We recently connected with Brittany Stewart and have shared our conversation below.

Brittany, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?

So many people in the clothing industry believe that taking breaks is unnecessary and makes you lose your customer base. I personally feel like sometimes taking breaks and going back to something when you feel like it’s not 100% makes you aware and realistic. Sometimes you need to explore life and different options to bring out your creativity.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Brittany Stewart and I am the owner of Sweats By Stew. I’ve been in the fashion industry for the last ten years and I’ve had a brand for the last 8. I got into this industry after dropping out of college to pursue fashion. I just knew that I wanted to explore the clothing industry and so I took it by storm. I applied for an internship at Ralph Lauren and then I moved to NY temporarily. After my internship I decided not to further my education but to start my own brand. I always had the eye for it and I knew what I wanted to design wasn’t much of at the time. Especially for women. So I based my brand around sweats and streetwear. It automatically took off, Once I started I did not stop, I stayed consistent and as original as I could. I started off with one tee and some jewelry and took that to full collections. Now I sell men’s, women’s and accessories. At one point I even sold kids clothing. I may have to revisit. Since I’ve been in the industry I would consider myself as a tomboy chic style. Being a woman in a predominantly men’s industry isn’t as easy as you think to stand out but I feel like I’ve accomplished that well over the years. The key is doing things you don’t see and making things that you would want to wear. I try to do the opposite of what I see everyone else doing. I’m most proud of my resilience. Running a business is far from easy, some may even consider this market over saturated but as long as you’re determined to win you will continue to.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’m currently in a pivot as we speak. I just recently packed up, closed my store and moved to Houston. I am now investing in my education so I can have something to fall back on. I love having a business and being a creative but I also think stability is just as important and so is education. Everyone may not have many dreams but I’ve always wanted to be a multidimensional woman and since moving I’ve had the opportunity to pour into something else and I’m very grateful I can do so successfully.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

When I first came on the scene I didn’t use a manufacturer at all. I actually had a seamstress sewing my sweat suits by hand and I ordered tees from S&S activewear and then got them printed. As of now I’m crossing over into a new way to not only save money and time but make more money by working with manufacturers. I learned all of this by taking chances. Working with people and trying them out is the only way to know who’s for you. Most times, you can just get a sample to see how good their work is and then decide if you would like to build with them. I’ve learned along the way to ask many questions, don’t be afraid to go over things repeatedly and pay attention to details, every single thing matters when making a product.

Contact Info:

• Website: sweatsbystewonline.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stewdiniii/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sweatsXstew