Today we’d like to introduce you to Marisol Diaz.
Marisol, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I moved out to Los Angeles from Miami about two years ago to go to FIDM for Fashion Design. In the meantime, before I started college, I made an online shop, Made From Sol on Instagram, to sell some reworked clothes that I would make on my spare time. When I started school, I didn’t keep up with the shop much because my schoolwork took up almost all of my time, but once quarantine became a thing, I was already on the ladder part of my college journey and I began to put in the time once again.
I started making face masks in March right before they became a city-wide requirement, and the shop took off from there. At the time, my older sister Manuela, whom I live with, and I were out of work and nervous as to how we were going to pay our bills, and luckily, Made From Sol saved us. We completely changed the shop’s efforts to only producing face masks and soon, our home became a small factory for close to 3 months. Once the initial panic of COVID-19 started to wear off a bit, we began selling reworked clothes on Made From Sol again. We have slowly but surely been improving the shop by getting our California business licenses and creating our official website…
Has it been a smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road with Made From Sol. Normally, when you start a business, you have money saved up to invest in the company, but we barely had anything. We really only started making profit when our face masks started selling like crazy at the end of March of this year. We were investing our earnings directly into buying more fabrics and materials that were extremely scarce at the time. We used to drive up to an hour away on the hunt for fabric and elastic. The amount of masks we were selling was almost too much for my sister and I to produce alone, as I am the only seamstress. Luckily, our cousin John offered to quarantine with us and help us in any way he could with the shop. The first two and a half months of quarantine, we would spend close to 15 hours a day making masks. The work was brutal, but it was definitely worth it.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Made From Sol – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Made From Sol focuses on reworking vintage and thrifted clothes to give them a new life. This helps to essentially recycle clothes and keep them from ending up in landfills sooner than they have to be. This method of fashion design promotes sustainability and helps to minimize the negative carbon footprint that the fashion industry leaves on our planet.
I specialize in making affordable handmade streetwear. I wouldn’t necessarily say that our clothes are for either men or women because I truly believe clothes has no gender, but the majority of the clothes on Made From Sol are cropped sweaters and shirts. We’re mostly known for our crop tops, face masks, and very personalized customer service. We truly love to connect with our customers one on one and we truly remember every single one of them.
As a company, I’m most proud of what Made From Sol stands for, a more sustainable fashion industry without having to compromise style. What sets us apart from other brands is that I truly give my all to everything I create. I wholeheartedly love my craft and I never make anything I don’t think would last. Quality over quantity always.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I love that Los Angeles is so artist-friendly. Almost everyone here is chasing after a dream and the opportunities are truly endless. The only thing I don’t like about LA is the major issue the city faces with homelessness and gentrification.
Pricing:
- Face Masks: $10
- Tops: $15-$40
- Outerwear: $30-$70
Contact Info:
- Website: www.madefromsol.com
- Phone: 7865025011
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madefromsol/
- Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/J6KQ1rK/
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