We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Elvira Zamora. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Elvira below.
Hi Elvira, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
I hope that people remember the brand as not trendy. Sustainable, unique, fashion, stylish and conscious shopping is what my brand is about and I hope that we could move the funds toward the pockets of small businesses and not large corporations. We have seen time and time again what the billionaires think about their work force and it is never going to change.
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’m Elvira, a Peruvian transplant who has been living in the US (specifically the 818) since 1991. I got into the fashion industry because of my father, he was a tailor all his life. He worked for himself and started his life over again without fear at the age of 50, it is inspiring to see that the moves he made paid off for his family. I design clothing using upcycle methods, this is a practice that many people do in Latin America, not because it is “trendy” but because our Native roots taught us that nothing goes to waste in this world and we must protect mother earth at all costs.
I am most proud of not giving up. After 20 years of being in business and all the changes, challenges, ups and downs, I have yet to throw in the towel and that is something I am very proud of, it is not easy.
Potential clients should know that I am here to help them out when it comes to sustainable fashion, reducing their carbon footprint and look stylish at the same time.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I used to have a store in the valley, unfortunately the rent just kept going up and at the time I was not able to take care of the store full time so we had to close. It was painful from an artistic point of view as I had decorated my store in a unique way to give our customers a look into my inspiration, motivation and style perspective.
You learn to make peace with things that our out of your control and we then moved to online sales and have been online and at pop up shops ever since.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
When it comes to social media, it is what I call the necessary evil. If I could, I would sign off and never log back again, however if you are going to run and grow a business that is impossible these days. It is how we connect, collab and get discovered. I have built my social media presence the organic way which I know takes a lot longer, but at least the people there are real humans and not bots. The only advise I have for business owners and social media, do not fall into the traps, set goals, stay on top of visual and musical trends and hang on, as it almost feels like a video game with ever changing landscapes and rules.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thrifs.com/index.php
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrifs_/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WDThrifs
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elvira-zamora-a33a7413a/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSKFcAQ4QaZJ65VUm1BV9Vg
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/wardrobe-divas-reseda-2
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/wardrobedivas/ https://www.tiktok.com/@wardrobedivas