By Nora Heston Tarte
Sarah Duncan is unstoppable. The Lodi native, fashionista and designer is carving her way into the industry through social media. Her heavy presence on Instagram has demanded attention as an up and coming trend setter. Unsurprisingly, there are so many followers lining up to view her profile and her success is only increasing by the day. Because of this, deciding to use Instagram growth services like Upleap or buzzoid could be completely out of the question, especially seeing as her posts and content draw in the crowds on their own. Her most popular line, titled Bear Family, featuring T-shirts sporting sayings like ‘Mama Bear,’ ‘Man Cub’ and ‘Little Lady Cub’ have skyrocketed her business. But, it’s her team of close friends, family and “Mama Bear” Instagram followers that help her company thrive.
While the Bear Family line isn’t what launched her business, it has proved to be a best seller. The inspiration came from her husband’s childhood nickname, Bear. After the birth of their son, Elijah, the nickname ‘Man Cub’ stuck, inspired by Mowgli from The Jungle Book.
“It hit me as a cute concept,” says Sarah. “We joked around about it before I sketched it 50 different ways,” she says. “Then I had that eureka moment and just kept it simple, making the actual design the single phrase, ‘MAN CUB.'”
The collection has since diversified with Mama Bear T-shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts and even earrings that have garnered a following of fellow mothers who can relate to the clever saying. But Duncan doesn’t stop there.
“Recently I added a design for the Grandmas, too, Glam-ma Bear,” she says. “It has sold out a few times, and I adore getting group pictures from my customers with many generations in my items!”
In fact, if you take to Duncan’s Instagram page, @lovedbyhannahandeli, you’ll see a slew of customer photos in the Bear Family line, perfect for birth announcements and family photos.
Her 5-year-old daughter, Hannah, inspired her line of Fancy Bear and Little Lady Cub designs. And The Jungle Book just may be the source of inspiration for a tote bag stamped with “Bear Necessities.”
“My kids were, and are my world, and inspire me to be the best I can be,” says Sarah. “Part of that is modeling for them the pursuit of what brings you and others joy. Creating these items was very cathartic and once I had a vision of what it could become, I went for it.”
Loved By Hannah & Eli, punctuated by a trademark logo of two teepees with “he” stamped inside; one of the first stamps Duncan created on her own, recently celebrated its two year anniversary. During that time, Sarah has reached a level of notoriety with her brand, counting over 80,000 Instagram followers and clothing celebri-tots like Tori Spelling’s kids and Mason Disick, a member of Kourtney Kardashian’s brood.
The only way Duncan can describe seeing her clothes in paparazzi pictures and on the reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians, is, “insane!”
“The thought that they have endless designer possibilities to choose from, but chose to wear or dress their kids in my items is a reassuring feeling that I am doing something right,” she says.
Adult celebrities are rocking Loved By Hannah & Eli, too. Haylie Duff, Tori Spelling, Tiffani Thiessen, Phaedra Parks, Christina Milian, Cacee Cobb, Ashley Williams and Lisa Ling are just some of the celebrities who own her items.
“I was lucky enough to be a part of a few celebrity gifting events and parties where I got to meet and gift out my items to celebrities and their families,” explains Sarah.
Duncan feeds her inspiration with a little help from her friends, focus groups and social media followers, and even sources suggestions from her photo comments. For example, her Auntie Bear design came from a fan that offered up the suggestion on Instagram. After all, that’s what friends are for.
“My most ambitious plans are to take control of my garments’ supply and development,” she explains. “I very much want to work directly with a manufacturer to produce garments in the color, cut, quantity and patterns I want, so I have something truly unique.”
Sarah’s ultimate dream? Getting her line into a major retailer like Nordstrom’s. She assures there are no plans for that yet, but mama bears, – stay tuned.
For More Information:
Loved by Hannah and Eli
Lovedbyhannahandeli.com
Email: [email protected]