In episode 80, Joie LaFrentz shares all the thoughtful decisions that go into designing for Jola, her line of colorful basics with a twist . Learn how she balances design, production, sales, and admin for her business all from remote Iowa.
Joie LaFrentz was born and raised in Iowa and has always had a love for design, color, and fashion. She studied both fashion merchandising and design before ending up with an art history degree. After living all over the country, Joie settled back in Iowa to raise her family amongst hard-working people and open spaces. The idea of having her own line was always in the back of her mind, so after having four boys who were past their toddler years, she took numerous classes to ensure she had the foundation needed to launch JOLA. When she’s not trying to keep her growing crew fed or running to their activities, she spends every free minute sourcing sustainable fabric, manufacturing partners, marketing her line, and spreading the word on how color can be uplifting in our daily lives.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The education Joie invested in before starting her brand
- How the midwest lifestyle inspired the five blouse designs
- The values Joie incorporated into her business from the start
- How color plays an important role in Jola – and in our lives
- How Joie found the perfect fabric even without prior experience with textiles or sewing
- How Joie found her factory
- Why manufacturing in the USA is important to Joie
- How Joie has grown beyond her comfort zone to sell the Jola collection
- The balance between transparency and privacy and authenticity that Joie has found for her business
People and resources mentioned in this episode:
- Jola website
- Jola Instagram
- The New School (Parson’s School of Design)
- Factory45 sustainable fashion brand accelerator
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