Grad Hosting Pop-Up at West Elm For Her Lifestyle Goods Collection
On Sunday, September 16, 2018, from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., FIDM Graduate Ra Synclair will be hosting a pop-up for her lifestyle goods collection, Deve-Avere, at West Elm, 8366 Beverly Boulevard, in Los Angeles.
We recently caught up with the Footwear Design & Development Alumna, who was born in Chicago and raised in Orlando, to learn more.
What led you to found your own lifestyle company? About halfway through 2016, I made an unplanned career change. I was freelancing at the time and got a very random offer to do something I had never done or thought of doing before; I was curious how my skills, creativity, and energy would translate to another environment, so I took the chance. What was supposed to be just a month on tour with recording artist and VH1 personality K. Michelle turned into almost two years as her personal and executive assistant.
When they say "everything happens for a reason” I do believe that, there are no mistakes. I find many entrepreneurs are born out of a disdain for their current career or a lack of feeling purpose on their path; I loved footwear and I think for me that made it hard to think past it, to explore other things I might be good at, or have a passion for. Taking that break gave me time to think also, being on the road 85% of the time as an assistant might be a younger person’s game, even though I had a blast.
Much like my footwear ambitions that began out of a love for wearing and buying shoes, so did my company Deve-Avere x Ra Synclair. In January of this year I decided to it was time to work for myself. Once I focused on the things I really loved, what I was obsessed with personally, things began to fall into place and my collection of handcrafted home fragrance, home goods, and personal care took shape and continues to grow.
What makes your products special or different? Deve-Avere means must-have in Italian. I chose the name because I make things I’m obsessed with, things I think are necessary for the kind of life I want to live and that's cool and luxe, yet kind of effortless. Everything that I make is very personal to me; there isn’t a product in the collection that I don’t use or wasn’t born out of a need I had myself or someone close to me. And, at the heart of the company are the fragrances that I personally develop which are used throughout the line of soy candles, sprays, and other goodies for home and body.
Each scent is inspired by a special person, place, or event in my life which, is also how they get their fragrance number’s. For example, #27 is inspired by one of best friends — also, a FIDM alum — the smell is sweet and playful and reminds me of her signature scent; if you add up the numbers in her birthday date you’ll get twenty-seven. Even the seasonal scents are created based on my experience during that time of year. For fall/holiday, I am working on something special with a mulled wine, rum, and cranberry kinda vibe.
What can people expect from the pop-up at West Elm? I’m bringing all the favorites. I haven’t been back to the West Coast in about six months and it’s my first time with Deve-Avere, so I’ll have a bit of the entire collection. I’ll be burning candles; samples of everything will be out to try, smell, spray, rub on, and I’ll even have a couple of my hand covered African wax print lampshades. If you’re a maker, artist, or designer, contact your local West Elm. Their stores all over the country are supporting handmade and I think that is super dope.
How did you initially discover FIDM and what made you enroll? During my junior year at Smith College I met a Smith alum who was designing shoes at Asics. From the moment of our meeting I knew I wanted to explore footwear as a career; I’ve loved shoes since I can remember. I started at looking at other degree programs to apply after I graduated Smith. That is how I found FIDM and immediately knew that it was the place for me. I didn’t have an interest in handbags and other accessories which were part of other programs. That’s what I liked about FIDM, I wanted to spend the next year or two solely focused on footwear and then finding a job in the industry.
Tell us a bit about your career as a footwear designer. In my first couple days at FIDM I met two recruiters from Brown Shoe (now Caleres) and I kept in touch with them and I landed one of three coveted internship spots with the company upon graduating. After an intensive, immersive three months in St. Louis, they offered me a job. I flew to New York over the weekend and started work that Monday in their New York City office. It was dream come true and I went on the spend 10 years in the industry designing branded footwear for Franco Sarto, Via Spiga, Original Dr. Scholl’s, Jones NY, XOXO, as well as private label for numerous brands and department stores including Nine West, Bandolino, Kohls, Macy’s, Target, Payless, Shoe Carnival, and DSW to name a few.
What advice would you give a FIDM student or grad who wants to become an entrepreneur like you? It may never feel like the right time, that doesn’t mean it isn’t. Don’t be afraid to fail, it’s part of the process, there are only lessons in that. Don’t rely on friends and family; not everyone understands the entrepreneurial spirit. Strangers might be your best friends, customers, and resources. Don’t do it because you see somebody else on Instagram doing it and it looks easy; don’t get it twisted, going out on your own is hard work, and you have to love it. Just go for it, the reward is amazing, the creative freedom is everything, the fulfillment and satisfaction when someone buys, or shares, or engages with your work that you created yourself is worth every scary moment on the journey.
Visit rasynclair.com to learn more.
Categories: Beauty Marketing & Product Development Footwear Design & Development
