Daily Inspiration: Meet Steve Janbahan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Janbahan.

Hi Steve, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Started in 2013 selling vintage clothing and up cycle designs at swap meets. Santa Clarita Swapmeet- rose bowl flea and Melrose trading post. Mid 2015 I meet my future business partner Sahar while selling at the Melrose trading post and we decided to start a company together. Our shared interests in fashion, retail, and community led us towards a company that we both established in 2018 called the pop up shop LA or pop up LA. Our goal was to create a daily space for our work and other designers, artist, and individuals who want a unique retail shop featuring their work. Everyday till now I’ve been working on developing a personal experience thru practice of tailoring and hand made designs that keeps growing daily. After ten years of doing it we have a store on Melrose that offers tailoring – hand made designs – vintage Tshirts – screen printing – clothing rentals – brand development and community workshops. Throughout the years we have helped develop lots of budding individuals into the fashion world of Los Angeles. For example: Daniel Ochoa founder of Toth 660 clothing began developing his brand thru our stores and since has become a staple of the Los Angeles fashion community. Many other individuals have found our space to be a place for their creative output developing their identity thru fashion and arts. We have dressed hundreds to thousands of people the past ten years, and we hope to continue for a lifetime. Some notable individuals who wear our designs are: Machine Gun Kelly, Demi Lavato, lil Wayne, Avril Lavigne, Halsey just to name a few. As of now both Sahar and I look forward to the future and continue to hand make every piece with a personal touch infused with our love and personal energy, so those who visit always get something fresh and new.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
You can’t get something for nothing, and so this has been a tuff ride, and to tell you the truth it’s been the hardest experience I’ve ever encountered. Running a business and having a partner seems like the dream of a lifetime, and though it is it comes with great responsibility. Some challenges throughout the years have been met with the belief that hard work, dedication, and practice will overcome most obstacles. To name a few, first: learning to design, tailor, and make patterns to keep up with the demand of our customers is an ongoing challenge. Running a store front is also a challenge from sourcing all the materials like vintage items, fabrics, and accessories to paying taxes on time – it never stops. Finding funding for our pop ups and workshops has been a challenge cause most of the individuals who want lessons or a store to show case there work are limited with funds. To see it thru both Sahar and I must put more time and energy into making this opportunity come to life for those who want a place to grow and enjoy. using our own resources most of the time makes things harder on our personal lives. It’s tough times usually but its all worth it at the end of the night knowing you made a difference even if its a small one. The biggest set back for me personally was when I lost my mom to covid a few years back. My mothers name was Farah Taylor, she was my back bone and gave me lots of encouragement to never give up. My love for her and wanting to prove I can make it work gave me the strength to continue – her spirit lives thru my work. During covid we had the hardest of times from being closed and still having to pay rent. We had to figure out different ways to make it work so we launched a website and more personal experiences such as delivering custom made fits to clients and appointment based interactions. Once we were able to officially reopen we have pushed harder and one big reason is due to the lack of people visiting Melrose after the pandemic. we continue to offer an experience that is original and something locals and those who visit LA deserve

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Hand making original clothing. Creating fresh patterns. Tailoring on the spot for those who walk into the store and need things done immediately. Art illustration and silk screening. Sourcing vintage shirts (that are very hard to find). Teaching and training young artist in the field of fashion and retail hosting pop ups and workshops for individuals with an art extension. I believe a community leader who is available daily for those who need leadership is something to be proud of. What sets me apart is simple that I have made it thru all the hard times and continue to put a smile on my face and others doing what I love and hold dear.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I’m love listening to jazz music and playing it on my free time

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.PopUpshopLA.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/thepopupshopla
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/popupshopla
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@popupla7787