The Bradshaw Collection | Denver Based Lingerie Company
Denver Local Lingerie!
I’m so excited to have this local small business on the blog! If you know me from Alaska, you know how important small businesses are to me, even better if the products are locally/US made. As soon as I decided to make the move to Denver, I started searching for like minded small businesses that aligned with my own work. Obviously, that meant searching for a small, local, lingerie business in the area. I came across a The Bradshaw Collection from a simple Google search, and I’m so happy I found them.
Fast fashion is a major concern of my own and I’d love to find companies I can steer my clients towards to invest in quality products that have been ethically made. I was gifted a beautiful bodysuit made by these lovely ladies before I left them and guys, I’m obsessed. 10/10 recommend wearing one of their pieces for a night out sometime!
Enough from me! Enjoy a little Q&A from this mama/daughter duo and go support them if you’re on the search for some quality pieces of your own!
The Bradshaw Collection
Denver Based, Ethically Sourced and Manufactured Lingerie
1. What inspired you to start a lingerie company here in Denver, and how did the journey begin?
Katie was seeing a wide range of lingerie since she's a Denver boudoir photographer. Some clients brought high end products, but she also saw a wide variety of inferior quality and poor fitting items.
Unfortunately, as with many items today, fast fashion overhauled the lingerie industry. Katie pitched the idea to Chris to start a lingerie business based upon her design background. In the end, we felt there was an opportunity to tackle that business model and really focus our attention on making women feel beautiful again. After all, a woman is at her most vulnerable in lingerie.
2. Why is it important for your brand to produce lingerie in the U.S.?
Of course we knew we could have our designs manufactured overseas at a fraction of the cost we pay our manufacturers. However, we wanted to ensure the employees are paid a fair wage, have a safe work environment and enjoy a reasonable work/life balance. Too many companies turn to off-shore manufacturing focusing only on the bottom line. We are dedicated to helping the American worker and U.S. based employers. The quality craftsmanship we see and expect in our designs is a result of Made in America integrity. Manufacturing our line in the U.S.A. is non-negotiable for us.
3. How do you source your materials, and what goes into ensuring they meet your standards?
Sourcing is definitely one of the most time consuming aspects of our business. It can also be extremely frustrating. Over the last three years, Mama Chris has done all of our sourcing and despite her years in the fashion industry, it's been a steep learning curve. Many hours have been spent at the computer tackling:
who offers the supplies specific to lingerie
which companies offer the best quality
if we need to use multiple vendors to complete a design, how can we ensure the colors will match from item-to-item
which vendors have a minimum order quantity (MOQ) to match our business model versus requiring thousands of yards be purchased
do they accept returns if what we receive is nothing like the pictures shown on-line
how long does it take to receive the items
The list goes on and on. The good news is, we now have a validated vendor list that we can turn to for our laces, spandex, thread, hook and eye closures, elastics and bra straps. However, whenever we want to include a new feature on one of our designs, we're right back in the thick of it.
As far as the quality is concerned, that's huge for us. Fortunately, the majority of vendors offer sample yardages. We take advantage of this all the time. We want to see, touch and sew with the fabrics before we ever choose to use them in our designs.
4. How do you ensure ethical production in the manufacturing process?
When we were searching for our Manufacturers, we did extensive research on their business. Once we narrowed down our choices, we "interviewed" them, just as they did us to ensure we would be a good fit. The most crucial step was to also visit them so we could see with our own eyes their facility, employees and operation.
5. What makes your lingerie unique compared to other brands on the market?
First, we are a "two woman show". What does that mean to our customers? We're hands on and completely invested in bringing our customers the very best of us. Chris does the designing, patternmaking, sample sewing and sourcing. Katie does the photography, website, and sales/marketing. We offer 'limited edition" designs, meaning our production runs are small quantities. That correlates to our customers having something that is unique to them, plus a small number of other women....it's similar to shopping a custom jeweler versus a big box jewelry store.
We're committed to using quality fabrics, that's why we do all of our own sourcing. Our lingerie feels great to the touch. We also spend hours developing the fit of our designs. There are several styles that went through the "prototype/development" stage five times before we were satisfied with the fit. We want our customers to feel great in our designs, that happens when a garment truly fits and is flattering in all the right places.
We've received feedback from many of our customers who've told us The Bradshaw Collection is the best piece of lingerie they've ever owned. From the design, to the fabric to the fit.....and that's exactly what we strive to create!
6. What can we expect to see from your brand in the coming year? Any new collections or collaborations?
Many of our loyal customers will recognize new colorways of a few of our "bestsellers" from previous years, plus we'll be debut at least three or four brand new designs in 2025.
We're thrilled to again have a signature lace fabric and color which was created for us by one of our suppliers. This vibrant teal color is sure to wow our customers.
Also, based upon the reaction we received from the first bralette we added to our collection this year, we've decided to produce more colorways of it, along with at least one new bralette design as well.
