It all starts with an idea, a fantasy and a goal, at least that was the case for Amanda Healey, founder of the Vancouver based, eco-friendly fashion line designed from men’s up cycled clothing, Mulierose. Amanda discovered her love of fashion at an early age, knowing she wanted to stand out from the crowd. Recently, I had the opportunity of asking Amanda a few questions about her budding business, and finding out everything there is to know about the woman behind the name Mulierose.

1. What initially attracted you to the fashion industry?

I’ve always enjoyed making things, especially clothes because it’s not something everybody could do. I’ve been experimenting with sewing bits and pieces together as young as six, and always liked the idea of being able to dress uniquely in a sea of mass produced clothes.

2. Did you complete any internships or jobs with fashion based companies before venturing off on your own?

I’ve always made and altered my own clothing and done the same for friends over the years. Since I was about ten I wanted to be a fashion designer ‘when I grew up’. It wasn’t until I started meeting some clothing designers in Vancouver, and I had the support of some close friends that I finally went out and did it for others. I always thought because I had no formal training or internships that I couldn’t do it myself. But I was wrong. It just took a little more work to figure it out.

3. How did you come up with the idea for Mulierose?

I was after my boyfriend at the time to clean out his closet because he literally had double or more than what I did, and like most of us wore about 10% of it. He was getting rid of some button down dress shirts, and I decided to keep them for myself to make something cool. this was just around the time that I had started scoping out local Vancouver craft shows and needed an idea to take to market. It seemed like a good restriction to try to stick to, and so the idea was born. The name Mulierose came from a lucky exploration on thesaurus.com It’s a late 1700’s adjective that means ‘a man that is fond of women’ It seemed appropriate to me as I was repurposing men’s clothing into women’s so I repurposed the word as my label.

4. Did you face any challenges while starting up the company? If so, how did you overcome these challenges?

Anything worthwhile has its challenges; it’s what makes it so rewarding at the end of the day. If we didn’t have to try, everybody would be doing this.

My biggest challenge was knowing where to start. I had no formal training in small business management or fashion design, and no real role models when I was starting. I was lucky enough to have a full time day job that helped pay the start up cost, and ease up the stress of needed to turn a large profit to support both myself and the business in it’s infancy.

I overcame all of that by throwing myself into the water headfirst. I didn’t let fear make decisions for me. I did the craft shows, I figured out which were good and bad for my product and target. I asked questions, read blogs, took a few business courses, read a lot of books, and took even more notes. I tried lots, failed lots and learned quickly. I think having a background as a graphic designer really helped me hone my process for learning and testing new ideas, whether they were product or business oriented. That was my ‘in’ in this industry.

5. What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs or people looking to get into the fashion industry?

Be fearless, but be realistic. Do your research, set goals and understand the risk. Take a business course, or two. Plan, plan, plan but be adaptable when things need to change. Hard work is always worth it, if what you’re working towards is what you really want.

To find out more about Amanda and Mulierose, visit www.mulierose.ca

By: Layan Barakat, Toronto

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