Why I Built Happenings

I spend a lot of time thinking about clothing, but lately I've been thinking just as much about planning. Over the years Captain Fantastic has evolved from a traditional retail business into a bespoke made to order clothing brand. This evolution reduces both over production and deadstock while enabling me to update and design my collections as the seasons roll by. This is really important to me as a founder and creative person.

That's only half the story though. As a party person I can also appreciate how important “order by” dates are to someone planning the perfect fit so I did some thinking, and the genesis of Happenings took root. What if Captain Fantastic had an easy to use guide that listed upcoming events and made it crystal clear to my customers when they needed to get their orders in?

Captain Fantastic already had an events page known as Catch the Captain but this was only for events I would be physically attending which left a whole lot of guesswork for the others. As much as I’d like to, I can't be at Aum, Rhythm and Alps, Rhythm and Vines, Northern Bass, Twisted Frequency and Rolling Meadows over New Year's Eve. I also have 3 types of product, Ready to Ship, Made to Order, and Partner Collections all requiring different cut offs. So some serious planning was required. The result was Happenings which hosts an Event Guide, with all your Cut Off Dates, From the Studio blog, and Catch the Captain for in person pop ups, markets and events.

I wanted Happenings to be genuinely useful, so I taught myself enough code to build filters and sorting into the pages. Looking for a doof in the South Island in summer or a winter club night in Auckland? I got you boo. 

Want to know the last date for Ready to Ship products for Christmas? As dates pass they are struck out and as the events pass they disappear off the screen so the information is always up to date and relevant to what you are looking for. What about having something Made to Order? No one wants yesterday’s news.  I have also long wanted to write a blog and share some of the behind the scenes stuff about creating collections, my road trip adventures in Lollipop, interesting people I meet along the way, and general reflections on life as the Captain. This is my first post and I’m excited to flex another creative muscle - this time the writing one. From the Studio will prioritise quality over quantity, goodness knows the internet doesn’t need another style guide pumping out content for clicks.

There’s always a lot of steps in building something like this. More than once I questioned why I'd decided to teach myself code instead of just designing some trippy new leggings. Like everything at Captain Fantastic, Happenings will evolve over time. I'll keep refining the events, the cut-off dates and the way it all works until it becomes something genuinely useful for the community. 

This is just the beginning.

Explore Happenings

Until next time,

Sam Founder, Captain Fantastic

"Dressing for expression, not permission."