Today we’d like to introduce you to Khasia.
Hi Khasia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story starts at the University of Tennessee, where I studied Retail and Consumer Sciences with a dream to one day be a buyer for a fashion company in a big city. After spending a summer interning in New York, I realized that while my love of fashion was still as strong, the big city wasn’t for me. Post college, I worked a few fashion jobs in Knoxville & Denver, but found myself feeling unfulfilled. I wanted to create something of my own. As a result of planning ideas for my own company, I started Dónde out of a love for clothing and expressing yourself through fashion. Not only that, but I realized the amount of waste and consumption in the industry causing so many negative domino effects, where I wanted to be part of a solution. The solution starting with the people making the clothing, the conditions of the factories, how the garment is made, what it is made of, and where it was made. That’s where the name Dónde came from – asking where the clothing came from, which encompasses the people, the place, and the fabrics. Caring about the where is my number one mission. My hope is to share this care through my brand, so people feel a connection to their clothing. When they feel connected, the experience moves past fast fashion and hopefully encourages them to care about the importance of sustainability. I’ve grown this brand part-time for a few years now, but am finally diving head first and focused on growing it into something bigger!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Starting my business has been sweet in a lot of ways, but it has definitely had its challenges. I had really big aspirations and dreams in the beginning, I initially wanted to do it all — offering both new and vintage items. I realized doing this didn’t resonate with people, so I pivoted to focus soley on new products from small, sustainable clothing companies. There were also a lot of periods where I didn’t work on the business very much and used my full-time job as an excuse. I face a lot of imposter syndrome and anxiety, but I realized that if I want to make an impact I had to get out of my own head.
As you know, we’re big fans of Dónde. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Dónde is an online clothing store that specializes in sustainable and ethical fashion. We source our items from small brands dedicated to making an impact in the sustainable fashion industry. Our mission is to answer the question of where clothing comes from so our customers don’t have to.
Aside from meaning “where” in spanish, I chose the name Dónde as an ode to my puerto rican heritage. At the end of the day, the hope and desire is to honor culture and mother nature through the clothing we choose to wear.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
A few years ago, I had a really amazing opportunity to be a part of a program called 100Knoxville, administered by the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center. It was about a month-long experience where myself and other small business owners dove into the world of running a business and discovering how to grow it. We got the chance to connect with various businesses and had valuable one-on-one time with personal mentors. I learned a lot of valuable information during that time! I was still pretty new to in my own business, but I highly recommend getting involved in any small business group or applying for something like this!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shopdonde.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopdonde/
