We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Samiha Brown. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Samiha below.

Samiha, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I have always been an artist. I’m the happiest when I’m creating and learning. My clothing brand Hemloya started with this idea, that I want to be able to wear these art pieces that I create. But the birth of Hemloya didn’t happen overnight. It happened because of a slow yet painful understanding that I was deeply unhappy. Back in 2020, I was burnt out of my Architecture job. I was originally trained as an architect, went to school for it, then graduated and practiced it for 6 years. But it took me 6 years to realize that I wasn’t meant to for this job. I worked 50-60 hour weeks, then came home and painted in the evenings and weekends. It was then that I started to realize, that I felt happier when I was painting. Something needed to change. But I wasn’t sure what was my next step. I had no plan. But staying where I was more painful. So in 2020 I took a leap of faith and quit.

I took a yearlong sabbatical. During this time, I started doing art commissions. Did some freelance work. Dipped my feet into e-commerce. Made the life changing decision to move from Houston to Seattle with my partner. All along, I kept ignoring this nagging urge to create something for myself. I finally gave into that inner voice and founded Hemloya early 2022.

I felt like this would work because people liked my art and they liked the way I dressed. I love to dress very colorfully. I never shy away from bold colors. That’s where I saw the opportunity. I wanted to create a clothing brand that helps people express themselves with art and colors.

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

Hemloya is a colorful clothing brand for nature lovers. Color and nature is at the core of it. At Hemloya, each textile print is hand drawn by me. Each print tells a story with elements from nature, painted with bright expressive colors. It takes many hours and countless iterations to create a piece. It begins as an idea sketched on paper then saturated with colors using a combination of traditional and digital mediums.

Each artwork takes somewhere between 36-48 hours to develop from it’s inception to a full pattern. I inject my artistic expression in it every step of the way. After the patterns are ready, a team of skilled tailors help me create each piece into a beautiful timeless silhouette.

Hemloya’s textile patterns are colorful, unique, and packed with personality!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I think resilience comes from making many mistakes. It’s like a muscle you build. You make a mistake, then you step back and learn from it, and then try something different.

When I started my business I had no idea how hard it would be or how there is not much support system when you’re an entrepreneur. You have no one to rely on but myself and my gut feeling. I’m a one woman show at this point in my business. I never went to business school. For me to learn a completely new skill set and make executive decisions for my business felt utterly daunting.

So to be able to make mistakes on a daily basis, learn from them, and make better choices was a process I needed to get comfortable with. That was the true testament of resilience.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I was afraid to take a leap and try something else more aligned to my calling. My thought process was, well I spent 5 years getting a degree in Architecture, then 6 years working at it. No point starting something new, because I had spent so much time and energy into it. All that work would have been for nothing. I had to definitely unlearn that mindset. I was not capable of stepping back and look at the bigger picture. Just because you set out on a certain path, doesn’t mean you can’t pivot and take a new one. You can always start something new.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hemloya.com
• Instagram: @hemloya_
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/hemloya
• Youtube: @hemloya