Today we’d like to introduce you to Hector Ordonez and Paulette Magen Ordonez.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Hector and Paulette. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
We started KOA while we were living in Hawaii. While we were there, Hector was going to school for his Master’s degree, working for the Judiciary in Hawaii and also working as a research and student assistant because Hawaii is beautiful but it’s crazy expensive and with a wife and kid to support there was a lot of work to be done. Because of this, I started talking to my wife about how we were not going having time to spend together and how I was willing to drop everything and start something that will allow us to spend time together. This is how we started brainstorming ideas for KOA… first we tried doing iPhone cases but did not work and it was a mess! After this, we tried putting a coffee shop but we did not had the money. But one day while I was getting ready for work I was wearing one of my aloha shirts and I said to my wife “why you don’t design and aloha shirt” and that’s how it started.
After this, she became in charge of designed and creating the patterns and I started looking where and how to make them. In addition, we started seeing KOA as a resort wear brand so at the same time we started looking to bring Panama hats to the US which are actually made in our country of origin Ecuador (An authentic Panama hat has to be handmade in Ecuador!) Interestingly to this point we did not had a name for the brand… how we came up with KOA is that is the name we were planning to use if we had another baby as in Hawaiian KOA means brave, fearless, bold, risk-taker and though this would be an awesome name for our next son but it actually turn out perfect for the brand as we had to take risks be brave and push through a lot in order to make KOA a reality. Unfortunately for us, Hawaii was to expensive and shipping costs were too high and that’s when we decided to move to Texas.
Once in Texas we were not ready to launch the brand, there was a lot of struggle in putting things together and even when we launch the brand in May 2019, we were not really doing or selling anything. It was only after we did a couple of markets in downtown Houston that we met someone that’s was involved with the Pop Up Shop Galleria shops and after some Instagram searching, I came across their website and we went all in to have a small space for KOA at the Galleria Mall. From there, we being working hard to make our brand stand out by showing a true lifestyle and how we bring the ocean and goods vibes through our designs with the hats, shirts, jewelry and more! Since then, we are now at 2 locations within the Galleria mall and also at a new pop called The Hive located in River Oaks Shopping Center.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Money! We had negative numbers on our bank account last week and we were very worried. We literally are on food stamps because is not easy to start your own business and it requires capital to invest in things and as you go along you realize you need to spend on things that we did not think about in the first place. We are young couple with a two years old. We are putting everything in making this a reality and that’s means that we are only working on KOA at the moment. We do everything from photoshoots, to website, to photoshop, to video, labeling, EVERYTHING that its related to having a business we do it (my wife and me). This is complicated because we have a two years old that we need to take care of and sometimes it’s just hard because we have no one to look after him so we work with him by outsides which is great! But a two years old needs time and attention so it’s hard to balance all that but we tried our and we do all of this to give a better future to our son for sure! You have no idea how long are our nights!! With my wife we most of the times work until 3-4am and our sons wakes up at 6 or 7am so imagine how tiring it can be. but we have to do it if we don’t no one will do it for us. There is a lot of sacrifice right now but we are happy because it’s making our dream a reality while being all together as a family working hard everyday the 3 of us!
KOA Clothing Company – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
KOA Clothing Company is an eco-conscious and eco-friendly brand that was born out of our love for the ocean. We choose carefully our materials and fabrics and how they are processed. Creating something unique is the most challenging but exciting part of the designs. We lived in Hawaii for many years and that is also part of our inspiration for KOA, we learn to respect and enjoy the culture, at the same time we learned to take care of the land. We actively contribute with organizations to help clean the ocean and beaches. Furthermore, with our KOA Handmade Straw Hats woven by Ecuadorian artisans, we help entire families maintain their small traditional family business. With this said, Aloha Shirts and Panama hats are probably what we are most known for.
Our Panama hats are often described as especially unique and that’s great because we actually travel to Ecuador and personally work on the hats. With the Aloha shirts is also special because we only make around 50 shirts per designs and that’s including all sizes (S, M, L, XL,2XL) and my wife makes all the patterns so are shirts are very exclusive and unique! Plus we focus on little details like the fabric we use and we can say that some of our shirts are the most soft and comfortable you will ever wear! We are very proud that despite only having three months officially in business a lot of people already recognize our brands and have said good things about the quality and designs of everything within our brand!
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success for us is being able to spend time together as a family while working on this dream known as KOA. KOA Clothing Company is a family brand, me, my wife, and our 2-year-old wake-up everyday and work in something related to KOA it has become a 24/7 job but the success comes in being able to spend time together and sharing this journey as a family is the most amazing thing. We are worried very often, we are anxious, but when we need a break with just pause everything and there we are enjoying the company of each other no matter where we are. Now business-wise of course we want KOA to grow it is our baby right! We would love to be able to make ends meet of the brand in the near future while also being able to help our family along the way! For us is all about family and helping people and the more we are able to do that there more successful we feel!
Contact Info:
- Address: Pop Up Shop Galleria (2nd floor next to Saks Fifth Ave)
Pop Up Shop Galleria (1st floor where Top Shop was)
The Hive at River Oaks Shopping Center - Website: www.koaclothingcompany.com
- Email: koaclothingcompany@gmail.com
- Instagram: @koaclothingcompany
- Facebook: @koaclothingcompany
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