business owner |

HANNAH_10 Hannah-Skvarla-Polaroid_large

Have you ever dreamt of starting a business that requires you to travel across the globe with one of your best friends, all while creating positive change in the lives of others?

Yes?

Same here!

Hannah Skvarla, Co-Founder of The Little Market, wife, and mama to her one-year-old daughter Liora, is living our dreams and her very own.

While attending the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM), where she met her friend and then soon-to-be business partner, Lauren Conrad, Hannah’s ultimate career goal was to find a way to merge fashion and giving back. Lauren, previous star of MTV’s The Hills, and now NYT Best Selling author and designer of her own Kohl’s fashion line, shared the same interest. Together they joined forces to create The Little Market, connecting artisans from around the world to a broader clientele.

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“Starting The Little Market has allowed me to have my dream job!” Skvarla said in our interview last year. “I always loved design but didn’t know how to turn it into a career path. After traveling with Lauren, we decided to start to The Little Market to empower women around the world.”

Hannah, also a member of Human Rights Watch, divulges below on the rewards and challenges of working with friends, her future goals (because, yes, she wants to do more!), and her best advice and tips to staying organized while changing the world.

What is the biggest challenge of running your own business?

The biggest challenge is prioritizing my to-do list. Everything I put on my list is important. From writing customer thank you notes to planning our next trip to designing new products, I really care about everything I do.

Prioritizing is definitely a universal struggle! Do you have any tips or favorite tools that you use to help you?

Of course!

1) I love the app Asana. It’s an amazing task manager for group projects. I use it to organize my to-do list.

2) I try to complete quick tasks immediately rather than adding them to my to-do list.

3) I like to keep my email inbox as close to empty as possible. If an email simply requires a quick response I try to get to it immediately. For emails that require work, I often file the email in a folder and I add the task to my to do list.

You have the opportunity to work every day with one of your closest friends. What is the biggest reward of working with a good friend?

The best part of working with good friends is that it doesn’t feel like work. Our small team at The Little Market is very close and I really enjoy working with everyone.

What do you think is key to working together successfully?

For me, the key to working successfully with a friend is realistic expectations. It’s important to work together to determine each other’s role and responsibilities.

While traveling and shopping, what kinds of items or styles are you drawn to for TLM?

I am drawn to items that would make good gifts. I love buying gifts for my family and friends and I like to find items that other people can give as gifts.

What is your favorite part of your job right now?

My favorite part of my job is meeting with the talented artisans we work with. I love hearing their stories of how our purchases have improved their lives.

You’ve traveled all over the world and seen some of the hardest working women. What does it feel like when you come back to LA, where we have so much, after seeing such struggle and poverty?

Every trip reminds me that I am lucky to live in LA. We often take for granted the privileges that come with living in the US. Most women and girls around the world don’t have the opportunities we do. Each trip motivates me to work harder to help other women earn an income so they can create a better life for themselves and their families.

What’s your next goal or even a dream that you might have for the business?

I would love to open a brick and mortar store. All of our handmade products are truly works of art and I would love for customers to be able to see each piece in person.

What’s the best advice you can share with anyone dreaming of starting their own business?

I highly recommend working or interning at a company that does work you are passionate about. You won’t even realize how much you learn until you apply the knowledge to starting your business. Change is possible, it is ok to be idealistic!

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Interest and passion can spark a dream, but Hannah proves that dedication, desire, and gratitude will fuel it. Writing thank you cards to customers, appreciating her co-workers, and caring about the artisans she works with, only makes us admire her more!

If you aren’t familiar with The Little Market, read up on the amazing company here before you get your shop on! The work they are doing reaches beyond the artisans and into their communities. Then, go nuts! You’ll know that you’re getting quality, handmade, one-of-a-kind items, and more importantly, you’re supporting other hard-working ladies around the world.

all photos from:

@thelittlemarket | The Little Market on Facebook | TheLittleMarket.com

C A R E E R C R U S H

I L L U S T R A T O R

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Profound, simple, classy, gorgeous, clean and inspiring…

I could go on and on about my feelings for Bianca Cash’s work. She graciously answered my ever-so-curious questions about her career, style, and how (and where) she comes up with her beautiful and original quotes, plus how long they actually take her. Come to find out, her effortlessly gorgeous prints aren’t effortless at all.

Tell me a little bit about how you got into the art of typography and illustration? Was it something you were always good at and enjoyed?

I was generally never really good at school, but I always did well in art class and by the time I finished year 12, I knew that graphic design was something I loved. I have always loved handwritten type but I only started exploring ink typography about three or so years ago. I was in my first year of my graphic design course and one of my classes was drawing. I started to play with ink and kept writing. I wouldn’t say I was great at it when I first started. It’s taken a lot of practice and my style has evolved a lot. I think also having a graphic design background, it helps with my typography work.

When did you decide to turn this passion into a career?

I’ve wanted to be a graphic designer probably since I was in high school. When I finished high school I decided to take a different path and somehow ended up in administration and fundraising in a few different nonprofit organizations for several years. I got to a point where I just wasn’t happy within that industry and had a friend tell me that I just needed to study what I love. It was a scary step but I ended up studying graphic design for two years and ended up in third year Communication Design, which I have started part-time (very part-time) this year, as I’m freelancing full-time as well.

Your art is simple yet profound. How do you decide what you want to illustrate? Do you come up with your own quotes, do you read things that jump out at you, or both?

Thank you so much – that really means a lot. Honestly.. I’m not sure. A lot of what I write and post online, is personal. It’s something I have learned, it’s something I have/am going through. It’s something I believe in and feel passionately about. They often pop into my mind when I’m driving or in the shower haha.

Even her “work mess” is pretty! | photo via instagram

Everything you do looks effortlessly pretty. How long does a typical illustration take you?

It can really vary. Sometimes I get it at first go or second, other times I write it out a lot.. like a lot. Anywhere from 10 – 50 times. I’m a perfectionist so that really adds to the time. It can take anywhere from an hour to eight. Sometimes I’ll write a piece out and revisit it the next day, or a week later or even six months later.

Just because I’m curious, how would you describe your style? Often someone’s personal fashion style transcends into their work.

I like to think I’m quite minimalistic, classic but playful. Two of my favourite clothing stores here in Australia are Gorman and Country Road. Gorman has some crazy awesome colourful patterns and Country Road has a lot of classics. I own a lot of stripes. I can’t help it..

Lastly, would you say this is your dream job? If not, what would be?

I think this is my dream job… Though it always has to be evolving and changing. Also it’s important to know that dream job doesn’t mean it’s not hard and has it’s lows. It can be exhausting being your own boss and I’m in a constant state of learning. But for the most part I am really thankful I get to do this.

If you don’t follow Bianca on instagram, 1. you should, 2. you have most likely seen her work from the many re-posts of other girl-blogger favorites. Her illustrations are too beautiful not to share, and her messages…well, similar to kindness, should be “thrown around like confetti.”

You can see more of her amazing work on instagram, or buy prints directly from her website. While you’re there, you’ll see that she is not only an amazing artist, but an insanely talented photographer. This girl’s a vessel of limitless creativity, a business woman paving her own path, and a career crush for any Polished Press follower.

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