In her mid-teens, Daniella Ohebshalom was inspired to spruce up her mother鈥檚 old denim jacket to wear to a friend鈥檚 birthday. She sewed on a patch symbol she felt represented her鈥攁 peace sign鈥攁nd red varsity letters spelling her initials: 鈥淒.E.O.鈥
The upcycled jacket was a hit with partygoers, who wanted one of their own. This drove Daniella to found her own custom denimwear line, , less than a year later. Today, she is an LIM sophomore learning best practices for her thriving business.
鈥淚鈥檓 about the brains of the business鈥攎oney, making a company do better,鈥 says the Fashion Merchandising major. 鈥淚 looked at schools that did fashion, saw LIM, and said, 鈥楾his is the school for me,鈥 because it鈥檚 not focused on design. I applied, I got in, and I haven鈥檛 looked back.鈥
Daniella started with creating personalized products for friends and family who gave her their denim jackets to beautify with ornamental patches. Her client list quickly grew to include word-of-mouth customers and casual observers. She started through which she could make sales and spread the word even faster. With guidance from her aunt, a fashion blogger and interior designer, Daniella turned her hobby into a full-blown business while still in high school.
Shortly thereafter, another family member in the denim business took Daniella to a showroom, where she placed her own wholesale order. After several months producing original pieces in her increasingly popular style, another huge milestone awaited Daniella that winter.
"I wanted to spice up my denim, but also make it something someone could wear in cold weather, so I made this fur-lined denim jacket, and that鈥檚 what caught Bloomingdale鈥檚 eye. At the time I had around 1500 Instagram followers," Daniella says.
"I received a one-sentence email from a buyer at Bloomingdale鈥檚. It said, 'I found your account on Instagram, and I want to have you in our store.' I remember walking into my science class shaking, crying, screaming."
鈥淚 had a three-day trunk show in the Bloomingdale鈥檚 store," Daniella continues. "Because of Bloomingdale鈥檚, I had to register an LLC, build a website, work with Shopify, and I began working with other brands, too."
So, when a high school senior already owns a profitable business with growing demand and even international customers, what's to be gained from four years of college?
"I was doing so well," Daniella says, "but I knew I didn't know everything. I knew surface aspects of running a company, but at LIM I've learned more that I鈥檝e applied to my business: the basics of retailing, customer service, what to do when something goes wrong, how to better your company's position."
Daniella continues showcasing the pieces in her perpetually growing line. She鈥檚 found a niche with smaller, private trunk shows and with philanthropic groups. These not only keep Daniella鈥檚 schedule full, they also enable her to add a charity aspect to her successful business, as she donates products and sales percentages to causes she supports, such as Northwell Health, the UJA Federation, and Babes Against Cancer.
Today, DANIELLA ERIN NYC, has its own tailors鈥攈andling patchwork, alterations, embroidery, and vinyl鈥攁 sales team, and an accountant.
As for her future, Daniella says, "Whether it's continuing to own my own business or working for someone else, I can鈥檛 picture myself leaving LIM without having a lot to look forward to and a great career after this."