Ayako Igari started vlv style this year after traveling the world (much like Stratejoy‘s Molly Mahar) and discovering her passion for living life to the fullest. Rather than getting a tatoo, like many of her Gen Y peers, she decided to spread the ‘viva la vida’ message through a clothing line.
Website: www.vlvstyle.com Twitter: @vlvstyle Facebook: facebook.com/vlvstyle
What is your business all about?
vlv style (lower case to keep the symmetry and match my logo) is a collection of tees and tanks for young women. I want to inspire people with my motto of “vida la vida!” or, “live the life!” I feel that putting on a tee with my positive message is a wonderful way to start your day!
I only have a couple of designs to start, but the pink ribbon collection off my signature design is important to me and will be sold continuously. It’s an encouraging motto for those affected by breast cancer to wear year round. My friend’s younger sisters were an inspiration as they stayed strong for their mother throughout her treatments. I want girls like these to be proudly wearing my designs year round to promote breast cancer awareness as the bright pink ribbon stands out loud and clear!
What does your background look like?
I was born in Tokyo and moved to Hawaii in second grade just because my Mom always wanted to move to America. A few years later, we moved again to the Seattle area where I watched my single Mom work hard at getting us kids rooted and involved in the new community. I realized early on the importance of being independent and taking initiative to do what interests me. I never had a problem reaching out to people-I was always the new kid so I wouldn’t have any friends otherwise!
Professionally, I also have a pretty diverse background. I’ve done a lot of sales and customer service related jobs like waitressing, as an account executive for the University of WA paper The Daily, event planning and marketing. Teaching English and Japanese, coaching my old high school Lacrosse team and working at The Daily as an advertising consultant upon graduation form the UW are also on my resume, so can you tell I LOVE working as a team and with other people?
Why did you start your business, launch your first product, or build that community in the first place?
I started working on vlv style in November of last year. I always toyed with the idea of starting a tee shirt company but my thoughts last summer were consumed with ideas for it. I hate “what if?“ situations and the “what if I had started my own company” thought plagued me until I decided to go for it!
Viva la vida was my travel motto and for the last 5 years I’ve wanted to get a tattoo to remind me to live life to its fullest. Well, when it came to naming my company, viva la vida is tricky because it’s a saying, like c’est la vie. The domain was taken and there were too many random searches for the phrase! So I shortened it to “vlv” and thought it would be fitting add “style” to it because it‘s a collection of clothes.
What are your favorite things about being young, female and entrepreneurial?
I have 5 great girls ages 14-20 who are my brand ambassadors. I hope to be an inspiration and mentor to them as I want them to learn from me throughout the year and aspire to be a young female entrepreneur.
I feel like I can make some mistakes by starting small and though I hate making them, I love learning from them!
Do you have mentors or people you admire that you think of when making business decisions?
I admire strong people who love what they do. People who have the confidence to quit their jobs they are unhappy with and do something they love. This could be anything from traveling and volunteering to switching to a job they love for less money. I admire people who have enough guts to believe in themselves and make the appropriate move to change their lives for the better.
I decided to donate half the proceeds from my pink ribbon collection when I met a man who opened up a store in Spokane for breast cancer survivors. essentialwomanboutique.com He opened up my eyes to the cause and I am forever grateful to him.
The guys at Choke printshop in SoDo help me out a lot! Not only do they hand print my tees, but answer all my business related questions and always offer great advice.
What have been the advantages of being young and female while building your business?
I love that there are networks like YFE to bring us together! Through networking events, I’ve met so many other fantastic ladies who believe in themselves and have enough confidence to go for it.
Social media’s been great for words of encouragement on days where I am going crazy with a million thought by myself in front of my computer!
Lastly, the support of my parents as they patiently let me use the bonus room for inventory and providing a roof over my head while vlv style grows.
What are the disadvantages you’ve faced, if any?
An unsettling disadvantage with networking has been the fact that I am a young female entrepreneur eager to make connections. I feel like some helping hands have been more personal than business-related which, as a young woman starting out by herself is a bit discouraging. I’ve met some men who have been super nice and promising with leads but have cut me off after they found out I am not interested in a personal relationship.
Another disadvantage so far has been the lack of brainstorming power. I’m so used to working with other people and having a group to share ideas with! The combination of tee and print colors are endless and input is always nice when I can only print a few.
What is your advice for a young, female entrepreneur just starting out or in the research stage?
Go for it! Thorough research is great and lets you envision the possible outcomes but there’s nothing like actually trying out your ideas, making mistakes and learning from them. Tap your friends for advise. You never know if you can be referred to anyone if you don’t announce what you’re doing.
At first I was a bit timid to let people know what I was trying to do, but I quickly learned I have to share my love and passion for what I’m doing. There’s a difference in presentation between staying humble about your accomplishments and being proud of them. I know let everyone know what I’m doing because I’ve put so much hard work into vlv style and want everyone to know about it!
What is your drink of choice?
Tea! English breakfast, Earl Grey and Darjeeling are my favorites with breakfast or an afternoon snack. On a sunny day outside on the patio: Mojitos!
What can we find you doing when you are not working on and in your business?
Everything Seattle! I’m on the events/marketing team for The Seattle Weekly so I get to attend a lot of events around the city. I love it. A lot of my weekend tweets are live from these events and I get to meet and give out swag to my followers this way.
I have also started volunteering with the A PLUS program at the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club. It’s a fantastic mentoring program for youths in the area.
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