Founder Tina Chow Rudolf Shutters Strange Bird Amid Retail Challenges And Personal Changes

After five years, Strange Bird, a skincare brand powered by crystals and flower essences, has closed.

“As most things go, the natural evolution of life pushes us to grow and change, which I see reflected in the beauty industry, the women we serve, and of course, in myself and Strange Bird,” founder Tina Chow Rudolf wrote in an Instagram post on Nov. 2 announcing the closure. With the caption, “November is for change,” it continues, “A little bittersweet, but mostly proud and holding space for the unknown, I embark on my next chapter and am letting Strange Bird fly.”

Following the post, the brand sold out of its inventory within a couple of hours. Chow Rudolf spent $40,000 to get Strange Bird off the ground, and it was self-funded until the end.

“Strange Bird launched and was run the way that I wanted it to be run all the way through, which was very slow, very thoughtful, very small,” says Chow Rudolf. “There was no growth spurt where I hired a bunch of people and invested a ton of money that we needed to scale in any way. Everything paid for itself, every step of the way. I’m fortunate to say that I’m ending Strange Bird in the green without any casualties.”

Chow Rudolf began contemplating closing Strange Bird about a year ago when the retailers Anthropologie and J.C. Penney, where it was part of Thirteen Lune’s collection, cut ties with the brand. She recalls Anthropologie informed her the Urban Outfitters Inc.-owned lifestyle retailer was concentrating on bigger brands.

“That was sort the beginning of the end because, if [the brand] wasn’t going to move forward smoothly and build momentum naturally, I knew it would require me to essentially reinvest everything that I had made and double down,” says Chow Rudolf. “It just didn’t feel worth it.”

All told, Strange Bird was at one point in over 400 stores across the country. It gained momentum in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 when retailers were hunting for brands founded by minorities. Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie reached out to Strange Bird. Chow Rudolf is Chinese American.

“There was this sudden beautiful focus on BIPOC brands,” she says. “I think a lot of BIPOC founders would’ve predicted, some of that stuff has fizzled out, and then the direction always goes back to celebrity brands or brands with more funding.”

Chow Rudolf’s priorities have also changed. She was eight months pregnant with her daughter in 2016 while she was developing Strange Bird, and she got pregnant again shortly thereafter. The brand officially launched in October 2019. Today, Chow Rudolf’s children are 8 and 6 years old, and she’s conscious about losing time with them.

“Becoming a mother changed me so much, and I think I realized that I don’t want to spend so much of my time talking about skincare and niacinamide and hyaluronic acid,” says Chow Rudolf. “I’m really authentic in saying that this decision is mostly driven by my lack of desire to put more effort into my business than my family.”

“Make sure that you are solving a problem that you actually want to be a leader in solving.”

Chow Rudolf would’ve loved to sell Strange Bird, and she fielded interest from a woman raising money to erect a company with a portfolio of gen alpha brands, but the deal didn’t work out. Chow Rudolf admits she didn’t try very hard to make it work.

“I wasn’t willing to stay up and work every single night and day on decks, meeting investors, meeting buyers. I literally have to go to a Girl Scouts meeting, I’m on the PTA board,” she says. “I had a philosophy of trust the universe. If it’s meant to be sold, someone will come to me, and I’m not going to go and hustle for it.”

Before launching Strange Bird, Chow Rudolf had stints as an actress, painter, social worker, therapist, life coach, beauty blogger and Reiki master. She’s looking to remain an entrepreneur going forward, although not in skincare. Inspired by Strange Bird’s singing bowl, a bestseller for the brand, she and a friend are developing a brand Chow Rudolf says “will help bring mindfulness into your daily life in a way that feels more whimsical and fun,” she explains. Both Chow Rudolf and her friend are Buddhist practitioners.

“Ultimately, the mission of Strange Bird and my personal mission was always to help women take care of themselves, help women have an excuse to lock the bathroom door and regroup,” she says. “I think my next journey is going to be answering the question of, how can I continue to do that work in a way that doesn’t feel like I’m actually just selling hyaluronic acid all day long?”

To beauty brand founder hopefuls, Chow Rudolf advises, “Make sure that you are solving a problem that you actually want to be a leader in solving, meaning your passion and motivation have to be super clear and strong since it will drive everything you do.” She adds, “If you are able to, one, know exactly who you want to serve, two, reach and speak to your audience authentically and consistently and, three, stay creative and passionate about how you want to solve the problem you want to solve, then you will be just fine.”