Meet Paige, a full-time college student, small business owner and social media influencer. Sewing since she was little, quarantine allowed her to expand her horizons and start her own sustainable clothing business! I sat down with Paige to ask what inspired her and how she got there.
Her Campus (HC): Starting with the basics, where are you from, how old are you, what is your major and school level?
Paige Sechrist (PS): I was born in Puerto Rico and I moved around a lot through my childhood! My family has lived in Oviedo, Florida for the last few years so that’s where I consider home and that’s where I graduated from! I’m 20 years old, a sophomore at Florida State University and I’m currently in the process of changing my major to retail entrepreneurship if I get accepted (fingers crossed) but in the meantime, I’m a criminology major! Due to COVID, I’m staying at home with my parents and doing school remotely this semester, which helps give me more time and space to work on my sewing.
HC: What inspired you to make your own clothes?
PS: I’ve sewed since I was little and started back up last year, but I was bored during quarantine so I started experimenting with more complex designs! I’ve also gotten a little more educated on sustainability and the fast fashion industry, which has encouraged me to rework preloved items instead of buying new ones. My mom is a huge inspiration to me because she’s a talented seamstress and my biggest supporter!
HC: How did you start your own business?
PS: I started my own business by selling some of my items on Depop, just because the people who watched my TikTok videos wanted to purchase my clothes and I started posting items around June of 2020. Since then, I’ve developed my style and brand, and I got my LLC a couple of months after I started selling on Depop! I’m working more on making my brand unique and I’m in the process of getting my website designed.
HC: How has social media played a part in your growth?
PS: Social media has played a huge part in my growth. I posted TikToks of the projects I was sewing at the beginning of quarantine, but as they started to blow up more and more people wanted to order my items! When one of my videos goes viral, I’ll get thousands of DMs on Instagram for custom orders and my Depop shop will generally sell out.
HC: What is the inspiration behind your name and branding?
PS: My brand name comes from my cat, Remy. Her nickname is Remygirl and she’s always the one staying up late with my sewing so I thought I would dedicate my business name to her!
HC: What advice would you give to a college woman with similar goals?
PS: To anyone with similar goals, I would say just go for it! I was so embarrassed when I started posting TikToks because they would get a couple of views and it was pretty discouraging because I spent hours on all of my [videos]. But one day, my TikTok just started blowing up and now I can’t even remotely keep up with the number of orders I get! So, don’t be embarrassed about what other people might think of you when you’re starting up, because if you keep working at it, it’ll pay off. Additionally, make sure you have a solid group of people who support you and your goals. If anyone’s making fun of you for trying to start a business or get your name out there, you should 100 percent drop them because they drag you down more than you would think. The people I surround myself with currently are so important to my success because they constantly push me and motivate me when I need it! Starting a business (especially while being a full-time student) can be incredibly stressful and exhausting so having people there for support is extremely important!
You can check out Paige’s work on Instagram, Depop, TikTok and YouTube!
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