Today we’d like to introduce you to Quinay Baker.
Quinay, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
As a child, I always knew that I wanted to create. I was very talented in the arts, I could draw anything at 7. I could dance ballet, jazz, tap at that age as well. I was always fascinated with clothing. One of the reasons for this was I attended catholic school during my elementary school years and of course, it was all about the uniform. I had an aunt who passed away who was a seamstress and when we would visit her, I would go through her patterns in the front room and play with her hats that she created. It was fun to me. As I became older, I still loved to draw. So much so that one of my paintings wad hung in my local library. Creating was one thing that I loved.
In my teen years, when it was time for me to choose a career path naturally it made sense for me to choose the arts but my family wanted to steer me into a more secure career instead of design. So instead of focusing on designing, I went into the sciences! I was happy with it at first, it came natural to me but as time went on I became bored and felt unfulfilled. After bouncing around at schools in an attempt to make me happy, I went to Queens College where I realized that I enjoyed teaching. I decided that I would major in science teaching. It seemed as if I had found my calling! As time went on, it still didn’t fit me, I got all the way to my last semester and in the middle of an exam, I found myself drawing an outfit on the side of the paper. I said to myself I can’t do this. I’m not happy. I decided to enroll at FIT.
The Fashion Institute of Technology, where I studied both Menswear and Women’s wear before having this epiphany to open up a fabric store in Atlanta. Being there made me the happiest I’d been in my entire life. The teachers, the friends, the internships, the late nights at school, the fashion shows and did I mention I was happy. I had absorbed so much over my years of studying and working in the fashion industry at places like Judith Leiber and Jen Kao. I wanted to start my own collection but it was difficult to do so being in NY because you had to worry about paying your bills! NY is a very expensive place to live and if you don’t have money tucked away or the greatest credit you are screwed. We all know that creatives are struggling artists, so how was I to start my own brand when I couldn’t even afford my shared apartment. I decided to move to Atlanta in 2012 and start my career in fashion but I was unsuccessful. I moved back to NY but I still felt I was supposed to be in Atlanta. I went back to the drawing board, trying to figure out what was I missing. I realized that I hadn’t had all of the tools and resources in Atlanta that I was accustomed to in NY. After applying to Mood Fabrics and landing a job working in the cotton department, I was approached by women who were on their annual tour of NYC garment district from Atlanta. After speaking with them and learning of why they came there once a year, the light bulb came on, I said to myself that’s it! This is what I am supposed to do, bring NYC’s garment and fashion industry to Atlanta! I went that night and spent 10 hours on my laptop doing research. I had a burning desire to build this company. I learned as much as I could about textiles at work, in research and from my school notes. The company was evolving before my eyes. I could see everything so clear. I was coming to Atlanta to open up the very first fabric store with a co-working space for fashion designers! I packed my bags and my car a set sail for Atlanta.
With the help of my big bro Simon Gray I was able to land a job and a place to live. I eventually a shared workspace with him and Beatrice Dixon of the Honey Pot which was such a phenomenal experience. Continuing to do research, I attended trade shows in LA and NYC capturing whatever information I could to bring to Atlanta’s fashion industry. I believe that the more that I know the more I can share and help fashion designers attain their goal of being designers.
I am now in an incredible space and area than I ever was, The Goat Farm! I have been booking more sewing events, classes and projects than ever before. It’s not easy being a one-woman show but I strive to get better with each task.
My goal is to create an optimal space for fashion designers to flourish in Atlanta. We are disrupting the traditional fabric store and creating a lifestyle for creatives. Fashion designers need, a place to create, a place where they can understand how to be successful in their talents, a place that will cultivate their dreams, a place that gives them the tools they need to be part of this $2.4 trillion industry and thrive. Q & A Fabric Studio is that space. It’s not just a fabric store. It’s a place to call home.
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?
Like my man Buju Banton song says “It’s not an easy Road.” Sometimes I wish that it was a smooth road but other times, I’ve enjoyed being challenged. It’s all about your perception of it. I have learned on this journey and process that struggles aren’t harmful or disastrous, they are just obstacles to remove and make room for greater things to come. But there is always a story to tell. The road here has definitely been a roller coaster, which started in 2014 when the vision began.
Picture it… NYC 2014 lol ( A Sophia moment in Golden Girls) A young woman with dreams of fashion is working at Mood Fabrics. She’s making around $12 an hour which may seem like a lot to some, but when you live in a city as expensive as NYC, $12 an hour only gets you but so far. One day a group of women from Atlanta come into the store searching for fabric to purchase. I asked them “Why are you all here” the response was that they took an annual trip because there weren’t any stores in Atlanta like NY. This was when the vision hit me. Now I repeat I only made after taxes about $370. I traveled from the suburbs of Long Island, which was where I resided at the time, into the city. It cost, during Peak hours, almost $13 one way. So quite naturally, Peak hours were when I had to come into work and when I got off. I would wait an hour after I got off of work for the Off-peak train so that I would only have to pay $9.50. The $9.50 only got me to a certain point which was exactly one stop before mine and after that, it was $11.25. I would have to pretend I was sleeping in order to not have to spend the additional money. Crazy.
Once I got home from the groundbreaking day, I spent 10 hours on my laptop doing research. At this time, I lived in a home that was a blessing but I didn’t have heat or wifi. I used about four space heaters, which couldn’t be on the same on the same line because it would cause a blackout, in order for me to stay warm. For wifi, I used my cell phone. Of course, this is before we had unlimited hotspots at better rates, so I had to use it in spurts plus my boyfriend’s (at the time) wifi. We both worked at Mood Fabrics. We both were building businesses and both on the same grind and of course, we both needed our phones. We managed to figure it out. We had to be to work at 9 am which meant getting up at 6;45 taking the heater that was in our room into the bathroom so that we would be warm as we showered and got dressed. Packing food that I had prepped during the week, making smoothies for breakfast and being exhausted from staying up all night building our companies had become a routine. Hopping into my car, driving this unregistered car to the train station, trying to find a parking space and then literally running to catch the train at 7;51 because if we caught anything later we would be late and oh, did I mention it was Peak. We literally added getting seats on the train to our daily prayers. All of this to gain the knowledge that I needed and the experience necessary to fulfill this dream.
Then an amazing thing had happened, I partnered with some individuals that were looking to bring in expertise and capital to the business. Everything was looking up! But I was a newbie in the business game. I had worked with my dad in his business years before but I never really understood business. Words like equity, LLC and S-Corp were like speaking Japanese. Instead of me trusting these people that I had brought in to help me get the vision off of the ground, I became leery of them because of my lack of knowledge. I was asking the wrong people for help. Not that they were bad people they just didn’t have enough expertise in my field to give the best advice. Instead of looking to people in my industry and utilizing places like SBA who could teach me all that I needed to know, I listened to them. Ultimately it costs me the investors and the partnerships. I was on my own again, but it didn’t stop the dream.
Another set of obstacles that I faced came in 2016 when I decided to take a leap of faith and move to Atlanta and pursue this business without any money in my pockets. I really moved with $83. I had $83 when I got to NJ, money I had borrowed from my little sister the week prior and I just left. I told no one. After getting gas and some Wendy’s nuggets and fries, a water and a Kit Kat I set sail for Atl. Now normally, my car would only get about 430 miles before the gas light would come on, but instead my car went to 560 before the gas light came on. I got gas with my last $37 dollars and I had exactly 35 cents in my wallet. Thirsty and tired, I kept pushing, then my tire pressure light comes on!!! Way to go. It was a new pump that I’d never seen, where you have to put the tire pressure in before adding money and of course, I added the money and ran out of the air. I went to the attendant for a case quarter and he said “I can’t give you, it’s Canadian!” referring to one of my dimes, I went to the car pulling out everything looking for a dime and then this guy came and gave me a dime. I told the devil he was definitely a lie. At that moment, I knew I was headed to my destiny.
I landed a shared space at Goat Farm which didn’t work out and then I shared a space with my greatest friends Simon Gray and Beatrice Dixon (they are definitely two of the biggest reasons why I stayed focused) and was able to see their company go from making products in house to now being in Target and Walmart stores across the nation and then some. This helped me expand my vision of what I wanted to accomplish.
I ventured into my own space in 2018 and that was awesome for a bit and then a turning point happened in July 2019 after doing a soft opening in June, I lost my source of income. I literally took all of my savings and then some to purchase sewing machines, inventory etc. and two weeks later, I lost my job that I’d had for three years. I was devastated. I didn’t know what to do or how I was going to pay bills. I was so used to the consistent money that I was making and I knew that it would be challenging to find something that was comparable to it. I fell into a full depression. I didn’t want to create anything. All I did was sleep and cry. Then as we all know, when hard times fall on you you truly see who has your back, I learned that the individuals who I had helped and been there for were all turning their backs on me. Way to add insult to injury. I was alone and it hurt like hell. I couldn’t fathom how I was going to get through it. I called my mom and told her I was coming to visit home. Really I wanted to move back. I drove to NY in August and took a break and it helped. It helped me find me. I was around the people who have truly been there and they helped me break the ice. My real friends, I met here in Atlanta like Brandon Greere and of course God telling me I gave you wings now fly, got me back in the game.
I got back on the grind, but of course as we know, the bills don’t stop. The space that I was in prior to moving to Goat Farm was amazing! Well, so I thought. The landlord was working with me to get things caught up but as time went on I realized I couldn’t especially when I realized I was going to be getting charged a 30% late fee every month until I was caught up. So I decided to cut my losses even though I had nowhere to go. I reached out to the Goat Farm and was pleased to not only find a space but it was $800 less than what I was paying, larger and a live work space! It is HEAVEN! Truly a blessing and in an ideal location.
My advice to give to women would be to stay focused. I know it’s easy to be distracted but these distractions take you further away from the prize. As women, we want to be in relationships and have companions and such, but if that person is not fully in your corner and willing to give their selves at the same level and capacity as you would, then continue moving. Don’t allow yourself to become in engulfed in someone else and lose what God has in store for you. I almost did this. I almost let someone else’s lifestyle and visions deter me from the lane that God had created for me. He will send you the person you deserve when he sees you being diligent to His will. I would also tell women to be confident in themselves and practice self-healing. Oftentimes we don’t feel adequate or question whether we are enough. As we mature and become more aware of ourselves while trying to start a business, our emotions can get the best of us and cause us to mix them with business which is not the best decision when you’re trying to reach your optimal potential. Learn to truly separate business from personal. Practice meditation, yoga and definitely workout if you can. I am a firm believer in creating balance in all of your health arenas. As a yoga instructor, I know the importance of being healthy all around. Do not take this for granted, our bodies are the vessels to get our dreams accomplished so be mindful of how you take care of it! Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask for help. We let our pride get in the way sometimes and this can really impact how long tasks will take. Look at the people that are already doing it. Seek out their expertise and advice. You never know one chat, one email, or one meet up can make all the difference for you if you try!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Q & A Fabric Studio story. Tell us more about the business.
I own Q & A Fabric Studio which is an innovative one-stop-shop for fashion designers that will include a co-working space upon expansion. I do it all in terms of design and creation. I assist people with branding and starting their own fashion design companies, create samples and provide with creative direction for their brands. Along with doing freelance design for people, I also do personal design for myself. February 29, 2020 is the official launch of my capsule collection called Queer Bois, a suit collection for stud women. (So excited for this launch.)
I teach sewing, pattern-making, draping and illustration to ages six and up. I host seminars on how to start fashion collections, trend and color forecasting and variety of other fashion-related topics. I will be hosting Atlanta’s first Sustainable Fashion Summit in April which is my biggest event that I’ve been planning.
I specialize in fashion education especially for the DIY community. Most of my clients and students that come to me are in the 30’s and 40’s and are just getting into the fashion game because they realize they left their desire to create once they got married or had children etc. and now they want to pursue their dreams. I provide a platform for them to do so. Through classes, seminars and events, I am able to afford them the opportunity to learn at their own pace within their schedules and gain insight into the fashion industry as a whole. I am most proud of this component of my brand because I feel that I am giving back. Not everyone has been blessed to study or live in NYC as I have been able to. So to gain this knowledge that I’ve acquired over the years and to pass it on to others is truly a remarkable blessing.
It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
Wow there are so many resources that have helped me along the way. Where do I even start. So the biggest book I can say is my Bible. It may sound cliche but it gets me through it all!. Understanding that God is the reason why I am, the reason why I do what I do and am capable of doing so makes me take time to study His word and move with His guidance. The next book would have to be the Science of Breath. I am a yoga instructor and this was one of the books I had to read during my training. It’s invaluable. This book has enabled me to use breathing to get through any and everything. Honing into the breath is pivotal in calming, healing and even understanding myself. Another book that I love is the E-myth. One of my friends from NY, a long time ago gave me a quote which have impacted me so much in this process. He said that your vision is both personal and corporate. It’s personal because it is what God has given to you and corporate because you need others to help you accomplish it. The E- Myth talks about just that. Recognizing that being an entrepreneur, you have to adhere to the three elements within you the entrepreneur, the manager and the technician. In order for you to be a successful business owner, you have to balance all three. You can’t take on too much of one role (in particular the entrepreneur role) until you have moved out of the other two. As entrepreneurs, we want to do it all and ultimately become workers or technicians in our business instead of your business working for you. This book deals with how to shift that paradigm.
Podcasts that I listen to are my pastor Dr. A.R. Bernard. He’s amazing and his podcasts help me every step of the way. When I listen to him, I always feel as if he’s talking directly to me about any and all issues that I endure. Other podcasts that I listen to are the Business of Fashion, Fashion is your Business, Millionaire Mindcast, and Entrepreneur Motivation. They are all relevant to me staying abreast to what’s happening in fashion and in business. I also read the Sourcing Journal which is a digital publication. This is my fashion and textile Bible. It tells me everything about the fashion industry. What stores are closing, how to be more sustainable in your fashion brands and where the fashion industry Is headed. Absolutely a MUST, to read daily!
Contact Info:
- Address: 1200 Foster St. Unit B-733
Atlanta, GA 30318 - Website: www.qafabricstudio.com
- Phone: 3474172023
- Email: qinfo@qafabricstudio.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/qafabstudio
- Facebook: facebooks.com/qafabricstudio
Image Credit:
Prepboys Photography
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