Today we’d like to introduce you to Ahyoung Stobar.
Hi Ahyoung, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Early on in my youth, I dreamed of being a clothing designer, I would spend countless hours drawing ladies in different outfits. I was always really inspired by my mom’s style. She was always ahead of the curve and wearing Avante-Garde, sophisticated clothing, so that’s what initially drew me to fashion. Although I always envisioned myself as a fashion designer, my Korean American parents had other “more suitable” ideas as to what I should become. They gave me the choice: a doctor or a lawyer. My second career choice would have been a lawyer, so I was ready to attend the University of Washington with all of my friends. But then, I learned about FIDM in Los Angeles and thought it was the perfect opportunity to prove to my parents that this was the path that I was meant to pursue. I presented my case to my parents and after a couple of months of warming them up to the idea, they caved! With $1,000 in my pocket and my newfound freedom, I attended FIDM to later graduate with a degree in Fashion Design. Post-graduation, I began designing for a variety of brands. After seven years of gaining invaluable design experience, I was ready for a change and wanted to pivot my career into costume design in TV and film. I was fortunate enough to learn under the Academy Award-winning designer, Ruth Carter, and ended up being accepted into the prestigious Costume Design Guild. This eventually led me to working with the Wayans Bros as VP of Product Development for five years. After my time with the Wayans, I started my own clothing brand, Joah Love, in 2008.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would love to say that it has been smooth sailing, but that is simply not true. Being an entrepreneur, mother, and Korean American female designer is not for the faint of heart. The industry carries a lot of pressure, so you really have to have a crazy work-ethic and LOVE the business. When I first started Joah Love, I was a skilled designer but a novice business owner. My design experience guided me in bringing clothing items to life, but it did not prepare me for the step-by-step production and shipping process. I had no idea how to even invoice customers to get paid. Luckily, I was introduced to a woman who let me use a closet-size space in her design facility who walked me through the operational side of things. Things got a little easier from there, but even after 13 years of business, Joah Love has still had to overcome a few struggles along the way… most recently, combatting the harsh fall out from the Corona Virus pandemic. Last February, we almost had to close our doors as the pandemic had upended global supply chains, manufacturers shut down, and wholesale plummeted. I had to get creative, I had to pivot or face the possibility of losing my company. Taking a suggestion from my husband, I created cloth face masks and began selling them online.
At first, I thought people would reject such a foreign idea because, at the time, many Asian Americans were being attacked and blamed for the Coronavirus. Especially when they were seen walking around with a disposable surgical mask. Let’s face it, back then, if you saw a person wearing a surgical mask, it was a sign of sickness. Being Korean American, I knew we wore masks to protect others around us. It was less about protecting ourselves and more for the greater good to protect others. I felt providing a reusable cloth mask would be the only way people would accept wearing masks in America. So I set out to create a new fashion accessory category with our masks. Taking a few days to get the pattern right, I had our sample sewer make a few hundred masks and launched them on March 19th, donating one mask to essential workers for every one sold. This was a turning point for Joah Love. But it didn’t come without some backlash. At the time, cloth masks were so foreign that we got some hatred from people who blamed us for “profiting off of the pandemic” and “shame on you for making masks when the CDC tells us we shouldn’t be buying masks!” I just thought to myself, “give it some time, you’ll see why we’re making them” and kept pressing on. A few weeks later, the CDC changed its tune and started telling the American people to start wearing cloth masks. By the end of 2020, our sales had grown 1300% from 2019 and 80% of our sales in 2020 came from our masks.
We’ve been impressed with Joah Love, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Joah Love is made fully in Los Angeles, which is hard to come by in this day and age. As a brand, we prioritize timeless style over trendy. In nearly every piece that is created, we aim for a no-fuss design, avoiding hardware, buttons, and zippers. At Joah Love, we believe that you can be fashionable without compromising on comfort and functionality. Standing out from other clothing brands, most of our collections are gender-neutral, unisex styles that boys, girls, men, and women could wear. Joah Love is best known for both our high-quality, buttery soft fabrics, along with being one of, if not the very first company to sell fashionable face masks. We are proud to say that we are the originators of the #MaskUpChallenge which aims to encourage everyone to mask up, making the world a safer place. The #MaskUpChallenge movement propelled Joah Love to a place of success we had never experienced before, selling over 500,000 face masks in 2020. Joah Love will continue to sell masks moving forward, even after the Coronavirus is behind us. We truly believe we would be a less sick society if we did the selfless act of putting on a mask if we had a cold or flu. Asian countries have been doing it for ages.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I believe that as gender becomes more fluid within the younger generation that unisex clothing will gain massive popularity. I have experienced that Joah Love is a beloved clothing line for parents of children whose kids are navigating their gender identity, coming into their own. I think it is extremely important to prioritize inclusivity, especially when designing clothing for kids. Not every boy or girl wants to wear a blue or pink outfit these days. Parents are wanting that less and less also. And thankfully, this newer mindset aligns with our gender-neutral pieces. As for big shifts within the industry, I think the need for seasonal markets will be phased out. When you sell wholesale, you are taking orders and shipping months later. I think stores will slowly get used to buying more for immediate and loving the quick ship rather than waiting six months for goods. As E-commerce has become normalized, we are seeing more often that the consumers would prefer to shop directly from the brands on their phones. At Joah Love, we support this outlook and are excited to adjust our focus more on a DTC (direct-to-consumer) business model rather than focusing on wholesale. We will continue to offer wholesale to select stores.
Pricing:
- Children’s Clothing: $28-$88
- Adult Clothing: $68-$88
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.joahlove.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joahlove/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoahLove
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYTpOHZ-PoZPexFi6iQkrHA
Image Credits:
Photo credit: Joah Love
