We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Luis Ruiz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Luis below.

Alright, Luis thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

Petra Stellam was created in 2019 with the idea of designing garments that we can wear and ultimately take pictures of our designs to showcase. Creating a brand or any type of company at that takes a lot of planning and preparing to make sure everything is how you intend it to be. However with all that planning you need to take action to your ideas and start somewhere. As a clothing brand Petra Stellam didn’t receive much recognition for the designs and the hard work we put into every photoshoot we did, but that just meant we needed to review what can be improved. We started of by doing photoshoots that were directed and curated by us which allowed us to fully showcase our ideas and helped establish who we are as a brand. Eventually we began designing an entire collection to showcase at our first runway show. Working on a collection for a runway show can be very nerve wracking because it is like leaving a good/bad first impression on the audience. Networking is very important in any industry in general for connections, referrals, and possible opportunities. We continued to release new collections and showcase at more runway shows. What we learned is that the more photoshoots, the more collections being designed, and the more we do Runway shows the more we continue to grow as a brand by learning how to improve.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I am Luis Ruiz head designer of Petra Stellam. A part of me has always had a love for fashion at a young age and it continued to evolve. Around 2019 I created Petra Stellam with the idea of the brand being a contemporary clothing brand that created conceptual garments. We do our best to ensure that every product we create continues to become better in quality than before. We care so much on our clothing being good quality. We are most proud of the appreciation and love we get from our supporters who love our work. As a brand our values are set to create and design clothing that can be seen as pieces of artwork and make the customers feel apart of what we do.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me the most rewarding Aspect of being an artist is finalizing and showcasing what has been worked on for months. Finally seeing the end result of the creation is what gives me excitement in clothing design and seeing the worlds reaction to what i created whether they enjoy it or dislike it. There is so much more than just design garments for your brand but an important factor is the finalization of the entire idea. So how will it be showcased? How can the photoshoot or the runway show encapsulate the idea of the collection? I feel like i have to give 100% from A to z starting with the design process to garment construction then leading to how it will be showcased.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building your support base and your social media has been accumulated over the years. it can be difficult to grow your audience doing it alone. We have worked with many well known creatives from houston such as Models, photographers, and videographers. Working with other people allows you to also connect with their audience in a way. Doing Runway shows help us grow our audience as well. Showcasing our garments in front of all the people in the seating can also help grow your audience and be a marketing strategy. When our garments and ideas connect with the people in the crowd they tend to take pictures show their friends or post on social media and follow us. There isn’t one specific way to gain a bigger audience but rather many ideas that add together.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.petrastellam.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/petratellam_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvTeebf5akrwaJYHylhnqDQ

Image Credits
Photographer: Nicole Wilson (The white background rope dress) Photographer: Hope Obadan