Meet Andreia Andrade | Designer and owner of Rosa Camará

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andreia Andrade and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andreia, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Since early age I was had the desire of having my own business, but life is not perfect and many times we have to find solutions that will give us the stability and financial support we need to keep moving especially when we don’t come from a wealthy family. When I felt financially stable I decided to give myself the opportunity to start my own business, I always knew that will be in the fashion industry because fashion is my passion from early age, but I also needed to understand the industry and market I was considering to work, and my outlet for that was reading books from fashion entrepreneurs. to learn more the do and don’t ‘s of starting a business in fashion, have a clear idea about the risks, and then see what was possible for me to execute with the time I had and mostly with the money I had available.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Rosa Camará is a made to order skirt line that explores ethnic diversity through textile combinations and traditional embroidery. In a world where everything is mass production, my brand concept is based in the culture of single pieces with high quality. I’m excited about the whole creative process and the brand concept. It has not been an easy journey especially because I had worked alone in all aspects of the business, and I had not get in a point that I can dedicate myself exclusively to the business. I think that part of being an entrepreneur is know how adapt to the different situations, that been sad, I’m always thinking what is the best business solution to solve the challenges, and how I can apply that solution to my reality. As far as the lessons go, know how far we can go vs we want to go; and recognize that we need help to grow. In my industry we can’t build a business on our own anymore, we have to surround ourselves with people capable to execute what we can’t do it, and/or surround ourselves with people that have abilities that we lack of it. I consider myself a total underdog in my journey in the U.S. as a black-Latin-immigrant-woman for obvious reasons but I’m succeeding in my own time under my own terms. And, Rosa Camará is a ready-to-wear brand with transitional pieces made for women that know their place of power in the world.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Houston is not considered a Mecca of entertainment but there are definitely options to consider. This will be my plan: Day 1 – first day have breakfast/brunch at the Snooze, then go to the Museum District to visit the Museum of Fine Arts and Hermann Park gardens, and Museum of Natural Science; Lunch/dinner in a good traditional Southern restaurant as Lucille’s; Day 2 – Go to Downtown area – Theater District and East of Downtown to explore the Art District with art walls ( great area for pictures), visit Saint Arnold Brewing, have lunch at Ninfa’s and have happy hour light dinner – tapas style at O Porto in Midtwon or Batanga in Downtown; Day 3 – Visit NASA Johnson space center and happy hour/dinner at Riel, Americas, or Caracol restaurant; Day 4 – Go to Galveston (beach area), and visit the Moody Gardens, the Strand Historic District, and the Bishop’s Palace during the day and have dinner at the Seawall Boulevard. Day 5 – Visit Houston Museum of African American Culture and Rutherford B H Yates Museum during the day, and go eat Texan barbecue at Truth BBQ or try vegan BBQ at Houston Sauce Pit (food truck). Go to Cafe 4212 for jazz/house music. Day 6 – Shopping day with options at Galleria area or the Houston Premium Outlets in Cypress during the day and picnic at the Miller Outdoor Theater to watch a play or music event in the evening.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to acknowledge few people in my journey that are always giving me the extra push to keep moving: Katia Lessa (Lepiki T-shirts) and Belen Bailey (Sweets by Belen). Both are close friends and equally entrepreneurs, we have been supporting each other through out this journey. Considering that I’m starting a bit late in the fashion industry, my instructors at HCC degree in Fashion were also very encouraging and supportive. Lastly, a book to recommend: The Fashion Designer Survival Guide by Mary Gehlhar and foreword by Diane von Furstenberg.

Instagram: @rosacamaraofficial

Image Credits
Model red skirt – Charity Williams (@charityebrielle); Photographers: Tai Barnes (@images_by_tai), Iara Watney Pires (@iara.watney.pires), The Montrose Studio (@themontrosestudio)