A new way of self expression
It all began with...
It all began with Lake’s TMU Internship in his third year in the Graphic Communications Management program. Instead of working for a company, he asked his professor if he could start his own business. Unfortunately, his request was denied. But Lake went ahead anyway, to design and manufacture some pin and patch accessories, and brought them to office hours again. The professor then replied “Ok, I’ll do what I can to make this work” - little did we know, this would be the start of Creator Jacket (external link) .
During this time, Lake was a freelance breakdancer and I was a freelance beatboxer. The Toronto hip hop scene has always inspired us to create and we wanted to help others with self expression through pins, patches, and personalized jackets. We always wanted jackets with art on the back, but it was expensive, hard to find, and we didn’t want to commit to one design. After selling our pins and patches at a pop-up shop at the CNE and chatting with new customers, we discovered that other people also had the same feelings towards jackets with back art.
We spent over two years prototyping a product while bootstrapping our operations with our pin and patch sales. In 2021, we released the Creator Jacket: the world’s first denim jacket with swappable back panels. We invented our SwapWear® technology to enable panels to swap into a seamless and secure look and feel. We launched via Kickstarter and our website, raising over $80k in under 45 days.
Photo credits: Kenya-Jade Pinto
We joined the Fashion Zone because we wanted to surround ourselves with like minded people. It’s motivating to know that others around you are achieving success in the same industry. Also, the resources and advisors have brought value and insight to our process. Currently, we’re working with the in-house pattern maker to develop a new version of the Creator Jacket.
We’re improving the style, fit, sizing, and even the swapping mechanism. We’re doing research and developing on a one size fits all panel, so that one art panel can be fitted and displayed in an endless number of Creator Jacket styles. This would increase efficiency for our manufacturer, our inventory, and it would allow for more options for our customers. Once the Creator Jean Jacket 2.0 and SwapWear® 2.0 is finalized, we will be working on expanding the ecosystem with a Creator Varsity Jacket.
The future of wearable art is modular, sustainable and supports community.
Photo credits: Kenya-Jade Pinto
The biggest challenge we faced during our journey was...
Launching during the peak of the pandemic. We had supply chain delays, freight backlogs, and our inventory was even stuck at the Vancouver airport during the British Columbia flooding.
We pulled through and we were able to ship out the jackets successfully in the new year. We’ve been selling Creator Jackets in our online shop for 8 months now, and we’re just getting started. It’s our vision to create an ecosystem of swappable wearable art - starting with our jean jacket, then we’re going for a varsity jacket, and more jacket styles!
We work with talented artists from across the globe to make art panel designs. Every art panel sale supports the artist financially, and saves five plastic bottles from polluting oceans with our recycled materials. To us, the future of wearable art is modular, sustainable and supports community.
The best piece of advice I received was...
To just get going. Many fear the risks and uncertainty, but entrepreneurship is a journey where you’re always learning as you go. Aside from getting started, this applies to A/B testing and experimenting so you can craft your ultimate process. Many focus on trying to get it perfect the first time, which can leave you frozen in the tracks. Just get going!
Photo credits: Creator Jacket
Connect with Lake Siva (external link) and Jane Souralaysack (external link)
One piece of advice I would give to aspiring entrepreneurs would be...
To take it one step at a time. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’re wearing so many hats, working in and on the business. This path is difficult but rewarding, and results only show after you’ve completed many of your steps.
We’re excited to help people with self expression in a way that has never been done before. Our quality and modular design stays true to “buy less but buy better.” It’s been an uphill battle, but Creator Jacket is building an entire ecosystem of swappable wearable art that is better for people, planet, and the artist community.