We recently connected with Maya Avery and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Maya, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
When I was younger my grandmother had gifted me a sewing machine but I never used it until January of 2020 when I taught myself how to sew (my freshman year of college). I began to take apart some clothing in my closet and assemble it back together to learn how the clothing was constructed and how to remake it from scratch. I developed my skills and officially started my brand in June 2020. I am still new to designing and I would love to further develop my skills and knowledge. I wouldn’t change my learning process but not having a traditional design background is a bit frustrating because I am not sure at times what the next step is for me as a designer. For example, I have yet to learn how to make a professional pattern and other skills that design students would be taught. It is also difficult for me to find design internships because I am a biology major and not a fashion design major which is often a requirement when applying for internships. In the near future, I hope to gain more experience and maybe take a few classes to learn the skills I am missing!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Maya Avery, I am currently a junior in biology at Howard University in Washington DC. I am originally from Orange County New York and I am a fashion designer and owner of the label Insignia MSA. I started selling handmade clothing out of my dorm room freshman year as a side hustle until I developed my skills and realized I was more talented than I thought. In June of 2020, Insignia MSA became an official business. Insignia MSA is a slow fashion, subversive, dystopian, and cyber punk-inspired fashion label that provides high-quality, sustainable, and ethically made garments for futuristic individuals. All garments are currently handmade by me. My brand targets a niche audience with a dark fashion aesthetic which is a growing aesthetic but I have not seen many brands like mine that are also sustainable with ethical practices. I’d like for people to understand how important it is to buy clothes that have meaning and value to them rather than fast fashion clothing that is rapidly produced in response to the latest trends. Fast fashion leaves a huge environmental footprint and textile workers are exploited for their labor. I am proud of how far I’ve come from when I was hustling out of my dorm room to now two years later still hustling but exceeding my expectations and surprising myself as a designer and businesswoman. I wanted to be a dermatologist originally and never imagined myself doing what I do now but I’ve found my purpose and am happy that I am pursuing something I am passionate about that I can share with others.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I am enrolled in college full time studying biology and I entered with hopes of being a dermatologist. That plan didn’t last very long as I started to design clothing. For a while I was confused with what I am supposed to be doing with my life because being a doctor is a safe choice and I know for sure that I would have a great career and job to support me and my future family. So as I started my brand I was not sure if I could make a career out of it but I always had a feeling in my gut that I wanted to design full time. I never wanted to look back later and life and regret not following my passion and settling for something that didn’t truly make me happy because it was “safe”. I had to trust myself and realize that anything is possible and my dreams will only come true if I make them come true. Instead of doubting myself I set goals for myself and put in the work to achieve them. I trained myself to think that as long as I truly wanted something, I could have it if I worked for it and believed that I would happen, and it did. Dreams don’t come true overnight but with consistency and drive, they will come true as long as you don’t give up on them.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
When I first created my brand page I was worried that people would follow it and I wasn’t sure how to gain followers and get engagement because I also didn’t have much content to post. I began studying other people I aspire to be like, looking at how they started off on social media, watching youtube videos, and reading about growing a page. I learned consistency is key and that I had to go hard for myself because no one else would. I set goals to make sure I posted 3 times a week or once every day for a month and analyzed those strategies to see what worked. I had to make sure not to shy away from promoting myself and acting like I was already a big brand because when you embody and act like something or someone you want to be then you slowly start to actually become that. Big brands don’t worry about annoying people with posting, they post whenever! I also learned about Facebook ads and did some trial and error with social media advertising. I also use myself as a walking advertisement. I wear my brand clothing whenever possible and became my own influencer for Insignia MSA. Studying your intended audience also helps a lot because you need to know who you are posting for, what they like to do/and their interests outside of clothing (movies, shows, other brands they are interested in). With all of that being said you must stay true to yourself! I had to realize if I was making things for my initial audience rather than what I truly liked, it wasn’t benefitting me because there was a disconnect between us. Your current following may not be your intended audience and you have to attract that desired audience to you.
Contact Info:
- Website: insigniamsa.com
- Instagram: @insigniamsa @mayaavery
- Facebook: @mayaavery @insigniamsa
- Linkedin: Maya Avery
- Twitter: @insginiamsa @mayasavery
- Youtube: Maya Avery