We recently connected with Malia Sias and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Malia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I clearly remember a moment in the 80’s Me & my BFF from high school were walking around the East village. and we came upon this simple shop I think it was on e4th.

I don’t remember the name. But I remember the feeling I got when we walked in. In the back of the shop was an industrial sewing machine, a pattern table and a dress form. With all the makings of what I could only guess would become a garment. And in the front of the shop were 4 racks of clothing hanging on it for sale. And the simple thought or connection that I made that this woman was making and creating items and then hanging them on this rack for me…the customer to buy really struck some kind of creative vein in me…and I knew in that moment that I wanted to do THAT.

At this point me and that same friend had aleady been teaching ourselves to sew. We would buy McCall patterns from a thrift store and mess around at home. But seeing this shop showed me that this interest I had could actually turn into a real business.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

God. Where do I start? With over 3 decades of creating I don’t want to leave anything out. And that’s because I truly believe it was EVERY STEP I made that got me to where I am right now in this moment.

I want to say it all started when I as a child. Instead of a daycare my parents sent me and my brother to this pioneer craft art camp during the day. They would drop us off in the am before work and pick us up on the way home. I remember those times so clearly digging clay out of a stream to make pottery. or hand dying fibers and yarns to weave into a textile woven wall piece. We did so many creative things and as a child this was so impactful to not only to ‘do the crafts’ but see where the materials used in the crafts came from.

As I got older I harbored this creativity inside me applying it to everything I did. School projects, creating or trying to duplicate outfits I saw in magazines. I got really into the Grateful Dead in High School. Me and my Best friend bought sewing machines and taught ourselves to make dresses and started selling them in the parking lots at the shows. I became obsessed with creating items to sell. I’d sit in the back of my high school classes listening to lectures while I hand embroidered pouches with characters that I could sell along with my dresses. This really jump started the idea that I could create things and people would buy it from me because they appreciated my work.

This started me on the path to becoming a fashion Designer. I went college and earned my Degree in fashion. I graduated in 1995 which was just before we did everything with computers. So I had the LUXURY of working in the fashion industry when it still required trade skills like sewing and pattern making.

I had a bunch of jobs working in factories, I sewed these huge appliqued banners that you might see hanging in a mall parking lot during a Christmas season. I worked for a brand call SIN that was kind of the Patricia Fields of Seattle at the time. I worked on sewing things like latex nurses outfits. It was amazing being a fly on the wall at that job! I could go on and on regarding all the different jobs I held learning to sew, learning to pattern make. learning to fit a garment. I worked in the factory, in production, as a tech designer. But it wasn’t until 1999 when I was hired on to ECKO UNLTD to be a designer that I really realized what my full potential was.

It was during this time that I really learned the most about how the commercial side of the industry works. Not just the design but costing, sourcing, merchandising, sales, marketing etc. I traveled to factories abroad and worked with licensed product as the brand grew. This was before the 2008 financial crisis when companies functioned differently. I was able to have so many experiences that a designer in their 20’s would never get in today’s work environment. It was during a time when urban and street wear fashion was at the forefront of the trends coming out of the industry. Regarding my “commercial” work I am the most proud of this time. I worked on so many fun and impactful projects. Like designing the cheer leading uniforms for the Jets Flight Crew. Or seeing my designs show up on an actor on a show like The Wire.

Since that time I have continued to create items for other people in multiple categories of the commercial garment industry. I have worked with mens, women’s, kids, street wear, private label, luxury, etc. All these different jobs, all these different expertise I’ve picked up have lead me to exactly where I am right now.

I feel like I’m exactly where I need to be in this moment. It’s the Karate Kid experience. I’ve been painting the fence,, sanding the floors and waxing the cars my whole career and now I’m ready to kick some small business butt with Googly Eye Cru. It combines all the skills and intellectual property that I’ve picked up over the years thru all my experiences. I took a simple and fun street art hobby of adding eyeball stickers to things around the cities of the world. TO adding eyeballs and now tongues to garments for kids and kids at heart.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I find doing what you love is rewarding. I want to stay up late sewing.I want to get up early and start working on my creations. IT comes from my heart and my soul. My brand isn’t for everyone. But I will say this…The people that do get it…all react the same way. They walk up to my racks and start giggling. They look at the crossed eyes and laugh or they stick their finger in the tongue pocket of the tongue tee and giggle. If my creations can make people laugh and smile when they interact with it, then i’m doing something right. That is rewarding to me. To have people react to my vision in that way.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

It’s easy. Purchase from local artists instead of going to a big box retailers.
Don’t ask an artist if you can “get a discount” This is the part I don;t know how to answer or confront without sounding confrontational.

I have so many customers ask if they can get a discount for buying a bulk number of items. And by “bulk” i mean like maybe they buy like 3-5 items from my booth at a pop up shop or artists market. If a customer really knew what I went through to get that limited edition small run sweatshirt to the selling floor they would not ask for a discount.

Another thing that I don’t understand is a party of 5 will go into a local restaurant or bakery and buy 5 cupcakes or 5 dinners, with drinks and desserts. But they won’t ask for a discount. These are services rendered. That same party of 5 will go into macy’s or Zara and pay full price for those 5 sweatshirts. But if they come into my booth at a market I had to get up at 5 am to schlep all my stuff to just to set up for THAT day and they will have no problem asking me for a bulk discount. Like I’m selling wholesale goods at a fleamarket. It hurts my soul to get that question. I wish that the consumer would see the value in a small business and understand how hard we have to work. Often as a one person show. I work 3 extra side jobs to help fund my business. So that discount that you ask for carries a weight that can not be explained in words how heavy they feel when we hear the 5 words “Can I have a Discount”

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thegooglyeyecru.com
• Instagram: @googlyeyecru
• Facebook: @googlyeyecru
• Linkedin: @googlyeyecru

Image Credits
kids photo shoot @johnraljevich adult photos : @colbyblount