By: @HasWCoastSoul
Hi! I'm: Areta @Areta
I'm the: Co-Owner of @LocalHeroes
I'm an: Pisces
I live in: Warsaw, Poland/LA
My fav spot in LA is: everywhere, I love LA! Every morning, I can wake up and drink my coffee and see palm trees, I'm the happiest person ever
A brand I'm really diggin right now is: LOCAL HEROES, duuh. And Goodwill finds.
I think the babe with the best style is: @ArvidaBystrom
Song I can't get out of my head today is: SoKo's new album - I can't wait for the 2015 release!
What inspired her to start:
Even before we had the brand, I always wanted to do something on my own. I never wanted to have a "normal 9-5 job"... I like the idea of being your own boss and doing what you like and what you want to do. Before that, I was always working for other people and I was just frustrated... Like I still love assisting, I'm always joking that I've been carrying Ikea bags for so long I have a special hole here [on my shoulder] for that, (laughs) you know like from carrying samples and clothes from showrooms.. Still you can work so hard, you can give 200%, but nobody will appreciate it as much [as yourself]. I mean, of course you can find a good boss that you can grow with, but it's hard.
We never planned to have a company, I never thought I would make clothes. I don't call myself a designer, I just think of it as "I do clothes." For me, a designer is a person who sits with a sketchbook and is very inspired and goes to museums and does a collection. [As for my brand] I think of it like, no, it's just clothes - clothes for everyone! I don't want people to treat it that seriously. I'm not even that into trends; We don't do collections by seasons. If you buy something, I want you to want to wear it for the rest of your life, or for at least a couple of years. It's more for people that have their own opinion. My dream client would be a person that is confident enough to not care about how she really looks, just have the confidence to dress how she feels. Like, "Oh, today I feel like wearing pastels or rainbow, even if I'm 25, I don't care."
Her advice to you:
"Love what you do and you'll never have to work a day in your life," that kind of stuff, "you only live once." (Laughs) I know it's super cheesy but really, go follow your dreams, do what you want to do! I always encourage people to do that. [Sometimes] they say, "Oh no, but I have to go to school." Well, school is also important but you also have to go out and try. Intern, assist, try in real life - before that how can you know that's what you want to do? If you want to be a lawyer or a doctor, you need to go to school. Other than that [for creative jobs], imagine somebody says, "I wanna be a journalist" but never actually writes anything, goes to school for 5 years, gets out of school, starts working, and then realizes that's not what they want to do. I think here maybe it's a little different, but in Europe, schools are [more about] theory and not a lot of practice. I would rather even take a year off and try as much as possible, try options, see what you like, where you see yourself, and then if needed, try to get the education. I've learned so much doing my own business that I would never learn at any school.. Even now, [in America] I'm excited that I have to start from the beginning; I want to intern, I want to assist, I want to try. Just learn and stay very humble.
P.S. Did you know Local Heroes is about to drop their new collection! Stay posted for it at their site. You can even follow them on Tumblr!
For more from Areta go to www.AretaSzpura.com
XO, @HasAlexandra_