Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgan McCann.
Hi Morgan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story begins when I was eight years old! I would hand-make birthday cards and Christmas cards and give them out to my friends and family. I started hand-writing “The Morgan Factory” on the back.
I have been sewing my entire life, my mother taught me, she would let me pick out fabric from her cedar chest just to practice on. I actually always wanted to be an architect, even though I did upcycle my senior prom dress, fashion design was never a realistic career choice for me.
I started going to the International Academy of Design and Technology for fashion design and it helped me through a divorce. I had no money, no car, no home. Luckily, I have a very supportive and loving family that helped me back on my feet. I went back to East Tennessee to see my family for Christmas one year, and someone had given me trash bags full of clothes. I immediately cut them up and made 15 tunics that day. The next weekend, I set up at an art show and sold all of them. I was hooked.
For the next two years, I was working in management at Ann Taylor and also worked for Megan Prange. I learned so much in retail and I was naturally good at it. Megan Prange Pattern and Apparel Production is a Nashville small batch manufacturing company. She taught me more than school ever could. I learned a lot about pattern making, pattern grading, and sewing factory style. I worked both jobs and would still come home and sew for myself. I booked music festivals and art shows on the weekends to sell my one-of-kind creations. This is when I really discovered the woman’s body and tested my designs.
I tragically lost a friend in a motorcycle accident that fully believed in my dreams. Six months later, I quit both jobs to pursue The Morgan Factory. I continued doing shows for the rest of the year until one day, my tent blew away when all the other vendors around me were untouched. At that moment, I knew it was time to do something more – the universe was clearly speaking to me.
I saved my money, moved into a two-bedroom home in East Nashville, and focused on online selling and wholesale. This was a very scary time for me, doubts filled my mind. Luckily… it all worked out.
At this time, I was still sewing everything myself. The business was growing and the opportunity came to me to hire local refugee women to help me sew. This was a godsend for me… and for them. Honestly, I have always felt special. In the early days of TMF, I knew slow fashion was my purpose in life. But now, being able to help women of other cultures find peace, hope, and purpose in themselves, my “purpose” took on a whole other meaning.
I started selling on Facebook Live and going to market in Atlanta and Dallas. I killed it! People were very accepting of how different my clothes were and the difference I was making. During the pandemic, the market was not an option. I stay focused and grew my online sales! Now, here we are!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
A smooth road? Absolutely not. Fashion is one of the most competitive industries in the world. As for me, I am trying to accomplish something that has not been done before. I am a designer, a wholesaler, a retailer, and a manufacturer.
Most people only pick one. Since we upcycle clothes, everything is one of a kind. These clothes cannot be mass-produced like other fashion, and they cannot be sold in the same ways either. All kinds of hurdles come my way, but it’s nothing I cannot jump over.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are definitely most known for our repurposed creations. I am proud to be 100% sustainable. Everything we do is made with intention, we use paper to pack up our products, use recycled poly mailers, and encourage people to join our buy, sell, trade platform.
My business is about community and being connected to everything. From the people that originally made the clothes in sweatshops, to the refugees that make them new again, all the way to women that love wearing them.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Oh my goodness, I have so many cheerleaders! My family is amazing, every person I have ever hired, the refugees are truly rock stars, everyone has thought of me and given me clothes and materials. Of course, I have days when I’m down in the dumps, and then I will get a message from a happy client. My clients keep me going every day.
I can think of this one magical moment when I was at the Bridgestone Arena at a concert. I was struggling with life, with business. And then I looked down, and two rows below me were a mother and a daughter wearing my clothes. That was truly a moment of fulfillment and purpose… it was God.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.themorganfactory.com
- Instagram: Themorganfactory
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/themorganfactory
- Youtube: www.YouTube.com/themorganfactory
