We were lucky to catch up with La’Joya Orr recently and have shared our conversation below.

La’Joya, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My business was a bit of an accident! I grew up with a creative mother who made everything from her daily wear to wedding dresses, so it’s always been around me. My mother was an entrepreneur and always had women in and out of our home for fittings. We frequented the fabric store and I absolutely HATED it; perhaps because it felt like more of a duty than interest during my younger years. I’ve always been into fashion, but it wasn’t until around high school that I got into embellishing (now known as up cycling) clothing. I would add buttons or beads to jeans, and paint puzzles and abstract prints on anything I could. I definitely ventured into more unique fashion expression in high school, but didn’t really consider that it could lead to sewing. One day early 2014 I woke up and decided I wanted to start making things. I committed to making something wearable per week for about two months straight. Folks started to take notice and inquire about custom pieces. I put it off as long as I could because sewing for others was NOT the plan, but I eventually caved and started making basic skirts and dresses for family and close friend friends. At some point I was taking so many orders that I figured I should come up with a name and register as an LLC, still with no expectation that anyone beyond family and close friends would ever trust me to make them something to wear. My clientele is 100% built by word of mouth and now consists of random folks I’ve met at fairs, former clients of my mother who is now deceased, and friends of friends of friends…I’m still in awe of how my business has grown and the fact that folks really trust me with their special events and daily wear. By far, the most meaningful part of making custom clothing is that ANYONE can feel good in their clothes and enjoy clothing that fits like it should. It’s a confidence builder and seeing my clients transform throughout the process is priceless. It’s truly a blessing.

La’Joya, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Perhaps this was partially answered in my last response, but I’ll expound a bit more.

I grew up in a house with a very fancy mom on a budget. We didn’t come from money, but my mother had a way of putting fabrics and accessories together in a way that made you think she owned every space she graced. While I didn’t always appreciate my mom’s seemingly never ending creativity (she was upholstering furniture one week and tearing up floors in our house the next), I’ve always had an appreciation for her ‘grind’ as an entrepreneur and the older I get, the more I see myself turning into her!

There was only a short period of time where we got to create together before her passing. I remember not fully grasping all of the things she attempted to teach me – both because her illness didn’t allow her to be as sharp as she once was and because it was a bit advanced for me at the time. As my business has grown and I’ve been stretched/challenged by my clients, I’ve been able to see many of those things unfold. It’s pretty cool to feel like she’s still teaching me things in her absence.

When I started my business, I decided to focus on womenswear (I started with skirts and dresses) but never really narrowed things down to a target age range, which is one of the best decisions I could have made. I sew for little babies and more seasoned women and would not trade that huge range for anything. It has allowed me to acquire some of my mother’s former clients as well as make special outfits for little ones who aren’t old enough to talk. The process of making a custom garment for a client is just as much about the garment as it is the experience. I love learning about my clients, helping them figure out what they do and don’t like and what details (large or small) will make them LOVE their custom piece.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I wear my brand a lot. In the first few years of my business, I was almost exclusively wearing my custom clothing to church and I would also use my travels to get nice photos of my work across the world. Having an original design with a backdrop of Meteora in Greece kind of sells itself!

Additionally, word of mouth has worked extremely well for me. In all fairness, I am a team of one and I’ve maintained work in Higher Education for the last 15 years while also keeping up my sewing, so scaling my business has not been a huge focus of mine. I’m so grateful to have clients who post my work on social media and share my information with folks they encounter. My clients have grown my business!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I’ve definitely learned that there is space for everyone to succeed! I think it’s so easy to see other folks doing something similar and perceive it as a threat, but it’s best when we support each other. There have been several times where I’ve shared technique or given advice to other upcoming artists and it doesn’t take away from my work or clientele. Proverbs 18:16 says that your gift will make room for you and I wholeheartedly believe that.

My business has definitely grown my self confidence and helped me to recognize that celebrating the work I’ve done doesn’t compromise my humility.

Contact Info:

• Website: under contstruction
• Instagram: @casheta (personal) & @continent_skipper (travel)
• Facebook: Le’Lonnie Couture – https://m.facebook.com/p/LeLonnie-Couture-100063481331314/

Image Credits
Not applicable