It was a Friday lunchtime. I was at my home office desk when a ca-ching sounded on my phone, I was in a work meeting and rushed to pack the order in my break so I could just print the label and run it to the post office when I clocked off.
This is the unglamorous reality of running a side hustle. You write your little affirmation cards, you seal your little parcels with free gifts, you hope you've got enough time to get to the post office before it closes. It's not romantic. It's just the thing you do because you believe in it.
I'd already packed the order. Written the card. Sealed the box. And then I printed the postage sticker — and stopped.
I recognised the name.
She'd ordered before. This was her second Transcend order. SHE CAME BACK!
I want to tell you why that hit differently than almost any other order I've packed.
When I designed the Transcend range, I was thinking about the trans women I'd met in my life. I'd watched these women navigate a world that consistently designs around them as an afterthought — or not at all. The underwear industry is no different. Most of it assumes a body type. Most of it isn't made with trans women in mind, especially those who are pre-op or not wanting to change the body they were born in.
I wanted to make something that just... worked. That felt good. That didn't require explanation or compromise or squeezing yourself into something that wasn't made for you.
But wanting to do something and actually getting it right are different things. You can have the best intentions in the world and still miss the mark. I genuinely didn't know if I had.
So when I saw that name on the postage sticker — when I realised she'd come back for a second pair — I felt something I didn't expect.
Relief. Real relief. And a bit of pride actually.
The parcel was already sealed. I couldn't go back and rewrite the card, acknowledge it properly, tell her what it meant. So I did the next best thing. I posted about it. I said it out loud, publicly — thank you. Because she deserved to hear it, even if it came a bit too late.
The Transcend range will keep growing. Tucking support is on the list. Better options, more sizes, more thought — it's all coming. Because this community deserves better than what the mainstream has historically offered, and one style is just the beginning.
But that second order reminded me of something I need to hear during the quiet spells, when the sales are slow and the motivation is low and packing parcels on your lunch break starts to feel like a lot:
You're doing it right when people come back.
Inclusion isn't a feature, its the point.
Bek x