Think of this as my very unofficial 2025 wrapped. A handful of numbers that are mostly meaningless, but still an attempt at painting a picture of what this year looked like, followed by a note that I hope is a little more meaningful.
I started this year with 3 pieces on the website.
We're ending the year with over 30, moving into the 60s with the spring collection (more on this soon).
I took 5 design trips, spending 5 months away from my friends and family, where I made 4 collections and my first short film.
I hosted 2 pop-ups in New York, my hometown. The first one was in March with around 500 people, and the second one in September with close to 1000.
On Instagram, our community grew from 8,000 to 50,000 in 12 months.
I also turned 25 this year. Not because the number itself matters that much, but because it felt like a checkpoint. A quarter century, capped off with equal parts crisis and fruition, but ultimately with the gift of singular purpose.
It was a truly remarkable year. In other words, absolutely insane.
I'll be honest, there were moments this year where I got caught up in the wrong things. Namely, metrics, targets, sales goals, and worst of them all, external validation. As fleeting as things of this nature often are, they did feel important at the time.
As the year went on, that shifted. A lot of that came from making the documentary and being on site during those design trips. Spending months working closely with artisans who practice hand block printing and hand beading, seeing them every single day, going to their villages, learning their personal histories, and understanding what this work actually means to them. How spiritually connected they are to their craft, and how deeply it is tied to their identity and community. Being immersed in that for so long gave me a lot of clarity and resolve, and that understanding has made its way directly into the work. Whether you're buying one of our sweaters or just a basic pair of our denim, you're directly supporting these crafts and giving them a place in the future of a quickly evolving manufacturing landscape.
At the same time, I started realizing what the clothes mean on the other end. The confidence they give people and how they make people feel when they wear them. That connection on both sides has become the most meaningful realization of the year, both as an artist and business owner.
Tone Deaf doesn't have any full-time employees. Day to day, it's just me. I write these emails, design the clothes, run the ads (lol), run the social media, do the photoshoots, build the website, and handle production and logistics. Obviously there's a whole team of incredibly skilled craftsmen who make this work possible, but the day to day, that's all me.
By supporting Tone Deaf, you're allowing me to keep doing something I've been dreaming of since I was a teenager wandering around the Lower East Side and Soho, going into my favorite clothing stores, imagining that one day I might contribute something of my own. By supporting this work, you're making that dream real, for whatever that is worth.
These ideas, memories, and lessons are just some of what I'm blessed to be carrying into next year. I would apologize for the long email, but it's been a really long year.
If you have any thoughts you'd like to share, feel free to reply to this email. It's my personal inbox and while it may take me a bit, I do read and respond to every message.
Thank you for making it this far. There is still a lot more to come from me.
A very happy new year from me,
Mustafa
Founder & "Creative Director"
TONE DEAF STUDIOS
