Chasing dreams can be fun. Are you chasing yours?

Aura Cadet was an independent clothing brand I ran alongside my first extended consulting practice. Consulting work funded the operation, allowing me to experiment, iterate, and sustain the brand over a five-year period. While Aura Cadet never became a full-time source of income, it served as a hands-on education in the realities of building and operating a small product-based business.

Through Aura Cadet, I gained direct experience across design, manufacturing, marketing, and sales. This included developing original visual identities, working with manufacturers, managing inventory and production costs, launching products, and promoting them through digital channels. Running the brand required constant trade-offs between creativity, budget, and risk, mirroring the constraints faced by many small business owners.

In parallel with the physical products, Aura Cadet also experimented with interactive digital experiences. We ran a series of online, narrative-driven games inspired by alternate reality games, where digital puzzles, websites, and story fragments invited participants to actively engage rather than passively consume content. To reinforce participation and reward engagement, players who completed challenges or uncovered key narrative elements were given real-world prizes, creating a tangible connection between the digital experience and the physical brand.

Although Aura Cadet was not my most commercially successful project, it remains one of the most formative. It pushed me outside my comfort zone and gave me firsthand insight into the mindset of small business owners operating under real financial pressure. Every dollar mattered, effort could not be wasted, and progress required persistence. That perspective continues to inform how I approach consulting work today, particularly when advising clients who are balancing ambition with limited resources.