Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Feeney.
Sean, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My background isn’t in apparel or fashion, it’s actually in corporate sales. For eight years, I did this and hated every waking second of it. Every year would go by and I would make more money, but year over year I found myself less fulfilled and less happy. I chose to ignore this inverse relationship because I’d trained myself to think money was everything. But in 2014, life threw me a curveball. My six-year relationship and engagement fell apart, someone very important to me was struggling with addiction and to top it all off, I was unexpectedly laid off from my job, all within 3 months. I remember sitting with one of my best friends on the eve of what would have been my wedding day talking about how I felt I lost everything. He looked at me and said, “Ok, you got dealt a bad hand, but like my grandfather always said, this too will pass.” Those simple words stuck with me. Right then and there I had a choice to make: take the easy road and feel bad for myself or pull myself up by my bootstraps, bluff through the hard times, put up a fight and play another hand. I hate to lose, so I chose to play another hand—only this time it was going to be on my terms and everything was going to be different.
I’ve never really done well with authority. I don’t like answering to people and I rules aren’t really things I’m prone to following, so naturally I had to be my own boss. The next choice was even easier; I was going to do something I did when I was six-teen and since then dreamt of pursuing; start a clothing brand. But I was going to go about it differently than most. I wanted the freedom to take this brand where I saw it going. So instead of looking for investors, I funded the brand with all the money I had saved during my six years in corporate sales. To me, it was better than anything I could have ever bought. This time I was going to put my passion first. The other difference, I was going to do it all.
For the next eight months, I dove into learning everything I could about the industry. I educated myself on graphic design, clothing design, trends, what to look for in patterns and textiles, legal aspects of starting a business, license requirements, getting the licenses, I even learned how to build an online store. As luck would have it, a friend of mine happened to move his screen-printing business from Temecula to San Diego… Not only was I able to pick the styles and create the designs, but he taught me how to do my own screen-printing, which we still do in-house. It didn’t stop there; I relentlessly practiced photography so that I could be the photographer behind all the photos of the brand. As time went on, The Lomas Brand started to take shape. It was alive. It carried a passion for community, the beach, ocean and surfing; a love for photography; and a simple, yet eye-catching fashion taste. It was about breaking norms, taking risks, being happy and free. It’s about not listening to what you should do but rather listening to what you want to do. I’d work a fourteen-hour day and fall asleep excited about waking up to work the next day. I realized that finally at the age of 29, I found what I was supposed to be doing. Or more so, it found me.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Smooth in the sense of being easily excited to wake up and go to work every day, yes, absolutely. But I’m a firm believer that nothing in life of true value comes without its challenges. Starting a business from scratch with no training or funding has been very true to that. It’s really hard work. It’s a challenge every day, but it is hands down the most rewarding path I’ve ever embarked on both personally and professionally. And so far we’ve been fortunate enough to not have TOO many obstacles to overcome.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Lomas Brand story. Tell us more about the business.
My company, The Lomas Brand, is a men’s and women’s coastal contemporary clothing brand. Our reputation is for quality and comfort with a clean aesthetic within all of our collections. We believe that the material an item is made with is as critical, if not more critical, then the look itself. If you think about it, as a consumer, you only get to see the way you look in an article of clothing at most let’s say 10% of the time whether that is through a mirror or in a picture. But you feel that item’s comfort and fit 100% of the time while you wear it. And part of style is looking effortless and confident and that is directly derived from feeling comfortable in what you are wearing. That is why the months prior to opening for business I spent tirelessly researching, sampling, washing/drying, sewing different fabrics and blends of fabrics to determine which ones would be used in the collections.
One of the other things that set us apart is our connection with our community of North County. I named the brand after the street I lived off of “Lomas Santa Fe Dr” because I wanted the community to be a part of our brand. Solana Beach has throughout my life been a very special place. When life’s hardships presented themselves to me, it was my daily outings surfing, hanging out at Fletcher Cove that gave me the confidence and inspiration to take a leap of faith and chase my dream of owning a clothing brand. I felt I owed Solana Beach homage as it was as integral in forming The Lomas Brand as I was.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I’m sure its cliché of me to say but I don’t believe in luck. I think what you give out to the world, the world gives back to you. So if you’re doing things the right way, working hard, active in your community, and treating people the way all people should be treated, the world will give you back opportunities that you can either seize or ignore. I truly believe it’s what you choose to make of those opportunities that shape your future.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thelomasbrand.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @thelomasbrand
- Facebook: facebook.com/thelomasbrand
Image Credit:
Imagine with “Lomas” tote bag= @summer.luu (IG)
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