At present, blogging is no longer just a hobby. It takes a lot of time, passion, commitment, and hard work in order to be successful, most especially if you have avid readers who rely on you for fashion advice and beauty tips. It’s basically like having your own brand that needs to be sustained and taken care of.
Sisters, Shari and Raiza Poquiz, knew that but it didn’t stop them from actually starting their own brand – Rory & Sloan. Raiza being a fashion blogger and Shari being a beauty blogger allowed them to realize that they do share one thing in common which is their love for accessories. And so, instead of keeping their sense of style and eye for accessories between just the two of them, they realized, “Why not share it with other women as well?” They figured that earrings were a great place to start because they know no sizes; hence, the birth of Rory & Sloan.
With their tagline, “for kickass gals who aren’t afraid to make a statement”, the brand is inspired by the countless empowered women out there. They wanted to provide accessories that let women be who they want to be – unafraid and unapologetic. They wanted to encourage young adults and working millennials to feel confident while achieving their goals despite occasional bad hair days and busy schedules. Rory & Sloan brings in new styles every month because they know how women love to change up their accessories according to their mood and the activities they engage in.
Shari and Raiza exactly personify the brand’s target market. As multi-hyphenates who do so many things at the same time, Raiza finds the balance among blogging at misspopquiz.com, interior design, and entrepreneurship while Shari simultaneously blogs at themistymom.com as she co-manages their brand. Aside from Rory and Sloan, they also have their own digital creative company called Santillan Creatives where they create, curate and manage social media content for brands – particularly startups who have no big budgets for campaigns yet.
And since Rory & Sloan is a start-up brand itself, Shari and Raiza do everything all by themselves. By everything, we meant everything, from modeling, styling, hair and makeup, photography, and even up to art and creative direction. They even shared that there are times when they tag along Shari’s kids and Raiza’s niece & nephew to the shoot since Shari doesn’t have a yaya.
It’s really a family effort since Day 1. But hey, all their hard work paid off because the brand is really going well since the launch. They even have styles sold out as early as the 2nd week from the release date.
As of the moment, they’re working on new content for their site featuring real girls who are kicking ass and are not afraid to look good and feel good at the same time. They’re also releasing a new collection soon so stay tuned!
May their story serve as an inspiration to those who would also like to start their own business and may this empower all the bloggers and content creators out there. And as you go about your day, Rory & Sloan’s earrings will be there to remind you that your hustles and hobbies might actually be the start of something else – your own brand and business.
