Today we’d like to introduce you to Justine Siwula
Hi Justine, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Making clothes has been a part of who I am for as long as I can remember. It started when I was a kid; my mom is a hobby seamstress and she instilled in me a love for making. We would go to this fabric/notions store on Broadway below Canal St in Chinatown, NY to find clothing patterns and pick out the fabrics for them. Together we would cut out the pieces and sew them into a garment (I was tasked with the easy/straight seams of course) and it was a really fun thing for both of us. I loved dressing up, was very into style and I felt special wearing these pieces that no one else had. We also weren’t a well-off family, so making our own clothes was the best response to our desire for unique & beautiful garments.
Fast forward about 12 years and I’m still making clothes (still no formal training) and attending a liberal arts college that fosters my creativity and allows me the space and freedom to explore ideas without any real-life burdens. This is where I started to drape and design my own garments and also produce little fashion shows with my friends. The pieces I designed during this time were mostly non-functional one-offs, made without any idea of how to do it again, but it was the beginning of finding my voice. So, I graduated college (at the beginning of an economic recession) with a whole lot of passion, a dream of having my own brand, almost zero marketable skills, and a sizable amount of student loan debt.
For 4 years post-college, I simultaneously worked retail jobs to pay the rent and took unpaid internships at various fashion companies in NY. It was a grueling time of hard work and tough life lessons. Eventually, I was lucky to land a job at a brand where I had the amazing opportunity to learn how to make and produce garments from some of the best in the NY fashion industry. Pattern-makers, sewers, small factories, technical designers, production managers, and quality control monitors are the true experts of garment craftsmanship and I soaked up everything I could learn from them.
While I was learning on-the-job, I never really let go of the dream of having my own brand. I continued to make my own clothes and teach myself how to make & correct patterns using the skills I was learning at my day job. Finally at the beginning of 2022 I found the necessary combination of nerve and savings to take a leap of faith on my own dreams. I quit my full-time job and started to work on what would become SIWULA (I now work part-time for another brand). I launched the first capsule collection in March of 2023 and since then I’ve been slowly, slowly building the brand, finding its voice and its audience. Working on SIWULA is a labor of love and I have been pouring all of myself into it and really enjoying getting back to my DIY roots.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Oh, most definitely not, the road has not been smooth – but what good journey is? The bumps in the road are what teach us how to identify our true destination and generate the grit to navigate our way toward it. I don’t think it’s any big secret that the fashion industry is challenging. Fashion is primarily a wealthy person’s game to play and all ateliers come with their share of drama. I could tell a hundred tales of uncomfortable lessons learned on the job, but it’s not what I’d like to speak to here.
Honestly, the most important challenge for me right now is to continue pushing SIWULA forward despite financial risk. To nurture and maintain a level of passion for the project while also shouldering the responsibilities that come with having your own business. To have faith that intelligently following through on my passion will eventually lead to some kind of financial success. Not to harp too much on money here, but that’s honestly the biggest struggle for all independent brands and makers. Making and selling interesting, quality pieces is expensive, so is marketing them. We live in an age of over-production of cheap goods & well-funded retailers who can afford to sell products at deep discounts. Those of us who choose to do things differently find ourselves on a steep uphill climb with no guarantee of success.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about SIWULA?
SIWULA is a tiny brand that is dedicated to creating unique womenswear garments locally, using sustainably sourced materials. I do all the draping and pattern-making myself and I work with a seamstress in DTLA who assembles all the garments from development through production. I try to keep all aspects of production as local as possible – all of our labels and hangtags are made in LA as well, most of our fabric and trims are local dead-stock.
SIWULA will be known for creating sculptural garments that are comfortable to wear and are cut in quality fabrics. I aim to create dynamic pieces that easily fit into your wardrobe and are a joy to have on. I mostly find inspiration in nature; but also from art, literature, and costume design.
For now, SIWULA can be found on our Instagram and website as well as occasionally at pop-up markets in LA and surrounding areas. SIWULA does take custom orders should you have the desire! Profits from all sales benefit not just me, but also every other small, local business I work with as it allows us all to keep going. Everything you purchase from SIWULA flows directly through my hands – I review and pack each piece and ship it myself.
SIWULA is very much at the beginning of its journey, but I truly hope to slowly build a lasting brand that holds true to its core values of sustainable business practices, honoring feminine strength, and celebrating creativity.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Starting with what I dislike just to get it out of the way. Easily the lack of comprehensive, efficient and accessible public transit is what irks me most. The consequences of that lack are far-reaching and hold the city back from reaching its full potential. Also how the city can’t seem to get it together to fund and organize effective shelter and services for our unhoused communities.
Moving on to what I love – and what keeps a NYC kid in a car-crazed city.
Access to nature – the beaches, the mountains, the desert – all of it. They’re right there and offer sanctuary when life starts to feel challenging.
The produce – I go to the Hollywood Farmers Market 2 times a month all year round to load up on my veggies. The lettuce is so fresh it lasts in my fridge seemingly forever. It’s the little things, you know?
Lastly, the way the people of the city can seem completely disparate (like everyone is miles apart doing their own thing in their car by themselves) but then all of a sudden they rally together in a show of force and camaraderie that is breath-taking. Thinking specifically of the first women’s march in DTLA and many of the BLM protests I attended in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Watching people flood into streets that are normally almost completely devoid of pedestrians to stand up for what they believe in. It was during these experiences that I began to feel a strong connection to LA as well as a sense of pride in its people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://siwula.la/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/siwula.la/
