For Dawn Del Russo, building a career in fashion has been a journey of resilience, adaptation, and staying true to herself. With just $10,000 in savings—partly from communion money she’d carefully saved—she launched Bella Dawn boutique without formal training, diving into trade shows and pricing with sheer determination and countless hours of research. A surprise feature on Fox Good Day New York brought her first big sales surge, along with a crash course in scaling without infrastructure.

When broadcast opportunities began competing with her retail business, Dawn made the tough decision to close her beloved boutique—a move that ultimately led to her thriving career as a QVC personality, representing brands like Marc Fisher and Rebecca Minkoff. Through it all, she’s stayed committed to authenticity, embracing her strengths, turning down misaligned opportunities, and building her Live the Glamour brand as a platform rooted in genuine passion for fashion and business.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Success often comes through pivots—knowing when to let go of one dream to embrace another.
• Media moments can transform a business overnight, but preparation matters.
• Authenticity isn’t just a value—it’s a growth strategy.

🎧 Listen now for lessons in resilience, brand evolution, and building a career grounded in authenticity.

Our Guest:
 Dawn Del Russo is the founder of Live the Glamour and a QVC personality who has represented leading brands while building her own platform. From boutique owner to media personality, she’s navigated every stage of entrepreneurship with adaptability, authenticity, and style.

Host Emily Blumenthal is a handbag industry expert, author of Handbag Designer 101, and founder of The Handbag Awards. Known as the “Handbag Fairy Godmother,” Emily also teaches entrepreneurship at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is dedicated to celebrating creativity, craftsmanship, and the art of building iconic handbag brands.

Find Handbag Designer 101 Merch, HBD101 Masterclass, one-on-one sessions, and opportunities to book Emily Blumenthal as a speaker at emilyblumenthal.com. 

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