I started Voice Designs as a side project. My life has many sides—immigrant, STEM woman, designer, feminist—but ultimately, it is about experience.
Before this, I had never started a fashion brand. My background is in photography, UX design, and web development. Everything about the physical business- supplier scouting, quality control, and the technical craft of printing- was entirely new. I spent months buying samples from different brands, searching for the exact quality I demanded for my own wardrobe. I didn't know if people would resonate with my message or pay for these products.
I spent four months at local markets, collecting feedback and validating the business before I ever touched the Shopify store. It is an ongoing process of applying my technical skills to a new canvas.
"I was an outlier before, and I'm going to be an outlier anywhere anyway."
Being a STEM woman, an immigrant, and a visual minority in Canada comes with barriers. Leaving everything behind to build a new life and career is a struggle. For a long time, I fought to figure out who I was supposed to be here. I tried to fit in, I hit drawbacks, and then I realized that my path wouldn’t come from the outside. It was already inside me.
The voices that motivated me can be a power that motivates other women. My experience can serve as inspiration. I was an outlier before, and I have accepted being an outlier anywhere.
This brand is how I bring those voices out. It is a canvas I can paint with energy. Whether I am a photographer, a designer, or a STEM professional, I am more than those labels. We can be anything, untamed and undefined. That is the inspiration behind designs like "She/Hurricane." I don’t want to be an "example"; I am just one living possibility of a girl who chooses not to follow the rules.
Our goal is to help women find themselves, claim the power they already own, and refuse the boxes the world tries to put us in. We break the rules. We define ourselves. We are here for each other.