How it started
We launched our Instagram account in October 2018. This screen shot from the feed was from our first ever photo shoot at Bar George in Montreal. My friends (Myranda Davlouros, *a very pregnant* Jaclyn Hoffman, Jessica Reinglas, and Jenessa Williams) were the first women to lend dresses to Ocurent — and they also lent their entire day to model for this shoot. Amy Greenstein was the stylist, Rachel Shultz Cosmetiques’ team did the makeup, and Avanti Spa took care of the hair. Amber & Rob photography executed the entire photo shoot. Katie Kowarsky and my husband, Jeremy Langburt, helped out all day!
This crew launched Ocurent.
The vision behind this photo shoot was to portray luxury, relate-ability, and become known as a high-quality dress rental company in Montreal.
Once we launched our Instagram, we gained traction and awareness instantly. Friends started to follow and spread the word on their Instagram stories, and more women wanted to participate in our photoshoots! After our first photo shoot, we realized that we didn’t need to create such highly-produced images in order to achieve our goals. Katie Kowarsky joined our team right from the beginning to help bring the Ocurent vision to life. We started creating our own photo shoots with our friends as models, a few bottles of wine, and some DIY makeup. We had so much fun working on these shoots and getting to know our subjects at an even deeper level, as we all embraced vulnerability and allowed ourselves to enjoy the moment and create beautiful imagery.
Our aesthetic started to become less of a ‘lookbook’ and more of a creative and visual outlet — highlighting beautiful, sexy, confident women wearing our high-end dresses. A lifestyle element of the Instagram account started to emerge, and our following and community grew with it.
From the day I launched until the day I closed Ocurent, I felt a deep, heart-warming, tear-jerking sense of gratitude for the love and support, graciously given to me by this wonderful community of women.
If there’s one thing that I want to get across in this project entry, it is that:
I would not have my business if it weren’t for the women who participated in photo shoots, engaged on social media, lent dresses, rented dresses, and gave their time to help in any area needed. I will never ever forget this.
How it’s going
(or how it went)
Now it’s time to talk about the power-duo of Samantha Sagredo and Sanchi Bhalla. These ladies joined Ocurent in the summer of 2020, in the heat of the Covid-19 pandemic, as life-saving Interns. These two women helped to keep the Ocurent Instagram feed alive and engaged during some of the hardest months of this business. Sam took care of curating the visuals and Sanchi drafted clever puns to caption each moment. Mid-way through, Ruchika Rampurkar joined the team as an Intern and blessed us with her digital analytical skills.
Let me make one thing clear before I write what I’m about to write — I am not here to brag. I’m truly sharing these details to document, support, and hopefully inspire. I was told first-hand that my three wonderful Interns came on board (and stayed through the storm) because they felt Ocurent was inspired and they wanted to be apart of it. They donated their time, and I offered mentorship, flexibility, and an opportunity to gain professional experience. As their leader, I always ensured that I acted respectfully, offered as much as I could give, and expressed my gratitude. I believe that this exchange served and benefitted all of us immensely.
Not only did this platform help us gain awareness, but it also helped us acquire paying customers.
In addition to our beautiful photography, we created original content, including ‘dress reviews’ and ‘runway inspo’. Every time we posted content, we gained traction, and a percentage of that traction converted into paying customers. This platform helped launch Ocurent in the most grass-roots, cost-efficient way. I learned to never under-estimate the power of truly good & authentic organic content. I also learned that the number of followers isn’t always an important metric when it comes to the success (or potential) of a business. What’s most important (in my opinion) is that there is a REAL community of people who love your business and content, and are genuinely interested in seeing what you put out each day.
