SPOTLIGHT: NOTI MAFICO

Starting her business not even 2 years ago, Noti Mafico has quickly turned into women everywheres go-to for a designer outfit at a small cost. We all know how hard it is to re wear an outfit after the gram has already seen it, so why spend $700 on a Zimmermann that we cannot possibly post on two separate occasions. That’s where Noti x Nature comes in. Through Noti, you can hire designer outfits at just a fraction of the cost.

With the upcoming birthday of Noti x Nature we decided to sit down with Noti herself to find out just how it all works.

How old are you?

I’m 20.

When did you start Noti x Nature?

I started Noti x Nature officially in July 2015.

What inspired the name?

The name Noti x Nature is based on the concept that all the designer outfits for hire are “naturally me” and influenced by my personal style.

Why did you choose to start a hiring business?

I love everything designer. When I was younger, I’d save for weeks just to buy that one designer garment. Due to my hatred of outfit repeating, I’d usually only wear it once. Once I had built up a little collection, I decided it was time to start making the money back that I’d spent. People would also often complement be on my outfits and I loved the thought of starting a trend and influencing what people wear.

The business has recently gone international – how does it feel?

It’s honestly quite scary. Never in a million years did I think I’d have customers from around Australia. It’s quite risky and has taken me a while to get to this stage but I’m incredibly happy that I’m able to share my business with girls outside of Brisbane. I’ve even received emails from girls in the US and NZ which is crazy!

How does hiring work?

Hiring is quite a simple concept. First, you submit an inquiry form through my website www.notixnature.net regarding which garment you’d like to hire and some personal details to help me identify you. From there, I’ll reply, notifying you whether your requested garment is available or not and details pertaining a try-on appointment if you so wish. Finally, once that’s all sorted you can come and collect the garment from my Brisbane showroom and I can express post it to you. You wear the garment, look amazing, tag @notixnature in your photo and then post it or drop it back it to me as is, within 4 days of receiving it and I sort out the cleaning.

Are there any cons of running a business?

The hardest part for me, is that people don’t often understand that I have a life outside the business. As a full-time student with 2 other casual jobs, there are many things that demand my time. It’s a round the clock job, I don’t really have set hours so I’m constantly on the go and there is always something that needs to be done or someone to respond to. If I don’t reply within a few hours, girls often text, call and DM me too just to make sure I’ve received their message. Often people expect me to drop everything to cater for them and that’s really hard to deal with; it’s part of running a business though. Another thing is, I can’t really go on holiday without notice. Some garments are hired months in advance and there are also short notice hires so I constantly have to be available to cater for this. Also, when garments get damaged, it really hits me hard. It’s rare but when it does happen it’s quite upsetting. I’m a small business and most of the garments are from my own personal wardrobe so it’s like someone ruining your favourite piece of clothing that you worked so hard to buy.

What’s your favourite piece?

My favourite piece has to be my newest arrival; the Zimmermann Esplanade Rivet Dress. I originally bought it just for myself but thought it was too beautiful a piece not to share with my lovely customers.

How do you balance running a business with uni?

I’m currently trying to get more organised. I only do 3 subjects this semester and only have class for 10 hours a week so it’s been quite easy to manage everything. I normally allocate one day, usually Monday, to reply to emails, post orders and deal with any business related activities. Tuesdays is my cleaning day; I normally drop my cleaning off on the way to Uni and pick it up on my day off. I use my Wednesday’s to tend to any short falls. Of course this doesn’t always go to plan as I’ll sometimes get last minute orders and things sometimes go wrong. I’ll sometimes get people calling me during lectures or class but honestly, how are they to know?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I initially only started hiring so that I could build my brand. My end goal is to be a designer – showcasing my own designs based on my personal style. I also see myself owning a series of companies under my brand Noti x Nature. I hope to expand my service offering to styling, personal shopping and social media consultancy. I’d also love to partner with a women’s education charity like One Girl in the near future – I love the idea of working towards bettering someone else’s life. I see myself assuming an influential role the fashion industry and wider community of women.

Contact: notixnature@gmail.com

Instagram: @notixnature

Website: http://www.notixnature.net/