The And She Looked Up Podcast

EP120: Creative Canadian Women: Katrina & Lexie of Gallola - Starting a Fashion and Lifestyle Brand From Scratch

Melissa Hartfiel, Lexie van Hahn, Katrina van Hahn Season 4 Episode 120

Toronto based sisters Katrina and Lexie von Hahn have known for years that they wanted to create a business that reflected their Latin American roots and that has resulted in Gallola - a fashion and lifestyle brand launching soon with their first product: a shoe they designed that's inspired by the timeless Argentine carpincho style and handmade in Mexico.  

In this episode we talk about:

  • Lexie and Katrina's individual journeys that have taken them around the world
  • starting a fashion and lifestyle brand from scratch 
  • manufacturing your own designs
  • how crucial building a network is for a young business
  • not being afraid or too shy to reach out and ask other female business owners for help
  • the importance of research
  • working with family and being a new mom with a new business
  • bootstrapping a creative business that manufactures product and much more! 

This episode is brought to you by Fine Lime Designs Illustrations

For a summary of this episode and all the links mentioned please visit:
Episode120: Katrina and Lexie of Gallola: Starting a Fashion & Lifestyle Brand From Scratch

You can find Melissa at finelimedesigns.com, finelimeillustrations.com or on Instagram @mhchipmunk.

You can find Gallola at gallola.com or on Instagram @gallola.

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And She Looked Up Creative Hour Podcast

And She Looked Up was born from belief that creating for a living takes a special kind of person: one part artist and one part businessperson.

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You can connect with the podcast on:

For a list of all available episodes, please visit:
And She Looked Up Creative Hour Podcast

Each week The And She Looked Up Podcast sits down with inspiring Canadian women who create for a living. We talk about their creative journeys and their best business tips, as well as the creative and business mindset issues all creative entrepreneurs struggle with. This podcast is for Canadian artists, makers and creators who want to find a way to make a living doing what they love.

Your host, Melissa Hartfiel (@finelimedesigns), left a 20 year career in corporate retail and has been happily self-employed as a working creative since 2010. She's a graphic designer, writer and illustrator as well as the co-founder of a multi-six figure a year business in the digital content space. She resides just outside of Vancouver, BC.

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