“We want to make things that people keep, that hold sentiment and personal memory in this journey of life,” says Nina Garduno, Founder and Creative Director of FREECITY which she describes as a way of life more than a brand. Nina grew up in Laurel Canyon and began working in fashion in 1981. She worked for Ron Herman at Fred Segal, working her way from sales to Vice President of Men’s until 2006. She created FREECITY in 2001 with the idea of seeing, making, and experiencing art and commerce through the retail space. She opened her first shop in Malibu in 2005, eventually opening spaces in Hollywood, Tokyo and Venice, CA. FREECITY is a visual language that communicates through storytelling, shared space, graphics and collected materials that relate to the people who experience it. FREECITY’s prints are made in local factories, using custom developed materials, fabrications, washes and dyes. They are made individually and hand-thrown, using hand-mixed paint with on-screen mixed gradients. It carries an innocence and a simplicity, a feeling that the wearer could make it, too. The making of it is the being of it.

Top takeaways from today’s conversation include:

• How the pandemic woke stores up to the many ways they could make money
• The immediate validation of social media
• How to adapt when you’re forced to change
• How to move from dreams into reality
• How to avoid poisoning your pool with toxic elements like greed, branding, and money
• The way art and commerce push up against each other in the retail experience

Quotes

• “It didn't come easy. It didn't come fast. It's self-funded. And I've really kept it in a place that I could be really proud of, and I am proud of it.” (39:35-39:53 | Nina)

• “It's not about being ahead of time, it's about being on time.” (51:02-51:05 | Nina)

• “Now, I want to be on time and be in real connection.” (52:21-52:25 | Nina)

• “I have reached my potential.” (55:52-55:54 | Nina)

• “Dream it to real. Dream it to real ideas. Who cares? Show me. Make it find a way. That's FREECITY. That's what it is. Stick with it, find a way, make it, dream it to real. Do it again. Do it right.” (57:33-57:57 | Nina)

Connect with Nina Garduno:

Instagram | http://www.instagram.com/freecitysupershop

Website | https://freecitysupershop.com/

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