Jae Lace LLC is the apparel and accessory line created by sisters Cassandra DeRosa @cassderosa and Lacey DeRosa @lacederosa. Their line includes phone cases, headbands and hoodies, all with a hairdresser-related theme incorporated into the design. Cassandra is a stylist in Central New Jersey and her sister, Lacey, is an artist. "With a pencil and a piece of paper she can make a masterpiece happen," Cassandra says of her sib.
Here Cassandra gives us a peek inside this emerging brand that has been a labor of love for the two of them.
What are your roles in Jae Lace?
We both run the Jae Lace Instagram account, which is where we get the majority of our business. Lace is specifically the face behind the cute packaging and personalized notes that go out to all of our online customers. She is also our main model for the brand because well, she makes every single item look super cute.
Did you come at this project with a fashion and/or design background?
Neither one of us have ever had any sort of fashion or design background. It was just simply an idea that came to us for the hair industry because of the lack of extra cute clothing for all of our extra cute stylists out there. With the hair industry being as big as it is, me having a large following on social media and my sister having a similar vision we decided, why not take a leap and positively dive into a little idea that could potentially be super successful.
How did you come to understand the manufacturing side of things?
It was a little complicated for me to understand the manufacturing side of things. It was a little bit of trial and error. It took hours of research and it was very time consuming. Lacey had to learn how to use a program from scratch she never used before which set us back a month or two from our launch date. It was stressful at times but we were determined to keep our heads up and get the Jae Lace brand out there so we did what we had to do to get it done!
Where do you come up with your slogans/designs?
The slogans and designs we come up with pretty much come from paying attention to our surroundings. We go off of what is popular and some of the lingo that people are saying on social media. To be honest the ideas just come flowing through our brains because as an artist, your brain never really stops working.
Do you hear fellow stylists say, ‘You should make a shirt that says …’ and then they give you suggestions?
We do get a lot of "you should make a shirt that says ....". We are totally always opened to suggestions and love hearing everyones thoughts and ideas. As business owners we also have to make smart decisions and be aware as to what is really going to sell and be appealing to the specific audience we are trying to reach.
What is your dream for your brand?
We most definitely have a few dreams for our brand. At one point we would love to be able to have enough revenue and staff to have a booth at every hair show possible and sell all of our items to all the awesome stylists out there! We also have a vision to branch out to not just the hair industry and have the line be for everyone! One dream we've had since the beginning of our journey is to be on the cover of Modern Salon magazine. At Jae Lace the only way to dream is to dream big. Positive vibes only. xo
See more of their designs at www.jaelace.com
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