Doe Deere is the dynamo behind Lime Crime cosmetics and her brand new jewelry boutique, Poppy Angeloff. At first glance, what sets Deere apart from the pack is her passion for color and dedication to celebrating individuality. These aren’t simply traits that she possesses in her personal life, however. They’re hallmarks of her personal branding that extend to her businesses themselves.
Deere built this foundation through the creative use of social media even in its infant phases. Before everyone and their webshops held active Instagram presences, Deere was cultivating a following on sites like Myspace and LiveJournal.
Not only have these tactics served her well on the business front, but they’ve also added another pillar to her branding support structure. Deere is well known as an interactor and social media maven.
Examining her successes celebrates flexible thinking and innovation.
The Enduring Doe Deere Message
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Doe Deere understands personal branding better than most and seemingly always has. She also started leveraging it in a business sense earlier than the concept carried the recognition it enjoys today. Before all the buzz, Deere employed the method that experts use as their theme song these days.
I have always been a little bit entrepreneurial. I had my first little business back in Russia when I was 13 years old, I sold temporary tattoos which was novelty at the time, it was a lot of fun! I think what I did was, I discovered them and I then popularized them and sold them to my classmates. But I just made them cool by wearing them and insisting that it is ok to have a temporary tattoo on you. – Doe Deere, Guest of a Guest
According to Deere herself, even as a child, she had both an entrepreneurial spirit and an innate understanding that the cult of personality drives interest. That interest can easily turn into sales. She has managed to bring these ideas forth with genuine authenticity in part because she lives her life so openly in front of her customers and followers.
Vibrant Color
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The first pillar of Deere’s branding is her passion for vibrant color. She doesn’t just love color, she believes it imparts certain qualities and inspires emotions.
It comes down to my passion for color. To me, color communicates emotion. It can lift you up when you’re feeling down. It can tell a story. More color makes people happier. Just by looking at happy colors you can see people smiling. – Doe Deere, Forbes
From her very first business, Lime Crime, her name and the brand’s itself became synonymous with color. It was the very inspiration behind Lime Crime.
I began with designing and making my own clothing designs, creating an independent clothing line online. I got the idea to create my own makeup to complement my outfits when I modeled them for the website, and since I couldn’t find the exact bright colors I wanted, I decided to start making them. – Doe Deere, Inspirey
When she decided to start a new business in late 2018, it was natural to carry this aspect with her to Poppy Angeloff. One of the very first posts on the brand’s fledgling Instagram page was, not surprisingly, about color.
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Celebrating Unconventional Individuality
I’m helping women feel more confident in their own skin. I wish more women would embrace who they are inside and outside. – Doe Deere, Forbes
Another important facet in Doe Deere’s persona is her celebration of self. She encourages everyone to be themselves with abandon, even if that means slapping on unconventional colors, vintage jewelry, or striking makeup. For Deere, beauty is within and appearance is an expression of it.
She rejects the idea that beauty is a standard. Instead, it is something that shines outward and our clothes, makeup, hair, and accessories are ways to let the world know who we are. This innately touches women, so long the subject of an appraising male gaze, and anyone who has ever felt like an outsider.
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It turns out, that demographic is significant.
So it’s an established fact that Doe Deere has a message and her branding is on point. It’s what she has done with that message that deserves all the attention.
Before Social Media
I was born Xenia Vorotova in Izhevsk, Russia. As a little Jewish girl living in Russia, I idealized the United States as the place where anything is possible. I got that message from popular music, magazines and movies I saw about America. I obsessed over American culture and the English language, often wondering what it would be like to actually live there. At age 17, exactly 20 years ago, my world turned upside down — my mother, younger sister and myself moved to the famous U.S.A. in search of a better life.
Our destination was New York City. To many immigrants, New York is synonymous with America. – Doe Deere, Entrepreneur
Things weren’t easy for Deere, her mother, and her sister when they arrived in America. It took years to find stability. During this time, they never gave up, supported each other, and remained positive. Opportunities abounded in the US compared to their small village in Russia. They simply needed to discover the formula to unlock them.
Although Deere’s mother was educated in Russia with specialized training, she wasn’t able to obtain the same type of work in America. Providing proof and transcripts of her schooling weren’t easy and took some time to achieve.
While they worked their way up from the bottom, they relied on each other, their willingness to work hard, a strong belief in their dreams, and hands up from whoever would give them.
It nurtured Deere’s instinctual work ethic, community-based mindset, and imagination.
Eventually, Deere attended college for fashion. This decision provided the basic understanding she needed to shake up the industry itself.
Doe Deere Emerges
In the early 2000s, Deere formulated a multi-faceted approach to launching herself into the business world. She met husband Mark while pursuing her music and the two played in a band together. She took Doe Deere as a stage name around this time.
Simultaneously, Deere established herself on websites like MySpace and LiveJournal. MySpace was an early, Facebook-esque social media website. LiveJournal was a blog based site, somewhat like Tumblr. Users could interact with each other and there were metrics in place to measure popularity.
Deere quickly stood out on these platforms. She simply has an eye for things that are aesthetically pleasing yet unusual. She catches attention easily and her bright personality holds it well. Her innovative mind was always pushing the envelope and trying new things on these developing platforms. Her followers were enrapt.
While social media influencers and ‘beauty gurus’ are everywhere today, Deere was one of the first on both fronts. People craved information about her clothes, accessories, and looks and she developed some of the first makeup tutorials on LiveJournal.
She quickly realized there was a genuine market for her creations and she wanted to share her art with people who appreciated it. Yet again, the internet served as the vehicle.
From Ebay to Indie Cosmetics Powerhouse
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Lime Crime actually started as a clothing company. Deere created outfits based on her unique ideas using salvaged pieces or sewed them from scratch. It was about individuality and color from the very beginning.
I would sew or reconstruct clothes and sell them on eBay under the name Lime Crime. It started as this punky, trendy rebellious fashion line. I had to model my own stuff because I didn’t have enough money to hire real models. Before I knew it I became known for my makeup looks. The colors I like to use are very hard, if not impossible, to come by. I thought to myself, ‘if my audience likes this maybe I’m not the only one. Maybe there are other girls out there who would like to experiment with color more. – Doe Deere, Forbes
There were, indeed, other girls out there like Deere. They gobbled up her products and put their own spin on the tools she provided them. A real community was cropping up around Lime Crime just as it had Deere herself.
Now I have always been in love with two things: fairy tales and makeup. I decided to combine my two loves to make an imaginative, cruelty-free make-up brand that’s fun for everyone to wear. Lime Crime’s mascot is a unicorn, and it represents individuality, rare beauty and compassionate kindness to all animals. Naturally, the brand is purple because it represents creativity. – Doe Deere, Inspirey
In every way, the company was an extension of Deere. It was feminine but unshrinking, bright and positive while championing causes that proved it wasn’t naive. She launched and remained cruelty-free with a focus on vegan products and animal rights. She popularized unicorns and rainbow hair as mainstream concepts and her first followers helped her do it.
Soon, Lime Crime was dominating the indie makeup scene. In fact, it may have created it all together.
It’s incredible to see your community grow. Over the years, I’ve received hundreds of thousands of letters from customers telling me how much I’ve positively impacted their lives. By showing them they could be themselves. They don’t have to apologize for who they are. – Doe Deere, Forbes
Riding the Wave of Social Media
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By this time, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were commonplace. You couldn’t have a business and not maintain a presence on these platforms. In fact, some businesses built their entire strategy around them.
Deere adapted seamlessly to the expanded functionality these platforms offered. She could have even more contact with her followers now and had so much more to show them. They were the first to know when it came time to take a different role at Lime Crime. Around the same time, she announced a new company and a daughter on the way.
The buzz swelled around Deere yet again. To prepare for the baby, she and Mark began renovating their dream home. They furnished it with vibrant, period pieces and reproductions that looked like they stepped out of the Victorian era. Flowers and colors were everywhere.
Like a flower herself, Deere was incubating some news, letting hints out here and there, showing her followers subtle changes taking place in her life.
Soon after, she bloomed yet again, announcing her hand-crafted, heirloom-quality vintage-inspired jewelry line: Poppy Angeloff.
The Next Evolution: Poppy Angeloff Launches
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I like to think of Poppy Angeloff as the next step in my evolution as an artist and entrepreneur. – Doe Deere, Forbes
It could be that Doe Deere doesn’t understand how to be inauthentic. Her businesses always focus on things she loves and her ideals don’t change so much as they grow. She still has unicorn hair, but it rests above delicate hands adorned with reproduction jewelry. Some inspire her and others she created herself.
Not surprisingly, color is yet another major theme for Poppy Angeloff. With this brand, Deere introduced nature as another huge inspiration. Naturally growing from her love for animals, Deere found herself seeing the beauty of nature in a whole new way.
Flowers are like nature’s accessories, after all.
So much of my inspiration comes from nature, specifically, gardens! 🌿🌸🦎 I’m an avid gardener and today I met this beautiful #prayingmantis sitting on a blooming lantana shrub, basking in the sun. I’ve always wanted to hold a mantis and today, my dream came true! I named her Goldie, for the golden color of her wings.
I just happened to be wearing a prototype of a ring I’m working on – green chalcedony with pink sapphires set in 10k gold. I think Goldie steals the show though, what do you guys think? – Doe Deere, Poppy Angeloff Instagram
Naturally, the brand’s Instagram page is a hotspot of activity. Deere interacts with followers, crowdsources information, and leaks new designs.
She also spends time explaining her process and the symbolism behind each creation and the brand itself. This helps followers connect with her and Poppy Angeloff. It deepens brand loyalty.
As a long-time collector of vintage and antiques, I’ve come to appreciate the level of thought, detail and craftsmanship that went into the beautiful things I’d collected. I found myself wanting to invest in things of higher quality more, and minimize my contribution to the throw-away culture of today’s fast fashion. My ultimate dream is to offer heirloom quality jewelry at affordable prices that you will want to keep, wear, and maybe even pass on to your daughters one day. – Doe Deere
Surviving in a Crowded Market
So far, Poppy Angeloff is a success. The line expanded from gold settings to include silver in each design. Although social media is a crowded market these days, Deere is riding the wave with aplomb.
The market has changed quite a lot, so I think it’s a big deal to stand out and be individual in a really crowded place. Those are always our aims. – Doe Deere, Stylist
Her initial focus for the designs at Poppy Angeloff were small, delicate, pieces that were affordable but striking. Each is high-quality, allowing loved ones to gift them knowing they’d be cherished for years to come.
They are unique and yet timeless. Imbued with history but with a modern flair. By finding areas the market largely ignored, she carves out niches with this brand in the same way she did with Lime Crime.
Entrepreneurship is such a huge passion of mine. I would say look for gaps in the market and always think about the next innovation. Listen to your inner voice and pay close attention to what you like and what you want to exist. Then go out and make it happen! – Doe Deere, Stylist
Setting and Sharing an Example
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Lime Crime customers voraciously consumed the product line to express themselves and to keep a small piece of Doe Deere herself close to them. She was an inspiration they build upon and referenced. The same is true for Poppy Angeloff.
Each design Deere creates is an extension of herself. They are ethically sourced, colorful and somehow refined. They’re products you can feel good about that make you feel good in turn.
Even the recent launch of The Bloody Valentine ring carried a special message about self-love from Deere.
It attracts and reflects love and protects against bad luck in romance. Deere chose a unique gemstone for the ring, a pigeon’s blood ruby, to add something special to the gift whether it’s for a loved one, or the shopper themselves.
Celebrating Authenticity is Always in Vogue
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The reasons Doe Deere, Lime Crime, and now Poppy Angeloff grew to such success has as much to do with who Deere is as her smart and savvy business sense. Together, these things form a union that’s difficult to resist.
In some ways, her life is a master class on cultivating an authentic, personal brand that extends across markets. It grows and breathes with her as she soars to the next expression of herself and it takes her fans along for the ride.
