Career Conversations with Yvette Estime

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Traveling Introvert Career Conversations. Today, we have Yvette here, and say hi Yvette. Gotta love it. Recording live, computer freezes and kicks me off the internet. Superb. Hello, and welcome to the Traveling Introvert. This is Janice, and we are here having career conversations with Yvette. How are you today, Yvette?

Yvette Estime [: 00:00:41

I'm doing great. Thank you for inviting me.

Janice [: 00:00:45

You are welcome. We just had tech problems. It's fun. It's like the Internet was like, oh, you you recording right now? Let's let's just Please use the internet for a second. So welcome to the show and the first question that I ask everybody is What does introversion mean to you?

Janice Chaka [: 00:01:06

Okay. Well, When I think of being an introvert, it usually means a person needs to recharge after social events. Basically, you go out, socialize, and then you need to retreat a little bit To recover. And that's why I think when it comes to being introvert, that's what it means to me. Like a person who needs to recharge after social events.

Janice [: 00:01:35

Okay. Thank you. And so do you wanna tell us a little bit about what you do?

Janice Chaka [: 00:01:43

Sure. I actually am an accessory designer for Dirty Celebrity. Basically, I just won a CDA grant for my sustainable practices. We use Vintage and deadstock materials to create a barrage of accessories from here to jewelry, handbags. Recently, I started making socks and just, you know, helping Medigate the waste in the fashion industry.

Janice [: 00:02:18

Oh, that is awesome. So you mentioned the waste in the fashion industry. Can you tell me about some misconceptions that people might have about your job or industry?

Janice Chaka [: 00:02:32

When it comes to sustainability, I think most people immediately think of upcycling, like taking old clothes and making something new out of it. But that is literally only about 20% of what sustainability is. When people think about sustainability in the fashion industry, That's what they always go to. Oh, so you upcycle clothes, you take old clothes, and you make something new. I was like, no. I use Ted Talk materials And things that other designers have abandoned because it was a trend purchase, and they don't need it anymore. I don't really do the upselling art, but when people think about fashion necessarily, that is their go to.

Janice [: 00:03:18

Oh, can you explain to the audience what deadstock is? Sure.

Janice Chaka [: 00:03:25

What happens is the fashion industry, they buy our rolling bases based on trends. Fabric, yarns, buttons. And when there's no use for them anymore, They threw it away or they get rid of it, and that's because they're dead stock. In other words, it's no longer needed by that brand. And so, there have been ways to collect this Currently, but in the past, these would end up in landfills.

Janice [: 00:04:05

Oh, wow. Okay. How did you get into this work?

Janice Chaka [: 00:04:11

Basically, during the pandemic, I lost my job. I I was working there for 6 years in New York City. I was a nineties brat, and shifting was what we did, like, In school, you know, we didn't have a lot of money, my sister and I. So we did a lot of thrifting, and we did a lot of upcycling at that time. When it came to the pandemic and realizing that it was literally greenhouse, You know, emissions, carbon emissions, causing the problems, we mainly thought about managing waste In the fashion industry because it was always our first love, that's when we start thinking the waste issue is based on trends. We're gonna build a company that is trendless and will use what the fashion industry has The fashion industry has wasted, has our base product, and create no waste ourselves. That's kind of the idea that got us in front of the Century Council and how they got us nominated for a grant for the CDA because We are pretty much the only strategy brand across the board that was doing sustainability in so many different sections of that industry.

Janice [: 00:05:35

Okay. And so before that because you said you got let go from your job, Was your previous job in the fashion industry or something very different?

Janice Chaka [: 00:05:46

It was very different, actually. My job was data allocation. So I had my master's degree in psychology, and it was basically on data research and data mining. So I spent maybe, like, 15 years doing that and just looking at data. And so it's easy for me, I think, To transition from being a person with a set of reading data into the fashion industry and looking at the data of how much waste and finding solutions to that.

Janice [: 00:06:24

Yeah okay, yeah that is I can very much see that career arc. And so with that transition, Was there anything that you do regularly that has improved your career or business?

Janice Chaka [: 00:06:41

A lot of people don't look at the data. When it comes to planning about marketing, you need to know who you're marketing to, what they want. And I think In the mornings, I will look at Google Analytics. I'll look at the search information on our website. I looked at the data, and I'd be like, oh, this is what people are looking for right now, and this is what we should be making right now. This is this so The ability to see what people are looking for because I have Been in data for so long. I can read trends off the top of my head. I do that every morning, And that's really helped my business grow.

Janice [: 00:07:34

So side question, and there might not be an answer to this, How long do trends, I'm saying that in quotation marks, generally last?

Janice Chaka [: 00:07:44

If you do a generalized interest, They're usually seasonal. About 3 months. Like sweaters, jackets, scarves. Someone wants a long scarf, 3 months. And since we made the order, as soon as that was 3 months over, we just stopped making it, You don't hold inventory. But other trends, like micro trends, can only last anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 weeks, and then they're gone. And then if you didn't sell inventory before, Those are micro trends, and you're stuck with the inventory. And I see a lot of brands trying to follow these small micro trends.

Janice Chaka [: 00:08:31

You know, like, oh, everybody wants Boleros right now. It's a small micro trend. Are you going to make a bunch of Boleros? No. You're gonna make a certain amount, And you can made an order, and then when they're gone, they're just gone. But most brands don't do that. Most brands carry inventory, which is one of the biggest waste of the fashion industry.

Janice [: 00:08:52

Because and so in my mind, I imagine that there has to be a really quick turnaround from realizing that something is a trend or a microtrend to getting product out.

Janice Chaka [: 00:09:04

Yeah. Exactly. And and this is actually the reason why So many fast fashion brands produce so much. I mean, 100 to 200,000 styles a day because they're trying to catch that trend where people are still interested in buying that trend, And that's just ridiculous. You have to literally make something every single day because it turned around so quick.

Janice [: 00:09:34

Wow. And that obviously leads to waste because okay. And lack of, Quality I would assume or lack of diligence or lack of it's not intentional fashion. Look at that. So, that was me having a light bulb moment randomly. Thank you for giving me that information about, The work that you do and something that you do regularly that has improved your career and so Is there anything that you say no to?

Janice Chaka [: 00:10:09

I used to Be reinterested in running after maybe every opportunity. When I first start working, there was a no boundaries kind of thing if they somebody wanted me to work and I was on vacation, you know, open the computer quick, run. Now I'm like, boundaries. Setting boundaries is, of course, always been a big issue for every introvert because we do need to recharge. But also, We're in an extrovert world that's always demanding us to operate at a certain level that we are not capable of doing. Mhmm. So saying no means always means that you literally are gonna lose out on some opportunities. And the first thing when I started doing business business was I realized that I wasn't going to be a person who can vend at any events.

Janice Chaka [: 00:11:17

Like, that was not going to be me. I wasn't personable enough to communicate my products, to interact with the crowd. I was just, You know, always nervous and shy about those interactions. And so now I'm like, yeah. I can't do that. I can't bend.

Janice [: 00:11:38

Oh, yeah. That's really that's and so knowing that you can't vend, what do you do instead?

Janice Chaka [: 00:11:45

I've actually been setting up, like, micro events with some of the people that I know here in my town. I've worked with this with, with Midmarket. She's been really great. I just did a event with, DSpace Gallery here in Jersey City, Just 2 weeks ago. And these are small, intimate events. I invite people by Eventbrite, and then, you know, they show up. And to me, it's not me putting myself out there and getting rejected. Instead, I have people I know interested in my brand coming to see me, so it takes some of the pressure off.

Janice [: 00:12:29

Genius. And so when you say small, can you tell me roughly sort of either how many other vendors or how many people you're talking about?

Janice Chaka [: 00:12:37

For the last event we had, I think we had 3 other vendors, and then maybe 30 to 50 people showed up.

Janice [: 00:12:45

And so I'm going to make some assumptions here and you can tell me if I'm right or wrong. Knowing that there's just 3 vendors and you either all complement each other or all very Spirit, and knowing that you have a certain amount of people who are specifically coming to see you, the percentage of people who are definitely going to buy something or make to sell is probably higher than if you went to a very large event with say a 100 vendors and Even though 10,000 people coming, a percentage of people who are spending money on you is probably higher.

Janice Chaka [: 00:13:19

Yes. Basically, I've been to these events, especially in New York City where I would go and and let's face it. I do a lot of different accessories, and we did start out with jewelry, but Jewelry is a saturated market. And a lot of times when I go to these, you know, these vending events, they'd be like, no more jewelry. We have no jewelry. Mhmm. Specifically, you go to these events. There is going to be a chance that what you're selling is not interested Interesting to people who are attending.

Janice Chaka [: 00:13:57

You so but when you Planned the event yourself. You know that people are interested because they would've, you know, they wouldn't take an extra Incentive to buy a ticket or, you know, send email address or attend. With that, it takes kind of the pressure off and kind of the feeling of being desperate or Expanding your energies, which is very hard for each work to do in order to attract the people that you need to make a sale.

Janice [: 00:14:33

Mhmm. And so what do you do to recharge?

Janice Chaka [: 00:14:41

I've I believe I've made all my local connections on Instagram socially just With a search and a email. Hey. Hi. I'm a local person. Blah blah blah. I saw you did this, so you Did that. I mean, when I reached out to mid market online, and she's I was like, hey. Can I bend your store? She said, yeah.

Janice Chaka [: 00:15:03

Sure. Come over. And she's like, oh, yeah. You could just set up a table outside, And, you know, and that was it. And then she didn't charge me or anything like that. And then, I asked if I could do The heads in the window. She's like, sure. How much do you want to charge me? I was like, well, you know, charge per hour and, you know, She still has those Tesla window, like, 8 months later.

Janice Chaka [: 00:15:27

Yeah. I mean, I think when people think about social media, they think of Getting the numbers and the numbers will change the customers. And I feel that, actually, It's better to make social connections with the people, you know, locals. You know? And that's what I feel social media is. Like, I would never known that she was existed if she didn't have a page on Instagram.

Janice [: 00:15:56

Mhmm. Okay. And so after you do these events and social interactions, what do you do to recharge and gain more gain your energy back?

Janice Chaka [: 00:16:07

I make more stuff. Yay.

Janice [: 00:16:14

So that's a nice little cycle then. Thank you. This has been really, really interesting. I have 1 final question for you, that was not on the list, but there is no wrong answer to this question. And the question is, For you, is a hot dog a sandwich?

Janice Chaka [: 00:16:38

That's that's a very big head scratcher, but I don't think a hotdog is a sandwich.

Janice [: 00:16:45

Alright. Do you have a reasoning? Sure.

Janice Chaka [: 00:16:50

When I think about sandwich, it's 2 sides of bread.

Janice [: 00:16:54

Mhmm.

Janice Chaka [: 00:16:54

And it has more than just meats. It usually has a vegetable component. Mhmm. Cheese. Like saying a hamburger is a sandwich.

Janice [: 00:17:05

Mhmm.

Janice Chaka [: 00:17:05

That's closer to being a sandwich than a hot dog. Okay. It just has more components than just 1 long piece of meat and between 1 bread sliced down the middle, which I'm gonna hop on this.

Janice [: 00:17:19

Alright. Thank you so very much. Can you let my audience know where they can find out more about you and your work?

Janice Chaka [: 00:17:26

Oh, sure. I hang out at my Instagram page, Dirty_celebrity And I also have a website where you can look at my items at https://www.shopdirtyceleb.com

Janice [: 00:17:41

Thank you so much. You know what, I really want to ask where the name came from but I'm gonna I'm gonna hold off on that because I'm sure everybody asks you that, so I'm not gonna do that. Thank you so much for your time today. I really really appreciate it. Everybody, Please check out the stuff. My name is Janice at thecareintrovert.com, helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a great rest of your week.