How This Small Business Owner Transformed a Hobby into a Fashion Career

Black Owned Business Series Vol. 3 – feeperella from SwayHeavy Productions on Vimeo

Felicia Perry loves what she does. There’s one part she loves more than the rest, however: a final fitting, when a client sees themselves in one of Perry’s custom garments for the first time. “You just see that light in them kind of light up just a little bit more,” she says, smiling herself.

Perry is a fashion designer and owner of Feeperella, a Minneapolis-based fashion line. Her most beloved pieces pair ankara, wax print, and other West African-inspired textiles with modern shapes and silhouettes.

Growing up, Perry’s wardrobe was full of thrift clothes that didn’t always fit right. She began altering her own clothes at a young age, which led to stitching full garments and crafting her own accessories. Her friends and family took notice and began commissioning her. As word-of-mouth surrounding her line grew, so did her confidence: “I started thinking, okay, maybe other people actually like the things that I make, and maybe the stuff I make is good enough for other people to wear.” Her sewing hobby had suddenly become a fashion career.

Perry hopes her business success inspires young people, specifically black youth, in her Twin Cities community to pursue their own business dreams. Her advice to young entrepreneurs is simple: Have a plan, keep educating yourself, and love what you do.

That last bit of advice—“Love what you do”—is vital to Perry’s own entrepreneurial mindset. “Being a business owner…. It seems really glamorous at first,” she explains. “You kind of see somebody for working for themself, setting their own hours…. You have to be committed to what you’re doing and really passionate about it so that those really hard days and nights don’t make you resent what you do.”

Watch the video to catch a glimpse of the Feeperella line and see Perry at work in her cozy home studio.

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from Fundera Ledger https://www.fundera.com/blog/fashion-career-business-owner