After 8 wonderful years, I am closing down Selva Negra. It has been one of the most painful decisions to make, but I am ready for a new chapter.
Selva Negra started off as more than a clothing line, it was a resistance to fast fashion & gender norms and highlighted voices from our BIPOC communities. We were transparent about production being made in LA by small family-owned businesses and spent time & effort in developing systems for reducing waste & up-cycling garments. We created a size range that accommodated (almost) everyone. We shared our Womanism stories of inspiring women and their struggles and triumphs throughout their career.
We donated money to local non-profit organizations that support the unhoused, women of domestic violence, DACA recipients, BIPOC communities, climate justice and endangered species.
We opened up a brick and mortar store and built a small but mighty community in Los Angeles. We made life-long friends with fellow small businesses, photographers, models and customers.
In all this beauty of owning and operating an apparel business, there is a dark side of finances that most businesses do not share. I was naive and uneducated about borrowing money as a business and was too embarrassed to admit that I was always in financial distress. I will share more about this soon because I think it’s important for business owners to be more active in speaking about financial decisions and the negative impacts it has on our mental wellbeing.
We have been struggling for a couple years but 2023 was especially difficult for us. This is the case for so many small businesses as we have been seeing much of our favorite brands and stores closing recently as well. 💔
I am incredibly proud of what we built and owe much gratitude to the people who contributed to the success of Selva Negra. I love you all dearly! I am so grateful to all the years of core memories with Selva Negra and am ready to take a long pause to think about what I will do next. Maybe it’s a Selva Negra bakery?! Selva Negra DJ?! Selva Negra Dog Fashion?! Anything is possible!
I want to personally thank each and every one of you for supporting our small business over the years. We are offering a 30% discount code on everything on our website until it’s all sold. If you have any store credit, make sure to use it all up!
Use code: TEAMOSELVANEGRA
Stay tuned for a major sample sale in the coming weeks where we will be selling “never made it to production samples”, fabrics, patterns, and lots of pillows!
Love,
Kristen Gonzalez (founder, designer & creative director) |
