By Lorecelle Villaroya
Fast fashion items are indeed fast— there are a lot that get released frequently and most people tend to hop on the trend. However, there are some people who also mind their budget and the sustainability factor of every purchase they make so they stay on the sidewalks while people are chasing after what’s on the pedestal.
Come the pandemic, many people have started out businesses to fend for what they lost– livelihood, family, and sense of time, among many others. Among those that have surfaced in the fashion industry during the pandemic are businesses that are trying to suffice for all that fast fashion items are not. There are many fashion businesses who produce apparels made from recycled materials and even those that are sustainable. Aside from that, they’re packaging is also reusable, recyclable, and is non-plastic. But beyond its sustainability, apparel shops are also becoming an outlet for one’s passion and creativity.
What’s more to that? They’re manufactured locally.
Among the businesses that took its way into the digital world is Shainna B. It is an apparel shop that mainly sells coords, sleep wears, lounge wears, and shirts that are all locally-made. And beyond the fact that Shainna B is locally-made, it is a haven for passion projects and some spiritual aspects as well. In fact, what you can see first on the top of their Instagram page is a shirt that says Pinaagi Niya, Dili Nako which directly translates into “not I but through Him” in the English language. A phrase that the woman behind the business strongly resonates with.
The selling crapshoot of Shainna B started on the owner’s 22nd birthday when she wanted her own sleepwear. Eventually, what started as a desire for herself has become an opportunity to share it to others. Along the way, people she doesn’t even know personally have started reaching out to her about the apparels she only used to sell to her Facebook friends.
What started as a desire for herself has become an opportunity to share it to others
When asked about how Shainna B is different from other apparel shops that have also mushroomed and boomed during the pandemic, Shainna explained: “Shainna B is more than just a shop.” Beyond the apparel that it houses, it is also a creative outlet to different passionate people who love to bleed through art and their creativity. The shop was built from calculated, or more like impulsive, decisions and experiments in terms of what may or may not sell well. And all that? Just for fun.
Not taking the business down to its technicality doesn’t mean the woman behind Shainna B is taking it for granted. In fact, even despite the constant experimentation on how the brand will be presented and on what items will be put to sale, Shainna is extremely grateful for how the profitability of the business is still fruitful. It was indeed a crapshoot that has sided onto the positive aspect of doing business. Creativity has always been at the top of the list with how the Shainna carries the brand and yet, profits are coming and so do shares which is what keeps the business going, according to her.
Creativity has always been at the top of the list with how the Shainna carries the brand
And in spite of being just a training ground for the learning ropes of anything business and transactions, Shainna B subtly and lowkey-ly grew from just simple and small straightforward transactions in a personal account into a blooming Facebook page to reach more people with its sleepwears then. And later on, it has become what is now seen as Shainna B is on Instagram– receiving all the support and love that I can certainly say, it deserves.
According to the Shainna, the shares have made all the difference for her in terms of how the shop has continuously received support even all the despites and in spites. In fact, she says word of mouth is the queen of organic business which I’m sure marketing specialists from Starbucks can attest to. I mean, you’ve never seen an ad from and for Starbucks, right?
Even just relying on a couple of shares from people who genuinely believe in Shainna B, the business is not hanging by a mere hair strand. In fact, it is hanging by a strong rope and steel chain because of how the she has just simply watered the seed that He has planted for her. And in spite of benefiting from its harvest, the woman behind Shainna B did not take the credit. Quoting her, “Not I but through Him.”
What started as just a simple want for a sleepwear one birthday has given birth into a business that allows people to channel out their creativity and spirituality. Because more than just being a sustainable and locally-made apparel shop, Shainna B is indeed an outlet for anyone creative.
Lorecelle Villaroya is currently studying at La Salle Academy in Mindanao. When she’s not writing or doing school work, she is probably watching Grey’s Anatomy. Again. Lorecelle is one of Team Love Club‘s main characters, and a hero to her own epic story, too! She’s also a concerned mamamayan and you can read her article on why you should vote in halalan 2022.
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