Under The Hood: Cara from Parchie

Welcome Cara! I'd love to start at the beginning. You have great experience from Sotheby's and Hodinkee. What was that point in your career where you decided to start your own D2C business? 

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I've always had a very entrepreneurial spirit. Ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to do my own thing, be my own boss and have my own company. 

Throughout my time at Sotheby’s I was able to learn lots about the watch industry. But it was really at Hodinkee where things started taking shape for me. I really enjoyed working there and I gained a lot of valuable experience in building that company into what it is today.

So it was about halfway through my stint at Hodinkee that I started to consider venturing out on my own. One thing I noticed while working on partnerships was the clear gap in the kids' watch market. It was something I felt could be done “better”, or at least differently. 

And in the fall of 2019, I came up with the brand name “Parchie” with a friend. I knew that once I came up with a brand name, then everything else would kind of fall into place. And shortly thereafter is when I decided to leave Hodinkee, and build out Parchie. 

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Love the name “Parchie” - where did that come from? 

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“Parchie” was the name of my imaginary friend growing up - so we went to the drawing board, and Parchie became a fun & quirky character, celebrating an air of weirdness. 

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So when you left Hodinkee - How much was left to build to get to launch? 

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In 2019, right after the name was in place, I started working on the watch design. My goal was to create a colourful, mini dive watch. 

And when the pandemic started in March 2020, I went home to Charleston, SC, and that’s when I was able to create even more time to build out the watch. I found a manufacturer and worked with a talented local branding agency called “SDCO” to build out a logo, the color palette etc. 

So by the time I left Hodinkee, I had working prototypes, branding, and everything was in production for my first order. The timing felt right. And I had been at Hodinkee for so long that it almost felt disrespectful to pour myself into something on the side without being honest about it. 

I initially planned to launch spring of 2021 but with all the supply chain issues, my timelines got pushed back which gave me more time to prepare. I later launched in August of 2021. 

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I want to touch on the inspiration of the design. Where did you pull inspiration from?  

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A lot of the inspiration came from one 1970’s Patek Philippe ad of a Patek Philippe Nautilus watch jumping in a pool. That image stuck with me. And in general, I’ve always been drawn to 1970s watches like the Nautilus, the Royal Oak - so I wanted to incorporate that type of funk into Parchie. So the typography, the imagery etc: That’s all inspired from the 1970s luxury watch culture.

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I’m also a big fan of the photography. How did you get that done? 

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The agency “SDCO” recommended a photographer called Alexandra Rowley, who I still work with today. She’s remarkable. 

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Diving back to the launch in August 2021. How did you get your first couple hundred orders? 

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I was really lucky in that I had built up my own personal following on Instagram via my watch account “@its.cara.time” by being part of the watch industry. So I was really able to use that channel as a mouthpiece to get people interested. 

And then Hodinkee also kindly covered Parchie, which drove a ton of traffic to my website. After that coverage, others came including Gear Patrol and Vogue - and that’s really how I got my first few hundred orders. 

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And what’s driving growth for you now? Is it still press?

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I’m about 6 months post-launch, so I'm figuring out what works and what doesn't - but my ultimate goal is to reach more people. 

I initially wanted to quickly move into “hyper growth”. But as I really started to shape the business, I realised that more importantly - I need growth to be consistent and steady. I’m committed to building a long-lasting brand, with a genuine fanbase around it - I don’t want to be a flash in the pan. 

So today, organic and paid social through Instagram are my 2 biggest channels. Press does still drive big bumps in sales - especially around special moments like the holidays or “back to school” so that’s a part of the mix too. 

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I really do see the “slow growth” path as the right way to grow a watch brand with deep heritage, like the Patek’s or Rolex’s of the world. Would you consider selling in retail? Or will it always be strictly D2C? 

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I'm not 100% DTC, because I also sell on Hodinkee and Maisonette which is a kids' online boutique. Beyond that, I'm not planning on doing a lot of retail. I do see Parchie fitting into existing concept stores internationally however. 

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Let’s talk tech stack. What are some of the solutions powering your business? 

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I use Later for scheduling posts on social media. I use Klaviyo for my newsletter, and of course Shopify, which I love. Outside of that, I use QuickBooks and a few bits to track inventory. I have a great fulfilment partner that does things the old-school way via email, and I’m fine with that. 

All in all - it’s a very simple tech and operational stack. But it meets my exact needs at this point in time. 

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Perfect. Last question from me: What would you attribute most of your success to?

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For one, it’s the watch community. Having their support at launch was so meaningful. The majority of my initial purchases were through watch collectors, readers of Hodinkee, followers on Instagram etc. They’ve been critical to Parchie’s success. 

And then secondly - it’s the cute product. Parchie’s whole ethos is fun, colorful, out there and different - and that really resonates with buyers. 

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Cara, thank you so much! I’m a huge fan of yours and wish you all the best. Thanks for sharing your insights with the community. 

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