Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Crystal Holloway. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Crystal, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

I’m going to be honest, I’m not a risk taker and have never been one. I have always been known to err on the side of caution. I avoided learning how to sew for twenty years, because I broke a needle once and was too nervous to try again. I avoided public speaking in school, because it terrified me. I never wanted to be the center of attention, because when I was younger if the focus was on me, it was usually on all the things I did wrong.

I have lived my whole life with severe anxiety and for my whole life that anxiety has told me to stay safe and to stay small. Unfortunately this logic just kept me isolated and has made it so much harder to do the things that I knew would make me feel better. I have always had this love for fashion and design, but my anxiety would always stop me from pursing that love. So, with that being said, I think the biggest risk that I’ve ever taken is trusting myself.

I’m now twenty-seven years old and I am finally learning how to trust myself and the biggest way I’ve shown that is by starting Loose Fruit. It feels terrifying each time I make a new garment and wonder if anyone will like it. It feels terrifying going to markets and having to talk to people I don’t know about things that I’ve made, that are very precious to me. I basically feel uncomfortable 24/7. But it also feels so rewarding to sew an outfit and be like, “I made that!”. It feels rewarding to meet other creatives and form a community of passionate people. Even though the anxiety is still very much with me, I’m choosing to not let it decide my life. I’m choosing me and leaning in to what I love and that is the most rewarding risk that I have ever taken.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have always been obsessed with fashion. I would always cut out outfits from magazines that I loved. I remember one dress in particular that I had seen that looked like your typical black dress, but it had these slits in it that were held together by safety pins and I feel like that was the first time I came across the idea of up-cycling. Around that same time, I decided to try and learn how to use a sewing machine. My best friend and I had picked out our fabric and had prepared everything. Then, when the time came to sew, I remember the needle immediately breaking and I thought to myself, “Well I tried and that was scary and I’m never doing that again.” I was definitely very anxious and introverted growing up (not much has changed), but I always think back to the times that my best friend and I would go to garage sales on the weekends and talk about fashion while dreaming about design. It was always a comforting and safe space.

If we fast forward quite a bit to when I was in college, I definitely relied heavily on thrifting my clothes and really anything decor or furniture related. It was both out of necessity and also because I loved feeling like I was on a treasure hunt. I enjoyed finding unique and interesting things and I also loved taking the time to bring life into items that someone discarded or didn’t need any more. During my last year of college I made a clothing line for my senior project. This line was all thrifted clothing that I screen-printed designs onto. My main goal with this was to combine my love for fashion, up-cycling, and art all into one. I wanted to create designs with meaning and empowering messages that were mostly things that I needed to hear at the time and I hoped that it would comfort other people too. I would say this mostly turned out to be a project and once I graduated I didn’t pursue it after, but at its core, it was something that I wasn’t seeing a lot of people doing and it was also something that made me really happy. I knew that I had a good thing, I just didn’t know how to take it farther.

That brings us to a little over a year ago, when I conquered my fear of sewing and took my first sewing class! Once I finished the class, I was hooked. I found a sewing machine, thrifted some fabric, and bought a sewing pattern. I knew that I wanted to have a clothing line again and I needed a name. I wanted something that sounded empowering, but also a bit tongue-in-cheek, so I came up with Loose Fruit. I feel like it sets the tone to create clothing that is fun and sassy and bold.

It was and is still my priority to create clothing that is unique and fun and most importantly inclusive! An issue I have consistently seen throughout the years is size inclusivity with fashion in general, but also in thrift stores. You can find amazing vintage clothing, but can only wear it if you are within a certain size range. So that’s where I had this idea to start thrifting fabric and make clothing that is size inclusive. Our bodies do body things and our clothes should be made to adjust to us. I don’t think this is a unique thought, I just love cute clothes and I want everyone to be able to enjoy them as well!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson I had to unlearn was the idea that in order to acheive my goals, I could only rely on myself.

Even saying this now, I know it sounds silly or just doesn’t really make sense. Unfortunately, growing up I was in an environment where sometimes I felt like I could only rely on myself. I carried that feeling with me up until almost two years ago. That was when I met my partner, Nate. He was able to show me that I could rely on the people around me and that they would be there to help me reach my goals.

Have you ever had to pivot?

A time I had to pivot in life, was just a few months ago actually. I was working a full time job in fulfillment and shipping for a screen-printing company. I really enjoyed the people I worked with and the pay was decent, but the hours and the physicality of the job were brutal. I was basically lifting and moving forty pound boxes all day long. Once I would head home, I felt like a zombie. I would have enough energy to shower and eat dinner and that was about it. It also wore me out mentally, because I still had this itch to create and design, but I had no energy to express that creativity. This caused my anxiety to spike, which then led to me feeling very depressed and very stuck. I wanted a change, but was too scared to act.

After two years, even though I was incredibly nervous, I decided to put in my two weeks to find a job that would better suit me. It took about a month to finally find a job that better suited me. During that month I was so unsure that I had made the right decision. Day by day, I slowly gained my energy back and I started sewing. That’s when I decided to also go all in on Loose Fruit. So now I’m able to work part time doing design and the rest of my time is spent fulfilling my dream to learn all there is to know about sewing and making cool clothes!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @loosefruit_

Image Credits

Nate Skinner & Crystal Holloway