Our Story
Where do I start, my name is Karla… I am the owner of For Ceillia. The fact that I can now sit here and type those words is an accomplishment to say the least. A quick background on me, I am 26 years old, I have been in the retail industry for over 10 years, and live in Los Angeles, CA. I have a daughter named Bella who just turned 9 years old, although you would think she was 19 with how smart she is. If you do the math, that leads you to the fact that I was a teen parent. Pregnant at 16 gave birth at 17. A bit of background: I am a Latina who is the daughter to two Hispanic immigrants. The Hispanic culture is rooted in extremely conservative views. For example, getting pregnant out of wedlock is a big no no! Getting pregnant at 16 an even bigger NO NO! I refused to be another statistic and I worked hard to graduate with a 7-month-old right by my side. Why this is relevant is something most people might not understand unless you live through it. From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I gained a perspective on life that really drove me to be who I am today.
I always say, “Everyone has a purpose and everything happens for a reason.” Having my daughter as young as I did helped me to find my drive and motivation. I had someone to work hard for and build an amazing life for. It also gave me an insight to the sacrifices my own parents went through to give their children the opportunity to do something great. My mom, who works hard for her children everyday, has always been my biggest cheerleader through thick and thin. My dad is my hero; he is where I get my go get them attitude from. He is the prime example of if you work hard you will be successful in whatever your passionate in.
While in high school I started my retail career… I have always loved fashion and studied trends but working in retail opened my eyes to the business aspect behind just selling cloths. Remember how I said everything happens for a reason? Well I met, what I would consider, some of the industry’s best leaders along my journey. One of which sparked the idea of me going to business for myself. At first I thought she was crazy but, after thinking about it I thought that might be something I could do. Sure enough life throws you curve balls sometimes and it has taken over 7 years to get here but here we are.
I wanted to build a brand that had mean behind it and purpose. It’s easy for someone to sell you cloths but what’s the story behind the brand? I always told myself my brand needed to mean something to me, not just making a profit. Finally, I realized I wanted to build something that I could look at Bella and say “I did this, you can too” Also tell my parents “I did this with an opportunity you gave me”
For Ceillia is a play on my mom’s middle name. I wanted our name to tie back to my family and one day my sister hit the name on the head with “Ceillia”. I added the “For” and then came “For Ceillia” a brand built for my daughter, my parents, all in the industry that caught my attention at 12 years old. If you’re still reading this THANK YOU…. It’s been a long time coming and I realized I needed to grow and experience life a little bit more before I could build something with mean to be proud of.
XOXO,
Karla