Today we’d like to introduce you to Estella Park.
Estella, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Coming from a background with a strongly rooted family business of five generations, the most often asked question I get is, “Did I always know I wanted to take over this family business?” And contrary to what most people think, I was actually never pressured in any way to take over the family’s business.
In fact, whenever I did poorly in school or I didn’t do my homework, I would be punished and threatened that I’ll start working at her store and learn how to sew. The reason for this was because when my mother made the difficult decision to leave all her family and friends to immigrate here from South Korea, she had dreams that my brother and I would have professional careers in what Koreans still deem as respected and valued, such as in medicine, law, or politics
Hence, that is the reason why I continued on to graduate from UC San Diego with a major in Economics because while I initially had been on the path of becoming a doctor, I later realized medicine was not for me and in fact I had an innate passion for business and people. During my college years, I thankfully had an epiphany to pursue my strengths and passions for the sake of my own happiness.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, it definitely has not been a smooth road as being someone with two cultural identities typically creates a conflict of different cultural values.
For example, I have certain elderly clients who are more strongly rooted in the traditional Korean mentality, and usually, think it is normal to haggle on a price because that is a cultural norm in Korea. Here in the States, you can’t walk into Nordstrom’s or Macy’s and try to haggle with the sales associate for half an hour to get a discount because you think you deserve it.
When I try to lay down these more ‘American’ rules, I sometimes face backlash that either I wasn’t properly culturally educated or that I’m just being rude. And it’s definitely hard to try to run a business with both cultural mentalities because sometimes they just naturally conflict.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with LEEHWA Wedding & Traditional Korean Dress – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Ever since I can remember, massive rolls of colorful silk fabrics, hundreds of multi-colored spools of thread, and the constant hum of sewing machines had always surrounded me during my childhood, as my mother is the designer and founder of LEEHWA, the largest Korean traditional dress (Hanbok) salon here in LA.
For five generations, the Hanbok trade has been embedded in my genealogy and passed down to each woman of our family line. My mom was the first to bravely bring this family artisanal trade to Los Angeles and open the now largest running Hanbok business here in the United States.
It gives me so much pride to receive such a history rich inheritance that allows me, as an American-born Korean, to serve as the bridge between the 2nd generation natives and our embedded cultural heritage. Being born here, I have the natural ability to empathize and connect with like-minded Korean Americans seeking to keep in touch with their ethnic roots.
Thankfully also being bi-lingual, I’m able to connect the Americanized bride & groom with their more traditional Korean parents, by bringing them and helping them meet at the middle ground when it comes to creating their perfect ceremonial outfits.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Taking over our small traditional family business with both backgrounds of the Korean and American wedding industries, I have been instilled with a forever passion to one day perfectly converge the best qualities and services offered from both sides.
For example, a notable trend in the Asian wedding industry is to rent their wedding gowns. I have recently added a huge selection of traditional, white American wedding dresses into our salon to expand our consumer market and also to introduce an amazing and efficient Asian concept of creating fewer footprints in our world.
By renting a normally very expensive dress that is only worn once, brides not only save money, but most importantly her valuable time because everything becomes all-inclusive when it comes to renting (such as alterations, the veil, and accessories). Not only can the bride rent the dress, but also she can add on different all-inclusive packages with the best wedding vendors all categorized into different price points, which allows affordability and ease.
My dream is to create efficiency and affordability for the newly engaged bride by tying in my Korean traditional wedding background and to essentially help facilitate a newlywed’s planning process.
Pricing:
- Renting Wedding Dress: $500 – $2,000 (includes all alterations, veil rental, accessory rental)
- Buying Wedding Dress: $1,000 – $3,000
- Renting Hanbok Dress: $150 – $500
- Custom-making Hanbok Dress: $500 – $5,000
Contact Info:
- Address: 555 S Western Ave. Suite #210 Los Angeles, CA 90020
- Website: www.leehwawedding.com
- Phone: 213-703-0535
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @leehwawedding // @estella_park
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/leehwawedding
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/leehwa-wedding-and-traditional-korean-dress-los-angeles
Image Credit:
Timo Sumida (TySu Photography), Minh Hoang, Taylor Yu Look Photograhy, Luka Olex
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