ENTREPRENEURS
Samuel Parkinson has been designing his own clothing lines for 15 years . His current perspective embraces global influences ranging from American heritage to Japanese modern .
the space with the Moroccan rug shop Kechmara .) Parkinson has made custom pieces for pop artist David Garibaldi using his artwork , like a jacket made from his painting of Mick Jagger ’ s lips .
The entrepreneur has been intentional and resolute about his career , which he built the old-fashioned way just under two decades ago — that is , at design school , not using online tools like instructional YouTube videos . Parkinson attended the now-closed International Academy of Design Technology in Sacramento before taking on pattern-making gigs in San Francisco and building his own business , which he refused to relegate to a side hustle . “ I recognize this may be privileged because I have a safety net ” — the ability to move home with his parents , which he has done before — “ but I just told myself , I ’ m not going to have a degree in fashion design and marketing and work at Starbucks ,” he says . “ I will be hungry before I go in a different direction .”
Parkinson says he wants to be the reason why Sacramento , a city better known for politics and health care , has a fashion industry . ( The U . S . Bureau of Labor Statistics reports most of America ’ s fashion designers work in large cities such as New York or Los Angeles .) He sees potential to be a pioneer in the Sacramento design landscape by sharing his experience and connections with the next generation of designers . “ If you want to learn how to put in a zipper … I will give . I have four apprentices , one intern , and I teach two private classes .”
Brooke Arthur started her brand YoYo Bazaar later in her career with no less chutzpah , but significantly more tulle , lace and sequins . Her experience in digital marketing helped her enter the marketplace last year with a strong signature look and consistent messaging to promote YoYo ’ s vibrant , vintage-fusion brand . She is one of many entrepreneurs who turned their hobbies into small businesses during the pandemic .
In March 2021 , Arthur was eight months into her move to Sacramento from downtown Los Angeles , and she ’ d just quit her decade-long job as a marketing executive for a whiskey brand . “ In my free time with the pandemic , I started embroidering this jacket ,” she says . “ Local Sacramento people and friends that had seen me post this jacket were like , ‘ Oh my God , you should sell those .’”
Arthur knew it would take more than a cool jacket . “ Because I have a marketing background , I really don ’ t believe in building brands when you don ’ t have a really unique selling point ,” she says . “ My vibe is , like , the more eccentric side of things . I think living in San Francisco for 14 years , I had a really strong connection with the gay ( and ) trans world , and it was always this really flamboyant disco , neon , fringe , fur … just being fabulous .”
YoYo ’ s collection is a kaleidoscope of upcycled vintage garments Arthur has updated with campy flourishes like patches , grommets , studs or embroidery . She sourced some of the latter from a book of 1960s embroidery transfers . She reworks many of her vintage finds , turning a rose-printed towel into a cheeky crop top ,
90 comstocksmag . com | July 2022