Close to Home: Made In Canada

Close to Home

How small business owners are changing the Canadian fashion industry and coming out on top 

            As I sit with Alyssa Kerbel, owner and operator of “Mini Mioche” children’s boutique, it is a cold February day. We sip tea and coffee as I nervously shift, trying to make it not so obvious that this is my first interview I’ve ever done. She doesn’t seem to notice, she prepares herself, and is all smiles, which is comforting. Unlike the weather outside, Alyssa has a warm aura about her, but still manages to come across very business-like. She is the type of person who would be a great friend or boss, but could be hard as nails when she needed to be. Nonetheless, she is open and willing to talk about the Canadian fashion apparel industry and provides some great insight on the importance of buying and manufacturing the Canadian way.

            To preface, Alyssa has owned and been the CEO of “Mini Mioche” children’s boutique for 8 years. Over those years, she has expanded her store/office from her original home of Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario, to the Distillery District. With two stores to work out of, she has been successful in providing mothers, fathers, and children with eco-friendly, organic kids clothing. Made and manufactured right here in Toronto, Alyssa is definitely an entrepreneur with a bright future still ahead.

Alyssa: “I actually had another business prior to this, I had a wholesale fashion agency so I was selling mostly adult brand of clothing, some of them Canadian brand, some of them international that were distributed to Canada. It had been about five years since I started it and I had my daughter. I took some time off, because you know when you run your own business you don’t get a maternity leave…”

Alyssa’s personal style is reflected in her boutique children’s line. What she has on, a plain white t-shirt and dark denim skinny jeans, are a staple that can be found in “mini” versions throughout her two stores.

Alyssa: “I just found it, I just dress a certain way – I am very casual, I just found it very hard, you know, I wanted to dress her [my daughter] in a certain way…unisex, layers, soft stuff, and I just found it very hard at the time (which was eight years ago) to find that for her. And so I decided to start this brand. Initially it was very small and the basics, which was the ten styles that came in a bunch of colours, and was just for infants…

…I decided that I really wanted it to be made in Toronto, in Canada, and be organic. I was selling products that were eco-friendly and organic at my other business and customers were responding well to that. I wanted to stick out from the other baby companies and brands.”

Being and entrepreneur and full time mother sounds tiring does it not? Alyssa makes it seem effortless though, and proving that she is willing to take time to sit down with a student makes her all the more wonderful. As we all know, the fashion industry has no standard workday, every day can seem like a completely different challenge. Kerbel takes these challenges head on in her own business.

Alyssa: “Honestly there is no typical day…it really depends on what’s going on that day, and what time of year it is, which is something I really enjoy about the fashion industry. Most of the time now, we have our office where about eight employees work. We do the online photo-shoots, website, everything through there. And so most days I work out of that and just oversee, and make sure everyone is doing what they need to do…

…I also oversee the production side as well, sometimes I will go to the dye houses and manufacturers. I do most of the buying for the stores, so this afternoon I will sit with my colleague and do the buying for the fall/winter orders.”

            In this day and age we know it almost impossible to survive without our phones and social media. A blessing or a curse? Alyssa devotes ample time to, and dedicates her boom in sales over the past year to Instagram alone.  

Alyssa: “My focus right now is definitely on our online business…there is a ton of opportunity still there to grow. We have all of our clothing made in Canada so it is NAFTA approved, meaning we can ship to the USA and do not pay duty or brokerage. Plus right now with the U.S. dollar, it is way cheaper for them. Our online business has doubled from last year and Instagram has been a huge driver for our sales…

…We’re redoing out entire website for this year, so that is one of our main focuses. The next thing would potentially be to open up another store, and if I did that, it would be Vancouver. I’m not rushing into anything as I have my kids and it is a little daunting to open up a retail store across the country. I would say it would happen in the next 1-2 years.”

As I am currently in a fashion education program, I wonder sitting across from this small-business owner, what education is the right education? Do you have to take a business program to start a business? Alyssa’s Queen’s University Sociology degree with post grad studies in Public Relations may surprise some, but shows that it only takes a good idea and a lot of drive to succeed in this dog eat dog industry.

Alyssa: “My whole thing is that if you are passionate about what you are doing, you’re going to be good at it. I was always very passionate, even as a child, about clothes. So I worked at an agency, which was my first job in sales/fashion. I had no previous experience, but I could sell…that was always kind of a skill I had. I then left and started my own agency after two years, and then started this. I don’t do well working for other people [laughs]. That was something I learned very early on.”

Before concluding my teatime with Alyssa, there is one more question burning on my mind. As an aspiring entrepreneur, I want to know her advice. What tiny bit of information can she give to students in Canada that want to someday do exactly what she did, start a business from absolutely nothing and have it remain successful in a world where most fail.

Alyssa: “A few pieces of advice; one is that you will always have people telling you that you’re crazy, and that you’re going to fail, but don’t let that deter you. You have to be prepared to sacrifice a lot, and you have to live it and breath it. It’s not going to work otherwise. If you’re not 100 percent in, an super passionate about it, and don’t love it, it’s probably not going to work out…

…I sacrificed a lot of things; putting off kids, putting off marriage. Planning when I was going to have a kid so it that it worked around my business. It’s hard, but, extremely rewarding, when it works. Extremely rewarding, even when just little things work, and that’s what keeps people going, is when you get those little hits.”

High Key She’s the Epitome of Canadian Celebrity Style

-->

ET Canada’s bombshell Stylist, Alicia MacNamara, on her first job, Canadian designers and her advice to future ambitious stylists

Beauty and brains, Alicia MacNamara is the Stylist for Canada’s number one Entertainment News destination, Entertainment Tonight Canada.  At ET Canada, Alicia oversees wardrobe direction and maintains her craft and passion for fashion design.  After focusing her studies on political science, history and fine art, Alicia graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor in Education and Masters in Teaching.  Alicia tackles both her passion for fashion and teaching by mentoring students through a styling internship program at ET Canada.

Between the masses of shimmering dresses on racks, two walls taken up by shelves of the tallest heels imaginable, another wall dedicated to the jewelry lining it sits Alicia at her sticky-note covered desk and day-planner.  I was fortunate enough to sit down with Alicia despite her busy schedule and talk about the making of her exciting career.

Creativity lives inside of all of us in different forms, for Alicia the fine art of seamstress and pattern making came to her naturally.  Not only brave but bold, Alicia’s first venture in the industry was a personal business, “Initially I did custom evening wear and bridal gowns for private clients” this venture showcased her couturier skills and grew her industry experience and network.  This experience lead Alicia to working in wardrobe, “In 2010, I became the assistant costume designer for Dan For Mayor: Season 2.” This experience set her career into high gear where she had the opportunity to work on sets of multiple television series.  Her lengthy resume includes working as Assistant Costume Designer and Wardrobe Supervisor for episodes of Covert Affairs in 2010, as well as wardrobe assistant for episodes of Against the Wall in 2011. 

Styling encompasses different job requirements in each setting and brings new challenges. When Alicia transitioned from television series to on-air filming at ET Canada she found that although they sound similar by both being on sets, they are completely different.  Rather than characters having their specific style throughout a television series, on-air filming at ET Canada is “Non-stop busy! There is always another event, we are always on television or working on editorials, it’s not like a television series or show that stops and finishes, it’s completely non-stop” this means that new dresses and styles change on the show in an instant.  Alicia scours every nook and cranny in the 6ix and beyond as she sources, bringing in new styles every day to create and assemble a vision that is as unique as it is stylish for the on-air staff at ET Canada including Cheryl Hickey, Sangita Patel and Roz Weston to name a few.

Being a Canadian entertainment news outlet, Alicia believes it is important to keep it Canadian with the show in terms of style, “Canadian designers are to be respected and spotlighted as the leaders in our community” she says, “we wear Canadian on the show because it is important to invest in our fashion community first.”  As a celebrity stylist in Toronto, Alicia keeps her personal style Canadian conscious, “I try, if I am purchasing clothes personally, to purchase from my sponsors, whether it is a Canadian boutique or a Canadian designer or Canadian brand.”  Alicia explains that working at ET Canada “Is nothing short of entertaining and when I do have that rare down time, all I want to do is get back to work”.  The passion she has for her job radiates from her presence.  To date in her styling career her most stand out moment is explained as the time she dressed Sangita Patel in a stunning white and shimmering gold accent cut out dress by Canadian designer L’Momo for the red carpet at the Emmy Awards this year.   

Passion fuels the journey that life takes us on and with the career that Alicia has built herself this far in the industry, she makes sure to pass the opportunities on to aspiring stylists and fashion students.  Alicia takes on student interns at ET Canada to give them access to experience and the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of not only the wardrobe department itself but also the opportunity to network oneself in the fashion industry.  Alicia’s words of encouragement to fashion students include volunteering in any fashion setting to network yourself, “you need to work on creative projects with whoever you can get involved, whether it’s volunteering to work for a designer or work for an online magazine, or even being creative with artistic friends who have their own passions as say a makeup or hair artist, whether it be on social media or in an online portfolio to show what you are capable of doing.  You have to develop an aesthetic and show your work ethic to set yourself apart from your competition”. 

East Meets West: An Interview with Eske Schiralli

Toronto can be described as a melting pot of cultural diversity. Being an extremely diverse city offers countless fashion trends to draw inspiration from. Cultural diversity enables individuals to become inspired and create their own personal style. Taking it a step further, creative individuals are designing and producing their style for a wider audience. One extremely dedicated individual that turned his dream into reality is Eske Schiralli.

Schiralli is someone who dreamt big and went on to accomplish his dreams. He is part of a group of like-minded individuals who are pioneering a style that can only be described as a ninja-esque aesthetic in downtown Toronto. He produces small accessories such as fanny packs and shoulder bags as well as offering a full garment customization service in lieu of higher-end techwear brands. Aside from balancing a full-time job and working on small passion projects, Schiralli is the co-creator of the Japanese-influenced clothing brand Index.

Schiralli draws inspiration from a wide variety of sources such as clothing brands, fashion designers, movies and television shows, magazines and even video games. He describes his personal style as “eastern culture meets western culture.” One keyinfluence him is the renowned Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto. He draws from Yamamoto’s incredibly well-crafted designs and projects it into his own work. Another influential designer is Aitor Throup, the executive director for G-Star Raw, who is known for incorporating technical fabrics to create outstanding silhouettes. As for influential movies, he highly recommends the documentary Abstract: The Art of Design, which showcases extremely talented creators in all fields from around the world. Art in general also inspires his work, be it more traditional works and photography or costume design for films and concept and graphic designs for video games. Schiralli is also heavily influenced by the people around him. Being surrounded by friends and like-minded individuals who share similar ideas and can see his vision pushes him to achieve success. Apart from successful designers and close friends, Schiralli is inspired by the world around him. He is always in a constant state of creativity thinking and simply observing the world around him for ideas. Even walking to the fabric store, he gets inspired by by his surroundings and jots down every idea that pops into his head to work on when he has the time available.

Schiralli’s motivation to pursue his work stems from finding what you want to do, then committing to achieving that goal. He began his career studying industrial design, which he found didn’t suit him. He then began incorporating clothing influences into his design assignments with his professor's approval. From that point forward he decided to pursue fashion design. Fully committing to his work, he managed to successfully start up his own brand. With Index, he wanted to offer people his personal designs that work with the expensive techwear/ninja style, while at the same time try to do it better. Having his own brand and being able to fly someone into the city to model new collections offers a feeling of accomplishment. His drive is to turn his concepts into reality, even if they don’t end up being successful, because at the end of the day he is having fun doing what he wants to do.

Schiralli plans to draw upon his countless inspirations and flawlessly blend them together into one style. For example, he takes a pair of classic Dickies work pants and creatively customizes them to his liking with his influences in mind. Schiralli’s creative ability has given him the opportunity to work with the very same brands that have inspire have inspired him to do what he does best, which is a massive accomplishment that many young designers dream of one day doing.

Eske Schiralli is one of the many talented individuals in the city of Toronto. He shows that anyone has the ability to turn their vision into reality as long as they fully commit to achieving it. Check out his Instagram page at @es._.ke to see his current and past projects and check out his brand at indexamo.com.

TREND ALERT: BRAIDS

TREND ALERT: BRAIDS

Spring 2017 is purely the period of the plaits and braids. Erdem, Valentino, and Kenzo redefined the braid. Channeling seventeenth century society girls, you will find braided buns entwined with ribbons by Erdem; Valentino darlings swayed their long tresses, weaved in loose braids, exuding roses, romance, and royalty; all while Kenzo models strutted fiercely in Paris with colour block eyes and one mean, tight, slick braid. Showcasing the braids in different styles and eras truly shows the historic element of the braid—the adaptability and timelessness of it. You can wear it so elegantly on a late-night stroll with your date or to a special event. The year 2017 is an ode to the Dutch Golden age, the Victorian era and the Parisian nightlife. In honour of our runway, we have rounded up a few of our favourite braids to wear this season.

1.     Double French Braid Bun

What is better than one, but two! The double French braid can turn the sweet look of one French braid into a sophisticated yet fun up-do. This look gives your face a clean finish, yet dazzles it with a braided garden when turning your head. TIPS: Divide the hair into three sections, twist the middle portion and leave it out.  French braid the other two sides aligning it around the neck and then wrap it into a bun with the rest of the hair.

2.Plaited Fish Tail Ponytail

This look is a twist on the causal fishtail as lets you bring the runway to the office by keeping your hair sleek, tight and put together. This slick look highlights your cheekbones and gives a serious sexy vibe to your overall appearance. TIPS: Before tying your hair, part it in two and apply some hair gel on the top section of your hair, smoothing it out to give you a sleek look. Bring the two sections back together and tie your hair into a low pony tail, leaving a lock of hair aside which will be used to cover the hair-tie. Proceed by making a tight fishtail that is about 10cm long.  To finish and tighten the appearance of the look gently rub moose to push back loose hairs. 

3.     The Side Braid

What feels better than looking effortless? Be effortless with the allusive side braid. This easy-to-do look is both youthful and edgy. Depending on how you style it, it will accentuate the outline of your face and soften your features. TIP: Wave your hair before braiding for extra texture. Keep loose ends loose and use styling crème to loosen apart the end of your braid.

Service Pieces

• Get Your Creep On by Amanda Demeku
• Cleaning Out Your Closet by Karlee Conlin
• Sneaker Shopping by Sean Karim
• Makin’ Green Love by Lakshmy Subramoniam
• Music Recommendations by John Obmerga

Celebrate Canada's 150th…in style!

CELEBRATE CANADA’S 150^th…IN STYLE! 

While 2017 may have started off on a grim note for many places (lookin’ at you, neighbours to the south), Canada was geared up to start the celebrations for its 150^th birthday. The country is celebrating with various events taking place across the country such as giving free admission to all national parks and a big celebration-taking place at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. But what about those who wouldn’t be caught dead camping or for those of us who can’t make it to Ottawa for the festivities? What about those who love to shop? And treat every day as if it’s a fashion show? Luckily, there’s more to Canadian fashion than just plaid shirts and the iconic ‘Canadian tuxedo.’ Read on to find out some famous and not-so-famous Canadian labels and brands. You’ll be celebrating your country in style!

HIGH END FASHION

Erdem: Erdem, born in Montreal, has established himself to be one of the most popular couture/high end designers. His super feminine yet edgy designs are a hit with everyone, from royalty (Kate Middleton is a big fan of Erdem!) to supermodels (Gigi Hadid).

Pink Tartan: Launched in 2002 by Joe Mimran, Pink Tartan has established itself as a brand known for its preppy and classic clothes with a girly twist. This popular Canadian line can be found in Holt Renfrew and Saks Fifth Avenue, or you can head down to its Yorkville flagship store to get your fix of this brand.

SPORTSWEAR/ATHLETIC

Roots: Probably one of the most iconic Canadian fashion brands, Roots is known for its sweatpants and sweaters. Upon its launch in 1973, Roots has expanded from a footwear company to the apparel company it is today. They sell women, men, and children’s apparel. So if you and your partner want to be #couplegoals…grab yourselves their iconic grey sweaters, and look super cute while representing the Great White North!

Lululemon: This brand was originally a yoga studio in Vancouver before it was transformed into its first store. With hundreds of stores across the country, anyone can be fit and look great while working out.

JEWELLERY

Foxy Originals: This line was created by two former students of University of Western Ontario. Their jewellery line is known for its fun, trendy, and colourful (and affordable!) designs. Their products have been featured in countless magazines and publications such as InStyle US and People StyleWatch and seen on celebrities such as Paris Hilton.

Jenny Bird: If you’re looking for something more understated and classic, you may want to check out Jenny Bird. Her line is filled with elegant pieces with a boho twist. It may be a bit pricier than Foxy, however if you purchase from her site then you’ll get free shipping. Or if you prefer seeing the jewellery in person before purchasing it, you can check and see if your local Indigo carries her collection.

BOUTIQUES/SHOP

Victoire Boutique: With three stores between Ottawa and Toronto, it’s easy to get your hands on one of the many Canadian designed apparel they sell. If you aren’t in Ottawa or Toronto, they have an online shop with their products. This store prides themselves on selling mainly Canadian-made products and aims to support the Canadian fashion industry.

Drake General Store: Drake General Store has various pop ups in many Hudson’s Bay locations as well as a flagship store in Toronto. While they’re known for their kitschy products like enamel pins of Drake and emoji inspired accessories, they sell tons of Canadian themed clothing. If you want to represent your home province/territory, you can grab one of their toques or you can get one of their infamous onesies.