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Blonde Ambition

It’s 6:30 in the evening when we arrive in Williamsburg at what is now the Redtoenails House of Design. Garment racks are pushed against the walls, yards of freshly striped fabric covers the floor, and Dana Schulman and Farrah Zeigler - the two women responsible for this madness - are busy handling operations in the back.

Dana sits to the left surrounded by rolls of colorful fabric, while Farrah finishes up her phone call with one of their clients and ignores our cooing over the piles of clothes. These two women, the brains and talent behind Redtoenails, have begun to make a name for themselves.

Redtoenails is becoming one of the hippest fashion boutiques in the ever-trend setting Williamsburg. Started by two highly motivated women, it has blossomed from an at-home, dye-in-the-bathtub, sew-in-the-kitchen project to a burgeoning local business operating out of a production space/storefront. In just four years the company has gone from selling to local hipsters and manhatanites to people as far away as Japan and Europe. After meeting the women behind Redtoenails, it’s obvious that soon, everyone will be donning one of their signature garments out on the town.

The Designers
Despite the feeling that these two have been joined at the hip from birth, Dana and Farrah met through mutual friends only a few years ago. Fast friends, these Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) grads quickly watched their complimentary styles and flare for restructuring old garments give way to a unique clothing line.

It all began as an idea to design under one name. The designers had one store in mind - Amy Chan - to sell to on consignment. After the store picked up some of their designs they watched them sell out practically overnight. Business really picked up when they began regularly attending trade shows. They represented their first full collection at a “young and upcoming” designer trade show.

From the beginning, the duo has proved their dedication to their business; balancing full-time jobs, school, designing and their personal life was only part of the challenge. “Long hours” doesn’t even begin to describe their behind the scenes efforts. It is no wonder that what began as an idea to sell their designs to neighborhood stores has evolved into an international operation.


Making the Cut
Initially, Dana and Farrah handled all of the sewing themselves. But once business expanded to Japan, it was time for a major operations shift. A wave of nostalgia sweeps through the room when Dana tells us it’s only been about a year and a half since they have retired their sewing machines. They feel this move has been a mixed blessing - forcing them to relinquish some control of the production process, but giving them more time to focus on other aspects of their business. They assure us that everything still goes through their hands for quality control, ensuring that their clothes retain that “one of a kind” look and feel.

While their sewing machines may be getting dusty, their printing skills remain sharp. The yards of striped fabric we tiptoed around upon entering is fabric they are printing for their spring collection. Though their clothes can be found half way around the world, they are still a relatively small operation and do not meet the minimum requirements of most print houses, so they continue to do all of their own printing.


Creating The Collection





















“When you are constantly thinking about fashion, what you want to be wearing or what you want to see people wearing, your mind is [always] thinking about what you can do with what you have.” - Dana

Over the years, their design process has evolved from each of them creating their own pieces, to a more structured process. Now they develop a theme and then work from there, playing off each others strengths to pull their collection together. Surprisingly, due to their endless responsibilities and merciless schedules, the time they set aside specifically for designing is a smaller portion of the entire process than one would expect. They give themselves about two weeks to pick their designs and only one day to select the colors for the collection. This being said, they are always thinking about the progression of their designs.

They do admit to wanting more time for design, but the four-month production process, on top of selling, traveling and doing PR, there really isn’t much time for it at this point. They hope in the future to bring some sales representatives and an in-house staff on board to handle the details they don’t really have time to be involved with.


The blood, sweat, and tears have paid off - Redtoenails is entering into its fourth year. It is obvious just watching Dana and Farrah that their strong partnership contributes greatly to their success. They joke about not having time to fight and confess that though it can be difficult to put aside differences, it is necessary to achieving their goals. Furthermore, the duo attributes their success to their focus and extraordinary “support” group of friends and fellow designers. I am still amazed at their ability to wear so many hats and not drive themselves and each other insane, but I guess that’s where the focus comes in.

With the murmurings of a future Redtoenail shoe collection, you know this is just the beginning for these enterprising designers. We can’t wait to see what is to come. Check out their site to find a store near you.

Lauren Williams is a graduate of New York University with a degree in Psychology, and was last seen in a psychotherapy session with friend and business partner, AiLun. Currently, Lauren works for a Fortune 500 company developing and implementing training, and planning training events across the country. A misfit to Wall Street, she channels her non-conservative energy through tap dancing, bargain hunting, and the POISE blogs.