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Donna Hinds
Creator/Owner
Biography
Born and raised in the small river town of Hannibal MO, famous for Mark Twain's boyhood stories, Branché founder Donna Hinds' childhood was every bit as colorful as these classic tales. Her vivid memories include playing Hide and Go Seek on horseback with her brothers and sister, she and her best friend Heidi packing saddlebags with Barbies and peanut butter ‘n jelly sandwiches for a play date on horses and admiring the smooth satiny pillow slip which had been part of her mother's bridal trousseau.
Donna's early love of textiles unfolded into creating Branché, her own line of women's fashion. In 1994, Branché became one of the first environmentally friendly lines, and the name, taken from the French term for “hip” & “connected”, was perfect for the company that remains the culmination of Donna's design degree, yoga certification, energetic healing studies and organic lifestyle.
Aware of the healing power of color, Donna helped revamp the fashion industry by infusing color into the very beige-and-black fashion world of the mid-1990s. Her soft flowing designs inspired a more feminine style of dressing and were featured on the cover of California Apparel News.
Selling to over 800 specialty boutiques including Nordstrom, Donna needed to look the part of a self-empowered business owner and fashionable clothing designer. She had a ‘warehouse' of clothes, but a demanding schedule left little time for her hair.
Inspired by the memory of her mother's polyester satin pillow slip used to keep her hairstyle between weekly visits to the hairdresser, and silk charmeuse, one of her favorite fabrics, Donna recreated a vintage pillow slip for her own use. Not only did her hairstyle look fresh in the morning, she also found that she no longer woke with creases on her face!
"I took it everywhere, especially to NY trade shows where I had to be ready early, with a 3-hour time change, after a rushed week of shipping orders and preparing the new sample line."
Knowing that silk’s magical qualities have been recognized in many cultures for thousands of years and certain that she woke up more refreshed, calmer and more balanced, Donna researched and discovered that silk is used in post-surgical healing and for rapid recovery from trauma.
Utilizing her experience and extensive knowledge of fabric, Donna was able to locate and identify the optimum weave, weight and quality of fiber to result in a pillow slip that preserves the magical qualities through repeated washings and the rigors of everyday life.
"Craving a simpler lifestyle and discovering the beauty benefits, healing properties, and the luxuriousness of sleeping on silk charmeuse, I literally woke up one morning inspired to create Branché Charmeuse Case. I depend on Charmeuse Case to wake up with ready-to-walk-out-the-door hair, this frees up available time to focus on other things. I can’t imagine my life without it and know that other women will relish the same convenience."
Donna Hinds, CEO / Creative Director.
Donna earned a BA in marketing from the University of Denver and a Certificate in Fashion Design from The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.
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