behind the scenes: creating funk+fina in a closet-sized studio

there's a romantic idea of what a fashion brand looks like behind the scenes – most people think: big studios, sexy mood boards with bits of fabric and colour swatches covering every wall.

the reality of funk + fina is a WAY more low vibe than that. and honestly? we think that's what makes it better.

where it all happens

for one, funk and i are squished into a tiny office, not much bigger than some people's walk-in. we are very interactive and pretty much sit in each other's laps. and I guess someone has to say it, but because i pretty much live in my office, my view is a bit better than funk's (sorry honey!)

it's the kind of space where every decision matters because there's no room for anything that doesn't. that constraint turned out to be a superpower – it forced us to be intentional about every single piece we create.

it can be a bit much sometimes, but we also get excited when one of us has a brilliant idea (or so we think ;) and can easy share our vision with each other

the design process

two, we print on demand. someone orders one of our clothing designs, it gets made at whichever coordinating country has the closest facilities, our design gets printed and off it goes to one of our happy camper customers - that's it!

every design starts with something we see in the world around us – a reflection in the snow, a colour in the sky at golden hour, a shape that keeps appearing in nature.

from there it becomes a sketch, then a digital file, then a sample, then (if it passes the test) a piece in the collection.

after we buy a couple samples, and make sure we feel proud to sell the product, we then give it to one of our friends or family, or someone cool that we respect in Whistler or Pemby, such as our kids' friends pro mountain biker brother @lccruzin or our Olympian friend @brodthompson

why small is powerful

working small means we can move fast, change direction and say no to things that don't feel right. this might be surprising to some, given the hyper competitive market the fashion industry is in, but we like to consider ourselves slow fashion. 

small and slow fashion. we aren't turning over one collection after the next trying to grab a much of the spending pie as we can. nope. we are growing slowly. one customer at a time

is it sustainable? we think so, we are loving meeting our funky fans and are totally thrilled at each sale. and when someone gives us awesome feedback and actually say they "love to wear out .... trucker hat/tee/hoodie/etc", we are so stoked! we literally do a little happy dance every time.

this is why we started funk+fina in the first place - if you didn't read it from an earlier blog, we started this whole endeaver because we wanted matching discoball hoodies but NUTHIN online (and I mean nothing) looked good. either unrealistic looking or with a very gaudy, stick-on-looking, the-90s-called-and-want-their-bedazzled-gems-back!

it means every piece in the collection is there because it earned its place – not because we needed to fill a quota.

shop the collection

• discoball | crop hoodie – one of our most loved pieces, born in that small studio
• discoball | hoodie – the classic that started it all
• funk + fina | trucker hat – the signature piece, made with intention

because everyone deserves funky fashion made with love and a little mountain magic. made with love near whistler, bc 🏔️✨