimates in 2016. What initially inspired you to build this amazing and unique company? Your husband Joey is a photographer, correct? What has been the main focus and vision for SI? How much of an impact has working close with your mother made on, not only the company, but yourself as a person and business owner?
The company came first, the community second. When I started, I had no clue what I was doing. The first cute customer photo I got sent, I was absolutely shocked and thrilled to see they had taken their underwear out. I remember saying “wait, they are wearing their underwear to festivals?” I was in awe. I couldn’t believe these absolutely badass hotties were trotting around showing off their unmentionables. I can’t get enough of them. I feel like the folks I design for have truly allowed me to discover my own sense of self. They tell me what they need, where they have been slighted in the lingerie market, and I will go through some pretty extreme lengths to try to make it. Joey has created the whole aesthetic of the business and how the clothes are styled. He works closely now with our Creative Director, McKenna who designs all our sets. I make the clothes, they make them look cool. My personal favorites from each launch are usually different from his, but his photographs are what sells the products. I could easily revert back to my not cool roots, but Joey and our team keep me in line. I can always count on my good friends to tell me when I am having a terrible idea. Working with my mom has been exactly as you would imagine it to be. It’s actually my step mom and my mother in law. They frequently tell me I am spending too much money and remind me that I have a new launch to design by this date, or I am grounded. I always know that they have my best interest at heart so while I may pout, I always listen.
How much has changed since you first started the business? How many storefronts do you guys now have as of 2022? Can you walk me through your process and approach of putting a line out? When did you realize that SI was something bigger than you ever thought it could be?
When we started, I sewed in the kitchen of my not big house and Joey shot photos in our not air-conditioned garage. Many of the models we work with today have literally shot photos in my swampy garage with their makeup dripping off and they did it for trade. Those are the homies. My friend had come to my sewing explosion/house and I was wearing three layers of different pajamas at the same time. As opposed to changing clothes, I was layering. It was time to get out of the house. We first got our Tempe shop and it was only intended to be a workspace. We set up shop and since our space was obviously so cute and located between a high traffic coffee shop and a Buffalo Exchange, we had lots of people walking in and asking what we were doing. So we built out a fitting room and put a shop in the front half of my workspace. We started working with lots of fun people in Nashville so we went out to check out the town and I fell in love. I went out for a pop up and left with a lease on a shop. I flew back and forth and had friends flying back and forth and we poured our hearts into that store. We had our one year anniversary and shortly after that a huge tornado devastated the area. Our shop wasn’t demolished, but so many others were. Less than a month later the whole world went on lockdown. I couldn’t fly out there and it was a very long drive. It just was not feasible so I had to close that shop.
It was devastating and it really messed with my mojo. Our marketing manager, Amy and her husband drove a U-haul out there and loaded up the shop and put it all in storage. I didn’t even visit the storage for about a year and I just started selling off some of the furniture from the shop. I said I would never open another shop that I couldn't drive to in a day. I am warming up to the idea but not anytime soon. The process of putting out a line is really a group effort between all of us. One of our retail employees does a little dancing on the side and keeps us in the loop on what the babes want as well as what is cool on TikTok. Our marketing manager, Amy and another retail employee, Laura run with the biker babe crowd so they let me know what the baddies are wearing. The concept for most launches usually start as a conglomeration of notes on our phones made while way too stoned. Then the next day we share notes until something sticks. Then we all hyper-focus and somehow cluster fuck something together that we are all so stoked about we can’t help but make it as big as we can. Our last big launch, Sunshine Valley, started with one of our many sunset dinner adventures dreaming of fun stuff to do and how bad we wanted our own grown up summer camp. We made the outfits, props, planned the activities, and took the whole team to Lake Havasu. Joey shot the whole time and there you have it. Our launches mimic our fantasy lives. If nothing feels exciting, we don’t release anything new. If we are feeling particularly inspired we will have back to back launches. There really aren’t any rules, or formulas we follow. Some launches have ten pieces and some have 60.
How has the pandemic impacted your life and business these past few years? What have been some ways in which you’ve managed to stay positive and optimistic during this time? What are you most looking forward to as 2022 continues to roll out?
The pandemic has been absolutely wild. We have, as a whole species, been face to face with our own mortality. Initially I thought I was a goner headed straight back to cubicles and PowerPoint presentations, if I was lucky. Who wants to buy luxury underwear… In this economy?! It turns out what people really want is a sense of escapism and community. We want to feel connected to something warm and fuzzy now more than ever. Consumers are widely redirecting how they shop and who they support. When I start feeling like I am spinning my wheels for no good reason, I focus on the people who love what I make. I save screencaps in my phone from customers hyping me up and I reference them often. I literally can’t give up, what will (insert any cutie customer) do without their velvet harness underwear? Go back to VS? Not on my watch. In 2022, I hope to continue providing intimates that challenge my skills and conceptual ideas, find inspiration in all places retro, or modern, and see the fruits of my labor continuing to make the community around us feeling foxy and confident.
Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?
Be safe out there. I love you.
https://www.instagram.com/natmaddon/
https://www.solsticeintimates.com/
Dakota Brown
