Andrea Golberg on Her Path to Creating a Fashion Brand

THE INTERVIEW

Talking Life as an Emerging Fashion Designer with Andrea Golberg

Andrea Golberg reached out several months ago to introduce herself and her brand, Andrea G Handmade. She describes herself as a “one woman show,” as she designs, samples, sews and even photographs her collection from start to finish. Her pieces are modern staples with a twist, or “special pieces for a Tuesday,” as she likes to say. “I don’t think you need to wait for special occasions to wear nice things in your closet. Any day can be an event,” she says. “My pieces are not too expensive, thoughtfully designed and have interesting features that make wardrobe basics unique.”

Andrea is the first interview in the Genuinely Stellar Summer Series where we are experimenting with different types of content. As you can tell by now, the look is a little different than what you’re used to seeing. We are also planning to bring you deeper stories about the women behind each brand (because you asked for that - thank you for your feedback). We will always link to products, so you can shop them and support the women we write about.

Andrea Golberg’s story hits on some of the themes we often talk about when sharing why we’re so passionate about supporting women entrepreneurs. She is running her business as a side hustle at the moment, because it’s the only way she can support herself while trying to grow her brand. She works full-time during the day and at night she sews, creating made-to-order pieces with a two week turnaround time.

We hope that learning her story will enlighten you to the quality and craftsmanship behind her designs and the determination that drives her to grow her brand to the point where it’s her only gig. Here’s what she had to say.

When did you first know you wanted to be a fashion designer?

I remember I was eight or nine years old and I said to my mom, “I want to make a dress!” And my mom said, “Okay honey, I’ll buy you some fabric.” She took me to Walmart of all places, and I said, “Okay mom I need two or three metres.” And she said, “What do you mean?” It turns out she thought I wanted to make a dress for my doll and I was like, “Oh no! I want to make a dress for myself!” So, she bought me the fabric and a sewing machine. For whatever reason, as a child I decided I was going to be a fashion designer and I was going to make clothes. I applied to university for fashion design, I got in and did the four-year program and here I am.

I studied at Ryerson (now known as Toronto Metropolitan University, or TMU) for fashion design. I finished in 2010 and I’ve always loved to make things. Before I came to Montreal I worked for small ateliers and eventually, a private label company before getting into shoemaking. I had taken a couple of short courses (one in Toronto and one at the London College of Fashion) which led me to an apprenticeship with a bespoke shoemaker, where I learned how to make $2,000 men’s shoes from scratch. At the time, to make some money, I also took a part-time job making hats. I really have a background of handcrafting things and I feel like I've touched so many different commodities.  

I love shoes. You start to look at form in a different way when you’re hammering and gluing. I really liked how manly it was and here I was a woman doing it. As much as I loved it, it’s hard because when you’re making shoes it’s an expensive and messy set up, I couldn’t just do it in my house. Before I started my brand, I was working on the design team for Andrea Iyamah, where I did technical design and product development for their Resort and Ready to Wear collections as well as co-designing and developing their handbags and shoes. They only had one handbag when I started and during my time there I helped them set up a pretty full product line.  

I was also studying photography. For the whole course, I want to say 80-85% of what I photographed were things that I made myself. It was actually that experience that led me back to clothing, because all I needed to do it was a sewing machine and I could take my own photos of my design. That led to launching my brand finally.  

How long is the design process from concept to finished product? 

It really depends, the Spring collection I started designing in January and launched toward the end of April. This one took a little longer because there are so many pieces and I photographed this collection myself. I’d say it took a month designing and a month sampling and making and this time it took a little longer because it was a bit of a more involved collection, which was great, because I had the time to do it. I had been laid off my job and spent 10 months focussing on nothing but the business. I sewed everything myself and I photographed it, because I didn’t have the budget. I don’t always photograph it myself because it’s a lot to manage.

Now that I’m working full-time again, everything is technically made-to-order. The whole idea was to keep it sustainable for me. I have all the patterns made, samples, the fabric, everything is ready to go. If there is an order I can make it quickly within two weeks. I can’t make a big production and then sell it because it’s just me, but to give you an idea, last year, I made 95 pieces, all by myself. It’s slow, it takes time, but it’s growing. I also sell my pieces in a couple of stores in Montreal.

THE BEST SELLER

Where did you get that tee?

The Astrid Tee is my best seller by far. It’s a lower price point, you don’t have to worry about fit as much. I designed it with intention as a classic t-shirt with a twist. It’s been in my collection since the beginning and it will continue to be. You’ll see I use the gathering detail in other pieces as well. I like to push boundaries. How can I take this design element and experiment? I have the flexibility to do that because I make everything myself.

Describe a win you’ve had that made you realize you’ve got something special with your brand?

One time, a friend of mine, who is also a designer, sent me an Instagram post and she was like, “Hey, this is a popular influencer and she is wearing a top that looks like yours!” I couldn’t believe it. It was a Quebecois actress and style influencer called Catherine St Laurent and yeah, she was wearing my shirt, she just happened to pick it up at a local Montreal shop at the time. That was definitely a wow moment, a Quebec actress and influencer organically bought one of my pieces! It was surreal!

How has living in Montreal influenced your work?

Montreal has such a history in the fashion industry and for sure it has a vibe. There is also a certain customer, they don’t necessarily spend as much money, they are very, very value conscious, but there’s a soul here. My Dad’s side of the family is originally from Montreal. I got a job and moved here out of necessity and also out of curiosity, I would say the Montreal fashion industry has its challenges. It’s small, we don’t have a lot of resources, but I think that’s been good for me. It forces you to be really creative. How am I going to make something to sell for under $500? You have to be resourceful and think outside the box. The seven years I've lived here I’ve created the most and grown the most, I think.

OH CANADA!

A Few of Andrea’s Favourite Things

▶ Favourite woman-owned brand: Wildcraft Skincare

▶ Biggest Inspiration: Eliza Faulkner “She’s a hometown success story”

▶ Favourite Montreal Restaurant: Bloomfield (also woman-owned)

▶ Top Song on her summer playlist: Blah Loops by Like & Kali Uchis

THE PROCESS

Who do you design for?

I look at the market and see what people are wearing - especially in Canada. Take a button-down shirt. How can I experiment with that? The person I’m designing for is a little bit like me: she’s creative, she wants something different, she loves slow fashion. I think about the piece and how I can make it more interesting than what’s on the market. What I make should probably be a little bit more expensive, but I want it to be accessible for people.