Meet Stoney Michelli of STUZO CLOTHING in Mid City

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stoney Michelli.

Stoney, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Stuzo originally began in 2008 as mere sketches as I was working on my B.F.A. I designed logos based on true thoughts, emotions and events occurring in my life. As I looked at the designs, I realized that I had to put them on t-shirts and get them out to the world. As a native of N.Y., I began to sell my designs at parades and events. Although I appreciated the small success of that grind, I needed more. A year later, I met a woman that would become my partner. We met on Christmas of 2009 and began dating. As we shared moments, I showed her my designs and she fell in love. I also told her I have a desire to move to California and take the business there. Reluctant to her response, it turned out we shared the same dream! The following year we moved from N.Y. to L.A., she became my partner, and Stuzo became a duo!

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?
Owning and running a business is never a smooth road. We’ve had challenges trying to balance our work relationship and business relationship. Although we clashed at times, we prevailed and found that we create beautiful clothing at the core of it all. Also, we’ve had typical obstacles of getting our brand off the ground and making a name for ourselves. Fortunately, we’ve overcome that and are on the right track to building a worldwide brand!

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Our company is the first genderless clothing line to date. We make clothes for the bold at heart and not for a specific gender, and that is what sets us apart from the rest. Being from Panama and my partner from Nigeria, we specialize in custom pieces made from fabrics imported form our countries and continent. It’s very important to us to show every side of us through our designs. One accomplishment that we’re most proud of is showing at NYFW at Dapper Q’s ID show. Last year we debuted our Fall line “The X Collection” which was huge being that we’re from New York.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was very quiet and somewhat shy. Due to unfortunate events, I was silenced and suppressed a lot of my thoughts and joy. I drew and traced pound puppies, on my terrace while listening to music, to pass my time. I also sewed fabrics on my cabbage dolls which was a favorite thing for me too. I put a lot of my frustrations and passions for life into my art and hobbies. It was a great release and escape from reality. Still till this day, it gets me through when times are rough.

Contact Info:

• Address: 4751 W.Washington Blvd.,
  Los Angeles, CA 90016
• Website: www.stuzoclothing.com
• Phone: 323.917.5050
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stuzoclothing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stuzoclothing?ref=bookmarks
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/STUZOCLOTHING
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/stuzo-clothing-los-angeles

Image Credit:
Molly Adams

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