Arts Entrepreneurship Podcast: Making Art Work · Nick Petrella and Andy Heise

#356: Elizabeth Solomeina (Jewelry Designer) (pt. 2 of 2)

·29 min·2 clips

Barney's-style buyers order in February for September delivery, but social media means customers want a runway piece immediately.

1. Part two of Arts Entrepreneurship Podcast episode #356 covers how Elizabeth Solomeina built Flying Solo, a retail marketplace for independent luxury designers, and what she learned about growing it. 2. Hosts Andy Heiss and Nick Petrella interview Solomeina, a Russian-born jewelry designer and Flying Solo's co-founder and managing director, who previously worked as a video producer. 3. Her core argument is that the traditional wholesale model no longer works for new brands, so Flying Solo gives control to the designers, who pay a membership fee and decide what to bring to the store. 4. She explains that big retailers such as Barney's once ordered a season ahead, 'six, seven, eight months', with orders in February and delivery in September, and now must guess trends that social media has already moved past. 5. She describes the feedback loop her model allows: a dress sells, the designer makes five more, then two more colors, or fixes shoulders that fit badly, something she says 'was never possible with a big retailer'. 6. Solomeina says Flying Solo began as a plan to 'build something for 10 of us', so its operations were designed by designers, and that her producer background made her the natural choice to find a permanent space. 7. She describes growth as 'wide' versus 'deep', moving from six staff to 15, 25, and about 50 people, and urges listeners to 'embrace the change' because the same rules cannot run every stage. 8. She tells young designers to learn skills such as casting and directing models, merchandising, and photo shoots, saying no skill goes unused, and notes the application is open to first-collection brands, some of which grew over about five years into designers with their own stores. 9. She announces a Flying Solo fashion award for June 2026 meant to recognize hair and makeup artists, stylists, and production crews, and closes with the advice that 'there is no planning that will prepare you for the unknown' and that supporters should 'vote with your wallet'. 10. Suited to aspiring designers, creative founders, and anyone curious about fashion retail.

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