When I happened upon SOVRIN's Etsy store, I knew that their eclectic mix of dark, horror & fantasy inspired, anatomical apparel would be a perfect fit for Sourpuss. It wasn't the design alone that made us smitten either. Each item is screened by hand with the utmost attention to detail and eco-friendly quality in mind. Seriously, what's not to love? So gather 'round why dontchya' and get to know SOVRIN with us and it's owner Kayla!
So Kayla, tell us about SOVRIN, who are you and how did you get started? Well ever since I was little I had wanted to have my own clothing line. So starting SOVRIN really was a natural step in my life. Basically SOVRIN started because I couldn't find exactly what I wanted in stores. I had been searching (with no luck) for apparel with animal skulls/anatomy on them without a direct reference to a band or any sort of religion. In October 2012, I started with 3 designs; The Ram Skull, The Anchor, and The Stag beetle. I had no idea how to screen print at the time, so my first round was done by a local/small screen printing company. Later on, I realized I wanted more creative freedom with printing, and so a good friend of mine taught me how to print in Dec 2012. I started with just a single tabletop press a squeegee, and a pint of ink. I was nervous at first, and definitely had my share of misprints. But every screen printer has to go through it! As time went on, I continued to challenge myself, first by adding leggings, and later adding “The Witching Hour” line, which consists of hand sewn/printed apparel.
What do you think makes your designs a unique stand out from the rest? I feel as though my clothing doesn’t follow the traditional “gothic” or “occult” fashion, it has more of an earthly darkness element to it. I like my clothing to feel as though it isn’t competing with nature, but a part of it…from the grain and color of the fabric, to the naturalness and opacity of the eco friendly inks.
What is something you wish more folks knew about Sovrin that you think sometimes is hard to convey? There are quite a few things that are hard to convey. A lot of people don’t see SOVRIN as being solely run by me, they tend to mistake it for a large company. Although it would be great to continue to grow, I will always stay true to my small business nature. Another huge thing, I’m a nature freak. I have strong ideas about keeping things as eco friendly and ethically sound as possible. I use eco-friendly water based inks and I am working on converting all my fabrics to eco-friendly/organic fabrics (I have all but 1 design converted, but will be changed over by November) Also, I like to make sure that the items I print on are sweatshop free, made in USA, and employees are getting a fair living wage. Again from the designs of my apparel to the materials I use I want not to compete with nature, but be apart of it.
What's the best part about what you do? Oh that is so hard to choose. I honestly love it all. This is what I’ve always wanted to do, so seeing SOVRIN come to life and have such an encouraging response is really incredible. I think one thing I love (aside from having endless creative freedom) is seeing the reaction from my customers. I absolutely love seeing their appreciation photos on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. It really makes me smile to see how happy they are with their items. SOVRIN really is my baby and so those positive reactions really do mean a lot.
You can check out all of the great new tops and accessories from SOVRIN on the Sourpuss site here. You can also follow SOVRIN on Facebook and Check out the SOVRIN Blog Here.
When I happened upon SOVRIN's Etsy store, I knew that their eclectic mix of dark, horror & fantasy inspired, anatomical apparel would be a perfect fit for Sourpuss. It wasn't the design alone that made us smitten either. Each item is screened by hand with the utmost attention to detail and eco-friendly quality in mind. Seriously, what's not to love? So gather 'round why dontchya' and get to know SOVRIN with us and it's owner Kayla!
So Kayla, tell us about SOVRIN, who are you and how did you get started? Well ever since I was little I had wanted to have my own clothing line. So starting SOVRIN really was a natural step in my life. Basically SOVRIN started because I couldn't find exactly what I wanted in stores. I had been searching (with no luck) for apparel with animal skulls/anatomy on them without a direct reference to a band or any sort of religion. In October 2012, I started with 3 designs; The Ram Skull, The Anchor, and The Stag beetle. I had no idea how to screen print at the time, so my first round was done by a local/small screen printing company. Later on, I realized I wanted more creative freedom with printing, and so a good friend of mine taught me how to print in Dec 2012. I started with just a single tabletop press a squeegee, and a pint of ink. I was nervous at first, and definitely had my share of misprints. But every screen printer has to go through it! As time went on, I continued to challenge myself, first by adding leggings, and later adding “The Witching Hour” line, which consists of hand sewn/printed apparel.
What do you think makes your designs a unique stand out from the rest? I feel as though my clothing doesn’t follow the traditional “gothic” or “occult” fashion, it has more of an earthly darkness element to it. I like my clothing to feel as though it isn’t competing with nature, but a part of it…from the grain and color of the fabric, to the naturalness and opacity of the eco friendly inks.
What is something you wish more folks knew about Sovrin that you think sometimes is hard to convey? There are quite a few things that are hard to convey. A lot of people don’t see SOVRIN as being solely run by me, they tend to mistake it for a large company. Although it would be great to continue to grow, I will always stay true to my small business nature. Another huge thing, I’m a nature freak. I have strong ideas about keeping things as eco friendly and ethically sound as possible. I use eco-friendly water based inks and I am working on converting all my fabrics to eco-friendly/organic fabrics (I have all but 1 design converted, but will be changed over by November) Also, I like to make sure that the items I print on are sweatshop free, made in USA, and employees are getting a fair living wage. Again from the designs of my apparel to the materials I use I want not to compete with nature, but be apart of it.
What's the best part about what you do? Oh that is so hard to choose. I honestly love it all. This is what I’ve always wanted to do, so seeing SOVRIN come to life and have such an encouraging response is really incredible. I think one thing I love (aside from having endless creative freedom) is seeing the reaction from my customers. I absolutely love seeing their appreciation photos on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. It really makes me smile to see how happy they are with their items. SOVRIN really is my baby and so those positive reactions really do mean a lot.
You can check out all of the great new tops and accessories from SOVRIN on the Sourpuss site here. You can also follow SOVRIN on Facebook and Check out the SOVRIN Blog Here.
