Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Elisa Yip. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Elisa, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
I took a risk during covid to offer a luxury price point in women’s clothing while most people in the US were losing their jobs and homes. I imagined most women would still desire clothing that were well made, comfortable and effortless. To my surprise, there were many customers that took the risk with me. They love the quality and style, which turn them to become repeat customers.
Consumers these days crave instant gratifications when it comes to shopping. When it was time to place orders for my first collection, I had a preorder with a wait for 8 weeks. I was nervous about the idea of a long wait, but they didn’t mind because they knew they were getting something. We also offered a 20% discount as an incentive for the wait. Essentailly, I created my own “Kickstarter” and luckily it funded my entire production.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I started my career over twenty years ago in New York City. My first job designing knitwear was at Liz Claiborne. After 5 years in the company, they sent me to Hong Kong to learn from knitwear experts.
During 2008, I moved to Seattle working for Nordstrom. There I was able to hone my skills in luxury knitwear using Italian yarns and built their private label business from $1M to $23M within 8 years.
After 11 years, I was laid off and decided to start my own business, as I saw a white space in the market for sustainable knitwear. I wanted to create a capsule collection that women can appreciate because of the quality and the way it made them feel.
Having witnessed the impact “fast fashion” has on the environment, I wanted to change the approach to design and how we produce clothing. Therefore, I created Sskein, a knitwear brand that has integrated sustainable and ethical value systems into the supply chain, design process, and the company at large.
The core value of our business will always be sustainability, quality and style. We only source ethical natural materials and use them in all of our garments so it’s better for you and the planet.
If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?
Yes we have a private label business offering other brands our end-to-end product development services. We leverage our relationship with our factory to produce high-quality sweaters using natural materials. It’s currently the smallest part of our business, but we hope to grow it in the next year by building our customer retention and acquiring new clients.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
This is a very personal story. The year 2020 was one of the toughest years of my life. My father and best friend past away and I lost my job all in that same year. There was a lot of mourning and healing. But instead of feeling depressed, I was able to get back up and refocus. Those life events reminded me life is short. So I started my own business. The dream of creating my own fashion brand. At that point, I had nothing to lose and it was the fire I needed to get this entrepreneur journey started.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sskein.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sskein.co/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sskein.co
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisa-yip-0052193/
Image Credits
Saileliza