Fashion on your Phone
Three independent makers in the Pacific Northwest use social media to grow & connect.
Clothing by Sienna Takabe (@snakibabi); Photo by Ivy Denham-Conroy
As social media apps like Instagram add shopping features to their platform, independent makers are also finding new avenues to sell their creations and run their small businesses online.
Social media platforms offer a unique and inexpensive way to launch a brand, build a following and client base and connect with other artists and makers. More artists are taking commission in their DMs, organizing projects through their profile, and finding new audiences and customers through apps like TikTok, but the constantly-changing online environment also has its own set of challenges for up-and-coming creators.
Clothing by Lars (@soeur__soeur); Photo by Michael Lee (@fixedwithyou)
Lars (@soeur_soeur) is a crochet artist from Portland, Oregon, specializing in custom sweaters, dresses and tops “for adults who simply can’t stop dressing like toddlers,” as their Etsy shop biography proclaims.
Having gravitated towards arts and crafts from a young age, Lars said they started crocheting during the pandemic as a way to pass the time. After learning the basic stitches and making a few pieces, Lars said they began to warm up to the idea of selling their work. Three months after learning to crochet, Lars said they began taking commissions.
Clothing & Photo by Lars (@souer_souer).
Many of Lars' creations are full of color, like their fluorescent granny-square dresses balanced by black or white borders, or their patchwork sweaters, where different size squares come together to create a quilt-like pattern of smiley faces, flowers and peace-signs. Lars said these are some of their favorite pieces to make because each one is unique.
A client will give them a list of designs they imagine on their sweater, and Lars crochets them one by one before bringing all of the pieces together.
“I’ve always wanted to have a business, and so I figured, this is the time to do it,” Lars said.
Clothing by Remy Durbin (@archivecraft); Photo by Liam Dunlap (@death2liam)
Remy Durbin (@archivecraft) is a builder and maker in Seattle, WA, who’s been making and designing clothes since 2016. Remy said she dabbled in many different art forms throughout high school and college, trying out woodworking, printmaking and painting with acrylics and oils. She said she always had a hard time picking a specific medium or style to work in, but gravitated towards sewing and designing clothes during the pandemic.
“Mostly I've been drawn to fashion because it's a really good medium to work with when you're confined to a smaller space, compared to woodworking where I would need a full lawn shop,” Remy said. “I was just trying to touch everything I could to see what felt right. And right now fashion is what feels right.”
Clothing & Photo by Remy Durbin (@archivecraft)
Self-taught with help from her grandmother and the Internet, Remy makes structured dresses, tops and pants out of upcycled, vintage and used fabric from around the Pacific Northwest. Remy said 1950s workwear is a huge inspiration for her designs, and she creates with the intention of making durable, long-lasting garments you can work and play in.
“My biggest thing is just making sure that you can work in everything, and having it all be pretty purposeful,” Remy said. “I like including lots of pockets and making sure things are functional.”
Clothing & Photo by Sienna Takabe (@snakibabi)
Sienna Takabe (@snakibabi) is a clothing designer and artist from Bellingham, WA, specializing in flowy, ethereal dresses and tops. Sienna said she also started focusing on making clothes during the pandemic, drawing from her previous job experience at a boat shop, where she learned to sew boat covers, and slowly started crafting backpacks and altering her own clothes.
Having spent a year modeling in Japan, Sienna said she draws inspiration for her brand, Snaki Babi, from the styles and silhouettes she saw while living in Tokyo. She gravitates toward gathered fabric, translucent materials and bright colors, creating dresses and tops with playful, organic shapes.
Clothing & Photo by Sienna Takabe (@snakibabi)
Sienna started selling clothes by accident. After posting some of the things she was creating in her bedroom on TikTok, people started asking if they could buy her pieces. So, she turned an old finsta account into an art account and started slowly sewing pieces and taking small batches of commissions.
“It gives me a lot of freedom,” Sienna said. “It’s really exciting when people send me pictures of them wearing my pieces, because I always wonder what lives my pieces are living.”
Since launching Snaki Babi, Sienna’s met creators from across the country online and found a client base in the Pacific Northwest, but it can also feel strange working alone in her bedroom day after day.
“People message me saying, ‘Hey I love what you guys are doing,’” Sienna said with a laugh.
“I feel like people see Snaki Babi as something bigger than it really is, but it's just me and my sewing machine.”
Remy said while she’s been selling pieces on and off since the end of 2020, it’s only been in the last month that she’s seriously considered sewing and designing custom clothing to be her full-time job. She said much of her client base comes from Instagram, where friends and friends-of-friends have helped grow her following by sharing her work on their profiles. With the chain of connections growing, Remy said she worked on about 30 commissions in July.
Clothing by Lars (@soeur__soeur); Photo by Michael Lee (@fixedwithyou)
Lars said over the last year, their business has also grown into a full-time job where they’re consistently working multiple projects at a time. Behind the fun of different balls of brightly colored yarn and the satisfaction of seeing their creations out in the world is navigating the Instagram algorithm, bookkeeping and trying to keep projects and clients organized in their one-person business.
“What’s hard is balancing me working and me not working. Like, I don't want to work all the time. That's not fun,” Lars said.
“But I love what I do and I'm probably going to do it for a long time. It’s the best job I've ever had with the best boss I've ever had.”
Clothing & Photo by Remy Durbin (@archivecraft).
Remy said the logistics of gathering upcycled materials, booking commissions to work on throughout the month, and producing projects each month, add to the logistical challenges of running a small business on your own. Remy said she stays organized through keeping different spreadsheets of client information and measurements, but it's challenging to juggle every aspect of running a small business by herself.
“There are times where it feels like I would like to just clock out. So I'll have to turn off my app or something and just be like, okay, I'm done messaging people back today,” Remy said.
“I have tendencies to overwork myself, so as someone who has that in them, it's good to constantly remind myself that I need to take breaks, and that’s okay.”
Sienna also struggles with having to be on apps like Instagram in order to run her business. She said while the platform is a great way to connect with customers and other creators, she sometimes finds herself overwhelmed by the strange isolation of operating a business over social media.
“I definitely have times when I get super grossed out with social media. I'm not always excited or happy about stuff and it really affects my business because it's just me,” Sienna said. “When I'm going through something, I have to keep going.”
Remy said in the near future, she would like to slowly move some aspects of her business off of Instagram. She said while the app has helped her grow her business thus far, having a business solely exist on the internet can be stressful.
“My main goal is to not necessarily shift away from Instagram because I do think it is a good platform for growing a small business, but I think it is important that your small business isn't dependent on it necessarily,” Remy said.
Lars said they’re excited to see how their business continues to grow, and they’re looking forward to taking on new endeavors, like a new project with their sister, which will launch in the Fall 2021.
Sienna is currently preparing for fashion school in Miami and looks forward to working with more sustainable materials so she can take Snaki Babi to the next level.
Clothing by Lars (@soeur__soeur); Photo by Michael Lee (@fixedwithyou)
Independent makers are at the tip of your fingertips every time you open social media apps like Instagram. It can be challenging to resist the temptation of purchasing mass-produced clothes from brands who’ve cracked the algorithm or made their way on your explore page, but consider supporting independent makers in your online community.
Next time you see someone repost a custom-made dress or a crocheted sweater, give that account a look, and maybe even follow them! You could be boosting an upcoming artists and maker and helping them fulfill a dream of never working for another mean boss again.