Meet Tuckernuck Girl Mignonne Gavigan

The most difficult part of owning your own business is the fact that you are ALWAYS working…it’s almost impossible to turn it off because you eat, sleep, breathe every aspect of it. My husband and I have to make sure to make time for our family and turning work off everyday.

I designed the original scarf necklace, the Le Charlot, back in 2007. I was making them in a small way for friends and family until I launched the Mignonne Gavigan collection in 2014 with my business partner, Layne Logigian. The Le Charlot continues to be one of our top sellers.

I’ve always been creative whether it was painting or drawing and I knew I loved fashion and wanted to have a company of my own one day. While at Parsons, our teachers used to tell us, if we wanted to have our own company / brand one day, we needed to find an original idea. I found that original idea when I invented the “scarf necklace.” This product is what our brand DNA is built from. MG was able to bring a soft element to an industry that typically uses hard elements. I love the challenge of taking a pattern or a design and turning into a work of art using threadwork.

Travel is a huge source of inspiration for me. I’ve been all over the world and each culture has sparked a different way of looking at textiles and new ways to use them. A collection is usually inspired from a detail I’ve found and built around a color palette I come up with that is fresh and modern. We design pieces that will elevate the collection along with pieces that will be for the everyday. There is always color, FUN, a bit of romance and a dash of whimsy.

I feel that traveling opens up one’s mind to new cultures and new ways of thinking about life. I grew up in Charlotte, NC and after hearing stories of my mother’s travels all over the world as a Pan Am stewardess, I new I wanted to experience as many new people and places as possible. I was lucky enough to work as several design positions that took me all over the world. I was also lucky enough to marry my husband who also loves to travel. My two favorite places I’ve visited are Istanbul and South Africa. I also lived in Paris for a year after college.