voyage michigan interview
HOPEFULLY MY FIRST MAGAZINE FEATURE OF MANY – VOYAGE MICHIGAN SHARES INSPIRING STORIES OF MICHIGAN ARTISTS & SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
LOL @ ME SHARING THE INTERVIEW PRE-PRINT BUT ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS TODAY GOT ME EXCITED ABOUT HOW FAR NYKAMPING HAS COME & WHERE IT WILL BE IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS
CHECK OUT THE INSPIRING STORIES INTERVIEWS HERE
CAN YOU BRIEFLY WALK US THROUGH YOUR STORY – HOW YOU STARTED & HOW YOU GOT TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY
There are vivid memories of my mother teaching me to sew around eight years old. I'd make clothes for my stuffed animals out of her leftover fabrics & once I made a whole wedding scene.
In 2018-19, I taught kindergarten in Nigeria. After school & on weekends, I would wander through the markets in search of linens & textured cottons. Bartering the price down was the most exciting part. Being a tailor is a common occupation in Nigeria, like working at a restaurant or retail store. Soon I was busy sourcing fabrics & designing clothes with three different tailors in hopes to make a whole new flowy linen wardrobe. I soon learned the amount of yards necessary for oversized clothing & buying new fabric is expensive, even from a Nigerian market.
During covid, I thrifted a $10 sewing machine & decided to relearn the skill of my childhood with some of my new Nigerian knowledge. With the help of youtube tutorials & pinterest hacks, my friends started getting shirts & dresses & kimono coats. Most were sloppy & finished off with pinking shears but they treasure those first "nykamping originals" even more now.
While I wanted to continue practicing sewing garments, I didn't have the money nor the audacity to buy new fabrics & cut into them – it was too stressful. So, I exclusively thrifted materials, looking only for neutral colors & textiles that seemed natural vs. synthetic. Soon I felt like I'd found my passion & a possible business model.
The business of "nykamping / a tent for your body" originated from a love for flowy, oversized clothing & outerwear that lends well to layering. I'm committed to single-handedly governing every element of the garment making process from sourcing to designing to sewing to website creation. I have two amazing small business mentors who volunteer through SCORE & incredible friends who have cheered me on in these first four months.
HAS IT BEEN A SMOOTH ROAD & WHAT WERE SOME OF THE STRUGGLES ALONG THE WAY
Falling into hustle culture comes easily for me. I happily burn myself out in cycles. I'm currently involved in multiple projects, which is equally thrilling & whelming. Sewing has become an opportunity to quiet my mind, get into flow, & value those hours of productive solitude.
Sewing machines are an obstacle all by themselves. They can be unpredictable & difficult to troubleshoot. I have actually zero interest in knowing the ins & outs of my machines but it has become a necessary evil.
As a whole, this concept has applied to being a small business owner & garment maker in general – the elements that bore & feel tedious are equally critical to success as those that excite & inspire. Website design, shipping, banking & tax records are all tasks that require energy, research & time stolen from the craft.
WHAT DO YOU DO / WHAT DO YOU SPECIALIZE IN / WHAT ARE YOU KNOWN FOR
WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF / WHAT SETS YOU APART FROM OTHERS
A love for drape, flow & textured textiles spurred on nykamping – a tent for your body. My personal wardrobe lends well to layering, with tops sizing from small to 6XL, pulled from the men's & women's sections of thrift stores.
The mission of nykamping is beyond just oversized garments – it's also towards taking all the important pieces of textile design & production to the absolute max. With a more social push towards labels following sustainability standards, my goal is to single-handedly implement the extreme via ethical & local sourcing, circular fashion & producing zero textile waste.
Providing secondhand textiles a new purpose & life respects the time & resources used in its original production. The initiative of mending, patching & reworking prevents beautiful & useful textiles from an end of life in landfills. Sourcing takes extra steps but adds a local & unique element to every piece.
My impact is small yet significant as garment consumers continue looking towards makers & brands in line with their sustainability values. Designers & sewists with similar missions to mine do make a difference in our local communities, which starts a ripple effect. I can be proud of the products I create & the intentional process they resemble.
HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS
Implementing my goals towards zero textile waste, sustainability, ethics & local sourcing is success by itself. There are no hopes or intentions to scale up & hire on other sewists or employees – those do not define my personal success.
Financial growth & process efficiencies are areas of growth for the future of nykamping, as well as studio space & eventually a brick & mortar storefront.
