Visionaries
Caramia is an up and coming entrepreneur and designer in the fashion industry based out of Jakarta, Indonesia. She is a young woman who continues to rise through the ranks, but her journey has not been an easy one. Returning to Jakarta in 2015 after studying in the United States, she thought she knew everything she needed to succeed, and hit the ground running. She quickly found that no matter where you get your education or how much you think you know, it counts for next to nothing when in breaking into the fashion market. After just a couple of months from debuting her clothing line, she had hit rock bottom. With less than 15 USD in her bank account, her dreams were crushed, and she was forced to re-think everything. On top of that, her family was going through a very difficult time, doubling the sense of defeat.
A leap of faith
It was during that rock bottom period that one of her friends suggested she take some of her original prints and put them on scarves. She was able to produce 12 scarves immediately, and at an unrelated volunteer event she attended, another friend suggested she approach a woman there with her scarves. It was a leap of faith, to say the least, but she took the initiative, and even though the event had nothing to do with fashion, the woman surprisingly bought all of the scarves she had on the spot. Her boldness had paid off. From there she produced double that amount, sold them quickly and continued to double the number. Through a combination of word of mouth and Instagram, more people were exposed to the scarves. Soon thereafter in a similarly unrelated volunteer event a couple of months later, another friend pointed out a woman in the crowd who Caramia approached with her work. It turns out that the woman had the ear of the governor’s wife who loved her work. Before she knew it the Vice-Governor of Jakarta, now governor, showed up with a camera crew at her small family home in the small neighborhood of Jakarta that doubles as her workshop to this day.
Caramia told us she feels like her work has only just begun as she and her now team of 9 continue to create, market and establish the brand. When asked what advice she would give other young entrepreneurs, she said the most important thing was to be humble enough to learn, to be true to yourself and to surround yourself with friends and wise counsel that will be equally as real with you. “My friends were always there in the hardest and best of times to help me” she said, “to cheer me on and give me good advice”. “Whether it is sleeping in the car overnight at shows and events, and making Chinese takeout last for two days, you do what it takes to succeed.” It is not always easy, but it is worth the journey. To see the beautiful work of Caramia please visit https://tioriacaramia.com
