The following week, Noir & Co. got its first real press. A fashion blogger with a decent following posted about my Foundation Blazer. She called it “the perfect armor for women who carry the world.” The post got shared, then picked up by a small online magazine. By Thursday, I had three new boutique inquiries and a message from a buyer at a department store. I was standing in the studio, phone pressed to my ear, trying not to scream. “We’d love to discuss a small capsule collection for spring,” the buyer said. “Your pieces fit a gap in our affordable luxury segment. Can you meet this Friday?” I said yes, hung up, and then did a little dance in the empty studio. When I called Milly, she screamed so loud I had to pull the phone away. “Gracie! You’re going to be in a big store! I can te

