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| Philla Downs : Email Interview with Philla Downs : April 26, 2006 |
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1. So, set the scene, you’re in medical school, ready to take on the world and cure disease when you decided to take a breath and start pH. What was the driving force behind that shift? i'm a free spirit and my soul felt caged up. there was this gut feeling inside of me that got stronger each passing day. i felt like my creativity was dying ever since i went to college to study biology. finally i listened to my inner voice. i decided to get honest with myself --- i knew i wasn't passionate enough about medicine - even though i wanted to help people --- the closer i got to it, the more unsettling it felt and knew this was not the right path for me. my husband and his family influenced me to follow my dreams. his parents encouraged their kids to pursue their passions in life --- and i was inspired by my husband following his own. one day my mother-in-law asked me - "what is your dream career?"...and i sheepishly said fashion design but thought it was a bit far-fetched. my mother-in-law would sew for fun and i would see her making clothes for her daughter. it just looked like so much fun to me. i remember thinking "wow i wish i could make my own clothes!" i was fascinated by the vintage sewing machine she had and the patterns she had laying around. for my wedding, i didn't want to spend money on a dress that i would wear for a few hours and really couldn't find anything i liked. so i designed my dress and then my mother-in-law helped sew it for me. the experience was quite lovely. actually i was set to go off to school in a few months. when i was on my honeymoon, my husband and i talked about the future and that was when i decided that i didn't want to go to med school. my husband was very supportive and was encouraging to help me find the passions in life. i went through a quarter-life crisis where i had no idea what i wanted to do - which was scary for me because i have been on this pre-determined path to med school! but i was excited and happy to be searching for my own path and to start exploring all the possibilties. i took a whatever 9-5 job to pay the bills...but being in that environment continued to bring me down. not to be a drama queen or anything but it really was soul sucking the life out of me. i really felt lost careerwise and i knew i wanted to be free from it. luckily - i loved my personal time outside of work. in my free time, i got into photography and tried graphic design --- which i both loved. but i knew deep down that this wasn't the dream job i was looking for. my family and my husband's family got me a sewing machine for my birthday that year. but working in an unfulfilling job depressed me so much - i really had no motivation to use it. plus i didn't have that much experience sewing on a machine --- so that intimidated me a bit too. i was so unhappy at my job that i was planning to leave as soon as possible, but didn't know how or when. all i knew it had to be soon! then something miraculous happened...the universe swept in and took control of my life. i was let go of my job. that was one of the best things that has happened to me in my life. the timing was perfect. i found a wonderful part-time job, that was meant to be, helping out this special family. the mother had cancer so i helped out with the cooking, cleaning and chaffeuring the kids around. in my free time, i convinced my best friend nana to take a sewing class with me and the rest was history. we were hooked. on a tipsy fun night at our favorite bar (haha!), i had talked to my best friend nana awhile back about starting our own fashion company. about how much fun it would be compared to our science jobs. how much i actually believed that we could do this for we had developed our own distinct style. and somehow life just naturally took me on this path i feel i am destined to be. this whole experience has been very spiritual for me - unlocking hidden doors in my soul - and learning so much about myself, the business, fashion, friendships, etc. its been amazing. its funny because when i think back to my high school days, i would be looking at all the clothes in my closet and the words "fashion design" would pop into my head. but i would immediately dismiss it because i never thought you could actually make a career in fashion. my family has traditional korean values in education - a career that was safe and respected like medicine or law. i think its because when my parents came here a long time ago - they had to work very hard from the ground up to get to where they are. i think they just wanted to save me from the hardships they experienced because they loved me so much. really it was my dad more than anyone, trying to push his dreams of becoming a doctor onto me. there was a lot of pressure but through all this --- its helped them realize that i am my own person with my own dreams - and luckily they have now become my biggest supporters. 2. Have you always been a crafty gal or is this something new to you? teehee...i've always been kinda crafty growing up but not too much. i think i spent more time just hanging out with friends. i loved art - i was never particularly that good at any real fine art like drawing or painting - but i loved being creative. my friends and i would sew basic little flowers and stars onto clothes. my mom was really big in cross-stitching so i got into that for a little while. i used to cut up magazines and make these big collages and give them to friends or hang them up in my room. or make really cute covers for mix tapes i used to make my friends of like my favorite hits of the time. but i would have to say being crafty again really is new to me like a rekindled flame with a fav pasttime. being in science for so long --- its really refreshing to be an artist! its funny i would always ask people - if you could be a genius in science, art or music...which would it be? for me it was to be an artist...it was like this immediate honest yearning feeling from deep within. i guess i always thought you had to be really good at a fine art to be considered an artist. hehehe i'm just so happy. 3. Teaming up with your best friend is such a fun and sweet idea, but does it ever get frustrating? haha! cute question. well i think i'm really lucky because our time together is always so positive. she's my soulmate so she understands me to my deepest core. we share the same eyes mind and heart. which is great! because when we work together its explosive! we create this really crazy positive creative energy between us and the we fly together. i'm sooo lucky. she understands the vision and concept of pH and completely believes in it and in us. so its been really cool since the beginning. plus i'm extremely patient with anyone --- not that i need to be with her in anyway. woot woot! 4. You mention on the site that you’re hoping for pH to make it big so you can ‘be in a position to have a large-scale humanitarian impact on the world’. That’s awesome! What are some of the things you’d like to accomplish with that? well first of all --- i would love to make a lot of money so i can GIVE a lot of money to the world. as much as i also want to be there physically and take part of the action which is super fun and such a cool experience --- i guess i always believed that i could do more and felt like i needed to do more. what these people need is money. but just as important - they also need lots love and compassion. i want to use pH as a power tool to teach the world the art and joy of humanity. when you give back to the world, when you touch a soul and make it smile, that reward is unbelievably rich. and really i find that it comes back to you two-fold. then you channel the positive energy through your heart and put it back out there - it becomes stronger and more effective. you start to reach out to a bigger circumference. i really do believe this world can be saved through love and compassion --- because through this you open your eyes to the world - you see through people's exteriors and see their soul and realize that everyone is the same - everyone is a human being, a beautiful soul. some are happy, some are sad. some are angry and some are lost. but we are all the same. then you open your heart to non-judgemental acceptance to everyone, every life, everything in between. then you can learn so much about the world, yourself, and human beings. everyone deserves to be happy in their life. if you think about it really - one life. that's all we have. don't we want to make the most of it all?! for me its being open minded to life. and really living it. and i have found my destiny through my passions. fashion, self-expression through creativity and helping people with love and compassion. through pH - i can do all those things. i will work hard so i can be in a financial position to contribute to the world. orpah said in this one quote in newsweek: "the beauty of having financial wealth is that you don't have to worry about things like paying your bills. you can focus your energy on more important things like humanity." i love that. there is so much going on in this world that need our help! its like so many issues. big and small, so little time. but i want to make the most of my life to help as many people as i can. right now we contribute to saigon children's charity because i liked the idea of starting small and where little money can go a long way. its an intimate group that helps children from the most remote poorest areas of vietnam - get an education and training to help them and their family escape the cycle of poverty. i hope to be able to continue to help these people, as well as be able to help more groups in the future, one at a time. i would also like to provide some kind of education for the people that need it most - maybe set up a leaders academy in different countries. but i know gotta start with baby steps! 5. Aside from he humanitarian aspirations, what do you hope to achieve with pH? wow i have so many ideas! i want to establish a pH lifestyle brand - of beautiful, funky elegant cutie cool creations. i want to branch out to menswear, childrenswear, housewares, art, photography, etc. maybe get into stylist opportunities. i would also like to branch out into all design services like web design, graphic and industrial design - i have many talented friends so to think about working all together in such a positive environment is exciting! i would like to have boutiques all around the world and launch several lines of clothing - from the h&m/urban outfitters to the high-end red carpet couture world. 6. Are all of your items made from recycled stuff? If not, where else do you get materials from? the majority of our items are made from recycled vintage clothing and accessories. i love incorporating elements of earth into my pieces. this one bag i got a metal dresser drawer handle and turned it into a handle for a vintage clutch. or attaching silk flowers onto pieces. i get a lot of vintage kimono silk from japan. i have a nice stock pile of ancient samurai gear that i'm just itching to be creative with! haha other than that --- its just the local fabric stores... 7. Your creations are wonderful, where do you find the inspiration? Are there any indie (or other) designers you’re influenced by? awww thank you so much for your kind words! teehee. i really appreciate it. honestly i find inspiration from the most obvious things like flowers, nature, the sky, fashion of the decades, culture, history, color, texture to the most random things like the backdrop of the Real Time with Bill Maher set or from a piece of unfinished wood with all the dirt and natural grains in it. sometimes when i see something --- a light bulb clicks in my head and the wheels start turning. i don't fight it - i just go with the flow and see images flash in my head by the millisecond. its fun to see how it turns out. sometimes it just pieces - later to be used for further inspiration. honestly i am not that influenced by other designers. i find that i work better by not seeing what other people do --- and stick to my own gut feelings in design. when i see what's out there then i start to compare and worry that i'm not good enough in the sense that my experience is so extremely limited - and i just really started designing last year. i also feel like i'm never going to get out there in time - and by the time an idea i had is exposed - fashion has already done that 2 seasons ago. fashion moves along so fast! so i feel that its just better for me to create everything organically in my happy little world and stay away from the trends. 8. What are some of your personal favorites in the shop? oooh some dresses are definitely my favorite like the "step back in time" and "raspberry lace in space" dresses. i love the color contrast in both. i also really dig the "WWII vintage tote bag". the story behind that sash that's on the bag is super cool. its from a WWII Japanese Imperial Army group that helped train the wives of soldiers and officers to use bamboo sticks to defend themselves just in case the enemy crossed the shores. The women also helped supply ammunition to the soldiers. I'm obsessed with history - the life behind things, people, places, events. I find it fascinating...wishing that I could witness first hand so many events of our past. i really love our vintage brooch rings - when you wear them they really look super fabulous! We like to ask everyone this one: List any 5 songs in your most current (last listened to) playlist. that's hard!! i freakin looooooove music - all kinds. but wow the last five were... Dj Shadow - High Noon 1.8.7. - Defcon 1 (i looooove drum and bass!) bloc party - helicopter common - I Used To Love H.E.R. bob marley - waiting in vain |