How we build Imaji Studio from scratch

In #TheMilestone series, TFR interviewed brands about their journey from the very beginning. This series are meant to give insight to readers how a brand or company is built from zero. It also highlights the importance of process.

This week, TFR has the chance to meet up with co-founders of Imaji Studio, Shari Semesta and Leo Pradana. Founded in 2015 by Shari Semesta, Leo Pradana, and Lyris Alvina, Imaji Studio has been steadily expanding its range of products from clothing to homeware. The brand has been applauded for its effort to preserve Indonesian heritage while maintaining sustainability in its operation.

From left to right: Lyris Alvina, Shari Semesta, Leo Pradana

TFR: First thing first, idea. Where did you get the idea behind Imaji Studio?
Shari Semesta (SS): I met Lyris when we worked at a magazine. I was a content writer and Lyris was the graphic designer. We worked really well together. We wanted to create something for ourselves and hopefully turned it into a business. We started to brainstorm what we love to buy, which is clothes. There are so many new brands out there and we are so overwhelmed. We want something different. Then we combine  interest, art design, culture, and community. Those are the foundations of our brand. Ethical fashion wasn’t big yet when we first started.

At first we wanted to bring up Indonesian heritage like Batik Cap (stamp). We thought, ‘why didn’t we create the cap on our own?’ We then went to Yogyakarta to do research, talk to the artisans, see how the stamp is made. We were shocked when we found out how expensive one cap is. 1 cap costs Rp900,000 and it is very limited. 1 cap means 1 picture so we can only implement one picture for one collection. Things just didn’t add up. We feel like there’s something more we could have explored.

We were back to square one and we did more research. Our research brought us to Bali where we found a craftsman who is expert in natural dye and weaving. We went to his workshop and we immediately fell in love with the process. Natural dye is good for the environment. The biggest problem with shopping is probably the material. We decided to focus on environmentally-friendly process along with preserving Indonesian heritage. The craftsman we found is also keen on exploring on techniques and process. He told us, ‘this can be implemented
with airbrush, this can be applied with sponge.’ Cap doesn’t have to be Batik Cap made of bronze.

We came up with the brand, Imaji Studio, and focused on basic silhouettes that everyone can wear. We want to bring up sustainability and ethical humanity to craftsmen. We want to collaborate with them because we need each other. We need their skills and they need our knowledge on today’s market. That’s how Imaji was born. We experiment with fabric.

TFR: What’s the team dynamics?
SS: There were four of us at first but one co-founder who is a fashion designer bailed. Leo, my husband, joined us in the second year. Our job description is mixed up. We do everything but in terms of who’s in charge of what; Lyris is our creative director and graphic designer, I manage PR and women’s wear design, Leo is in charge of human resources, production, and finance. Leo maintains relationship with artisans and craftsmen. He’s also the men’s wear designer.

Leo Pradana (LP): I’m the only one who knows how to operate Excel.

SS: Despite our job desk, we always work together on concept of collection. Lyris is our moderator because Leo and I argue a lot.

TFR: How do you raise money to start your brand? Do you receive any outside investment?
SS: It’s all from our pockets. We invested our own money in Imaji Studio. I’ve asked several friends who work on retail how this works. I talked to my friend who’s also in fashion and happens to be quite idealist. She told me if you had the talent, money, and core idea, you should start on your own. The reason being is that Imaji Studio has a strong identity. Having outside investment doesn’t guarantee our freedom to do what we want unless the brand has outgrown our capability. If your brand is still growing, you should be fully in charge of it. It’ll be a good learning process because Lyris and I don’t have any background in fashion. We learn how to set aside budget and time. We’ve already had the core
values instilled.

LP: We never want any investment from venture capitalist or private equity firm. We want to maintain our dynamics.

SS: We have invested a total of Rp100,000,000 in three years. We made step-by-step investment into the brand. Fortunately, we reached break-even in two and a half year. You know how the retail industry is. We experienced a great loss when we first started. We were panicking in the beginning. We also didn’t know how to calculate fabric usage in the beginning. We learnt to adapt. Some fabric can be recycled as
accessories. The waste can turn into something else. That’s where our disadvantage lies. It was harsh in the beginning.

TFR: Tell us about your process of creating your brand and your collection. How long did it take?
SS: Including research and sampling, it took us one and half year before we launched Imaji Studio. Creating and dying the fabric require at least 6 months. There is no shortcut to it. We want to create something good for the consumers.

TFR: How did you market your brand from scratch?
SS: Mostly through collaboration. We collaborated with a well-known photographer who is also a friend of us. We also collaborated with Dylan Sada. She wasn’t as popular as she is today but she was in town when I contacted her. I believe collaboration with artists help us a lot because people take notice of what the artists wear.

Imaji Studio x Kallula

TFR: Did you see any results from the collaboration?
SS: Yes. Our Instagram followers grew immensely, especially during pop-up event where we display the editorial picture worn by the artists. People recognise them and they ask, ‘is the shirt she’s wearing still available?’ The strategy becomes our game plan. We prioritise collaboration. Back then fashion brands see each other as competition. Nowadays when we see brands that are similar to us, it’s either they are inspired by us or we inspire them to work with us instead of creating competition. Why don’t we share the market since we are working towards a bigger goal anyway? We have, in fact, extended our collaboration. We collaborate with everyone involved in the creative industry. We worked with hand embroiderer, illustrator, and singer. They overlap with fashion. There are no boundaries who we can work with.

TFR: Do you share profit with the people you collaborate with?
SS: There are two systems. It’s either profit sharing or upfront payment. Upfront payment usually applies to smaller business, such as hand embroiderer and collage crafter. It’s not fair to share profit because it takes time for them to execute their job. It’s also up to us whether we want to publish their work or not because we pay for their service, although we always mention who we work with. We want to be as transparent as possible.

TFR: Have you ever done endorsement deals?
SS: Ok, this is where our idealism kicks in. We used to give away products. We gave the products to people who love our brand but we don’t force people to post on their social media accounts. We have list of people who have been in Imaji’s support system since the very beginning of our journey. It’s not an endorsement but a symbol of friendship. It’s mutually beneficial to both parties. The three of us also don’t see the point in endorsing people who will only post the picture once but the product will not be worn again. It’s such a waste and against sustainability.

TFR: Any other marketing strategy you have done?
SS: Probably Instagram ads. I think Instagram ads is a good way to navigate users. We also sent out press release to the media.

TFR: Which one do you prefer, digital or traditional media?
SS: We are flexible. However, looking at the current market, it seems like digital is more convenient. A lot of traditional print media have shuttered, which is a shame because we love prints. We’ve also worked with a Singaporean magazine. We receive more inquiries from overseas magazine. Perhaps magazine does better overseas.

TFR: Tell us about your team and your office. I think a lot of people assume that start-up needs office with warehouse and full-time employees in order to get things running. What do you think?
SS: We do have interns every year. They contribute a lot to our brand. We learnt embroidery from them. We've also got an intern who can do marbling. They become our extended family.

No, we didn’t have office. It’s a funny story where we work. Before Leo and I got married, there’s this apartment that we plan to live in. It’s empty. Lyris and I had to sit on carpet. The Wi-Fi is not even installed yet! When the items were ready, we didn’t have anywhere to store them so we just put them on the floor. Our office remains the same but with furniture. We have tables now.

TFR: Where do you think Imaji Studio is heading?
LP: We have to examine this from business perspective. Imaji focuses more on design. We need third parties like workshops and artisans to make our products. Of course it’s ideal to own workshops here in Jakarta but we are more of a fabric studio.

SS: We’ve been shifting quite a bit from natural dying to fabric design in our third year. For instance, if a customer wants this fabric to be made into pillow case, we can do that. We are not fashion, but lifestyle. Our mission is to create Indonesian fabric.

TFR: What’s Imaji’ future opportunity?
LP: Variety of products.

SS: We have upcoming exciting project that has to do with home and living. There’s no limit to what we can do as long as it involves fabric.

TFR: Can this brand outlive you?
LP: Absolutely. I mean I believe we have created something that people accept, which is our culture. We are translating traditional heritage to modern audience. I think it will be more developed in the future, given the increasing public awareness about sustainability.

SS: At least, we can leave behind the ideology. If we can tackle our production issue, I am certain this will last up to generations. We are part of culture preservation.