5 Questions with Blushing Designs' Shelley Klassen

After graduating from the Richard Robinson Academy of Fashion Design, Shelley Klassen moved to Vancouver and created her line, Blushing Designs. Today, her label continues to succeed and her garments are sold out of her store, Blushing Boutique (579 Richards Street) in downtown Vancouver.

1. How did you get to where you are today?

“I started my label in 1999. I went to design school in Ottawa at Richard Robinson Academy of Fashion Design. It [the line] grew very organically. I was going from store to store selling my line. In 2007, we outgrew our design studio and we were looking for a bigger location and found this [the current] spot we have downtown and decided to open a boutique.”

2. What is a typical workday like for you?

“I have a small staff here and we all wear many hats so [on a] typical day we deal with clients coming in, obviously, and we’re constantly designing, whether we're doing production of in-season or we're designing for the next season, we're always cutting and sewing in the backroom. Everything is made in Vancouver so we're dealing with the factories on [a] daily basis; dropping off, picking up, getting things ready for them.”

3. What is your favourite thing about your job?

“I think I’m really lucky because my design studio is right on site with the store. For me it's the satisfaction I get from the clients, the stories I get from them [about] wearing their outfits, how much wear they get out of them, the compliments they get when they're wearing them. The really fun part for me [though] is when the fabric comes in, when I get to pick the fabric and decide what to do with it.”

4. What is the most challenging thing about your work?

“Just the day-to-day upkeep, the basic business stuff—it's so time-consuming and it's not as much fun, obviously.”

5. Who or what is your biggest inspiration, fashion or otherwise?

“Really the inspiration comes from my clients. It's the women that I come in contact with on a daily...