Today we’d like to introduce you to Ola Omami.
Ola, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Back in 2010, when I was still pregnant with my daughter, I couldn’t find any clothes for her that I really liked. It is much better now, but back then every baby department for girls had 50 shades of pink and glitter. As an alternative, there were some brands that offered black onesies with skulls and studs, which was not really my style either. I complained about it to a friend of mine, who happened to be a fashion designer, and she said “you should just start our own line. I can totally see it: clean, sophisticated, minimal, Jil Sander for babies.” This sounded completely unrealistic at the time as I had no idea on how fashion business (or any business really – I’m a product designer by trade, but at the time I was doing lots of design writing for magazines like Elle Decor, some curatorial work and generally was more on a theoretical side of it) but the idea got stuck in my head and eventually, it happened.
In 2012, I have teamed up with another friend of mine, graphic designer, who helped me develop brand’s identity and all the prints and patterns and while it’s been still a side hustle for the first couple of seasons but once we did our first Playtime NY, it moved astonishingly fast. The line was picked up by Barneys, we were in over 100 stores worldwide within a year, we had to switch production four times over the course of two years because our quantities doubled and then quadrupled from season to season and last year we finally opened our very own flagship store at ROW DTLA.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s never a smooth road! There are ups and downs pretty much in every aspect of this business, with production being probably the most challenging one. We went through probably a dozen different contractors, switching when we outgrew them or when quality and delivery schedule didn’t match our expectations. That being said, there are some great people we worked with from day one and whose dedication and attention to details is as uncompromising as I’d like it to be and I treasure these relationships like my life depends on them (because it kind of does).
Please tell us about OMAMImini.
OMAMImini is a kids fashion brand, aiming to create stylish and high-quality clothing for kids. The main idea behind it and what sets us apart from other brands is that while I design with comfort in mind, it is important for me that parents wouldn’t compromise on style when shopping for their kids. If they’re into contemporary and minimal stuff – their taste in kids clothing would be similar, and it’s been challenging to find before I started. I overheard a customer once saying “OMG it’s like Rick Owens for babies” – and it’s the best compliment I could think of and exactly what we’re aiming for. I’m also proud to support the local community and keep our production local here in LA.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My birthdays were always super special. My mom would make up games for me and my friends to play and I think one of my favorites was on my 9th or 10th birthday when she came up some sort of a beauty contest or fashion runway show where we could ride her closet (and she had some amazing dresses, custom made and unique) and choose whatever we wanted. It’s been a huge hit, and I was super proud to have such a cool mom.
Pricing:
- Dresses from $48
- T-shirts from $38
Contact Info:
- Address: 1329 E 7th St #136, Los Angeles CA 90021
- Website: www.omamimini.com
- Phone: 8186483225
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/omamimini/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/omamimini
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/omamimini
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/omamimini-los-angeles-2
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/omamimini/
Image Credit:
Katie Gibbs, Roneil Chavez
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