Fanatic Burlesque

Probably no surprise but 🤷🏻‍♀️. My sister said this statement to me and it really resonated, “Noble but unsustainable”.

After 2 months of having a break I decided I don’t have the energy to continue with Fanatic. I know I said I would sell feathers and aluminium fans however I can’t bring myself to do it especially with the high costs of running a website on an e-commerce platform.

When I reflect over these past few years I have learned a lot and did things I actually never wanted to do – namely commissions. Commissions are incredibly challenging and have very little to no profit margin. And meeting expectations is so very hard compared to my original dream of being a prêt-à-porter business (ready to wear & decorate by the customer).

Probably my biggest learning was…it’s impossible to build, manage, and grow a biz when you’re personally stretched too thin with very little support networks. Hard lesson that to direct a team successfully you need to be present and I wasn’t there enough. Additionally getting financial support for the business was challenging particularly in industries modern day banks don’t understand, like manufacturing garment. And let’s not talk about the impact of censorship by Meta and Google which makes attracting new customers near impossible. Finally Fanatic cannot compete with the prices offered by Shein, Temu, Aliexpress especially while people are struggling with the basics in life (me included).

I’m not exactly sure how other small businesses are making it work, but it now or never to support these businesses especially with the economy as it is. Small business is risky, non-stop, costly, and at times, incredibly brutal.

To the costume group I’m a member of – thank you for being a sounding board and providing a safe place to let off steam. The advice I received was incredibly relevant and useful in knowing there are others who understand.

Thank you to the customers who have supported us. I’m not sure if Fanatic will ever relaunch however will remain open for business.

Within hours of taking the website down the URL was stolen so if you go to our website it’s a random thing right now 🤦🏻‍♀️

Our feathers are back online! Aluminium fan staves will be up soon!

Dear Fanatic customers past, present & those who interact with our content,

You’ve probably noticed we’ve been quiet…it’s been a month of contemplation about this business and its viability in a modern world of high costs & fast fashion.

Our website is on hold at the moment. This means we’re not taking new orders until we update our website. Current orders are still being processed.

It’s been a rough year on top of the general grind of living and I have decided to call it quits on the majority of Fanatic’s product lines. I’m fine with this now but it does pain me to lose our final maker Nicki .costume as it’s one less job in a tough economy of increasing unemployment particularly for creatives & makers.

I personally haven’t been well mentally as 2023 was incredibly stressful for me – working at an employer with ethical standards I was very uncomfortable with, leaving to take on a 3 month contracting role with only the potential of being extended, paying a lot per month for my dad’s medical care and advocating for him, supporting 2 businesses while moving the business back home, and being a solo income home. Compounding this was finding the time, on top of a 40 hour government job, to process customer orders which resulted in me working most of my weekends and evenings on Fanatic only to return back to my office job on Monday. And just as we were heading into Christmas my dad died. All of this meant my bandwidth to cope with issues, even the smallest of ones, became intolerable.

As we head to the halfway point of 2024 I have made the following decisions:

✨ working for less than $25 an hour is something I can no longer tolerate. Creative NZ recommends $30 per hour as a basic rate for those in the creative sector for full time work. I personally would want an hourly rate of at least $45 for the amount of labour, expertise, and equipment needed to make our items. Making to order unfortunately is too expensive for one off items even from our set range, and trying to do a small run of items is near impossible with the size, colour, and styling variations customers would like – we end up with dead stock that we can only sell if reduced in price.

✨we will no longer do commissions of any type – sewing, crown, fan making. Commissions are hard…we’re trying to help people achieve amazing dreams however meeting these expectations is incredibly difficult due to all the costs involved, limited budgets, tight time frames, and other customer priorities.

✨ we will only have two products on our website. Classic fans in aluminium (made in NZ) and ethically sourced ostrich feathers. All fans will come as kits with instructions on how to put them together. Why are we not making up the fans? It takes a lot of time which = labour costs. For example putting together our new aluminium fans requires:
1. Spray painting 20 aluminium staves (if you don’t want them matte silver) a minimum of 3 hours. 3x$30=$90
2. Putting the fans together takes a minimum of 8 hours. 8x$30=$240
3. Feathers - for a single layer fan you need 20 feathers. Feathers are $13.50x20=$270
4. Staves - $150 for a set of 10 staves. So for a pair of fans you need $150x2=$300
5. All together that is a minimum of $900 for a single layer feather fan set.

✨ There is the potential of making our pasties available however our 3d machine is broken and replacing it is costly.

✨ sadly we will no longer sponsor shows. Sashes , crowns, gifts, & sponsorship fees all mount up. And we track sales from these shows via discount codes. Unfortunately post event sales rarely cover the costs of supporting events. This has been a hard one because I know producing shows is costly and producers need support to provide a great show which includes meaningful gifts. We will see through the last sponsorships we have agreed too.

As for me I want to focus on my substantive career pathway in Health. I’m in a good position at this point of time compared to other government employees facing redundancies. I was incredibly relieved in January to successfully apply and get a full time permanent position after 6 months of contracting. And I don’t want to blow this opportunity as it has been 10 years in the making to work in the health sector.

That’s it for now. I may or may not be visible in the burlesque and pole scene as I do have other personal goals I want to achieve but don’t want to share.

Cheers
Stef 🖤

📣 Important announcement 📣

Fanatic Burlesque is changing direction – cost of living, the complexities & stress of being a part-time business on top of a full-time job just makes things too difficult to manage.

Sewing orders & the last of our commissions will be prioritised over this next month. This announcement only applies to Fanatic Burlesque garments. We will continue selling fan kits and feathers, and once our 3d printer is up and running, pasties.

I recently had an experience that has really upset me and has unfortunately rocked my confidence. I will recover but I thought I’d give the money from this experience, money that makes me sad and I don’t want to keep, to an important cause.

#💜

😍🥵♥️ we are speechless ♥️. What treats do you like? Carnival bra wire frames available on our website. Customise them to suit your style or the season 💋
Model: .badland
Hair and makeup: Zoe Badland
Photographer:
Bra and props:

♥️Happy Valentine’s Day from Fanatic Burlesque ♥️. This is a time for self-love and care! Xoxo.
Model: .badland
Hair and makeup: Zoe Badland.
📸:

♥️The count down has begun!♥️ what are your Valentines plans?

Today is the colour 💖 PINK 💖 as part of 2024 run by the dedicated
Check out Kiki’s profile for more info and how to donate.

Our little princess Pumpkin admiring our pink ostrich feathers…she’s not to be left unsupervised with these beauties!

Today is the colour 💜 PURPLE 💜 as part of 2024 run by the dedicated
Check out Kiki’s profile for more info and how to donate.

A blast from the past of as I unfortunately didn’t manage to get a purple inspired shot today.

This was my first official costume out of my favourite colour. I LOVED drafting and then making this costume – I learned so much.

Today is the colour 💙 BLUE 💙 as part of 2024 run by the dedicated
Check out Kiki’s profile for more info and how to donate.

Our sleepy boy Chase found a touch of blue to rest his head on.

Today is the colour 💛 YELLOW 💛 as part of 2024 run by the dedicated
Check out Kiki’s profile for more info and how to donate.

I personally love neon yellow so last night I busted out the dye and gave myself a refresh!

Today is the colour 🧡🎃ORANGE🎃🧡 as part of 2024 run by the dedicated
Check out Kiki’s profile for more info and how to donate.

The baby of the family, Pumpkin, was best suited to this colour due to her name, but also her glorious topaz eyes! She is wearing a custom Fanatic rope collar.

😘 Please donate to a great cause. Thank you Kiki for all the time and enthusiasm you dedicate to making this happen year after year.

Kiki Kisses - #RainbowPinup 2024 - RainbowYOUTH Make a donation today to support RainbowYOUTH Community Fundraising

Today is the colour ❤️RED❤️ as part of 2024 run by the dedicated

Our highly experienced cat assistant Twinkles took a moment to pose for this very important opportunity which is all about supporting and fundraising for the Rainbow community.

Donate if you can via (link in bio).

2023 was rough and there is no way to rhinestone-coat that. Moving the business back home and having to reduce staff has been brutal on people in more ways than one.

Going in 2024 we have to make changes to survive. So here are the changes…

1. We are having to put our prices up. We want to be an above living wage employer. $26 per hour is not enough to live on when tax is factored in. Materials, importing costs, and postage have also gone up and we can’t absorb this anymore.
2. We are reducing our product lines particularly our garments. It’s hard stocking a variety of fabric and embellishment options. We will also be putting fan staves on hold as our goal is to shift to metal staves.
3. We will be going back to our primary customer group – burlesque performers. Pole Bunny will focus on pole dancers with our new collection launching later in 2024. We are sampling/developing our ‘Magnitise Collection’ however it has taken us a long time to get to this point because of commissions.
4. We will be closed for any new commissions for the indefinite future. Right now we have too many projects on the go for a business that only has a very part-time capacity. This means we are constantly strained and unfortunately blow out our time lines which ultimately cause disappointment all round. We want to be a positive experience in your dance journey. If we are currently doing work for you please note we haven’t forgotten and will continue working with you.

We are making these changes in the hopes of focusing 2024 on Pole Bunny. Unfortunately both businesses require more resources as they are both young and need so much dedication.

As a small business owner, I personally don’t have the bandwidth to keep going like I have been. No doubt people noticed my lack lustre approach to life last year and this affected my family and my full time job. I took risks I have never taken before because I had no other options and this was excruciatingly scary for me. I don’t want to repeat 2023 ever again. Passion is one thing but stability shouldn’t be compromised unless you have a fantastic safety net which I don’t. My family also had a significant bereavement in December – my dad died and I haven’t properly processed his loss.

Thank you to all of you who have supported us, worn our items, and provided feedback. If you are wanting a commission I would encourage you to reach out to some of the amazing makers in our community.

If you are a maker and are looking for commission work please tag yourself in the comments. My advice to you is charge as accurately as you can – we shouldn’t be “competing” based on cost rather we want people to come to us because they LOVE the styles and unique touch we can add to their performance. Ultimately we are all responsible to try and make our industry a sustainable career choice.

Thank you and all the best for 2024 😘
Stef

Don’t forget! We sell latex cleaner for those who love latex! Check our website linked in the bio.

💜New feathers on the way! 💜We have also introduced a new colour — MINT💚! Purchase from our website linked in our bio!