Everyone who knows me well would know that I love fashion. I often spend my free time searching for unique, and at the same time satisfying my taste clothes. I’m passionate about visiting my favorite second-hand shops, markets and chain stores. I hate repeating popular patterns and looking exactly like the next plain Jane coming round the corner. Clothes not only reflect my soul and interests, but also make me feel better and more confident in various everyday life situations.

I’ve recently learned to appreciate our domestic brands, and especially the ones which don’t pride themselves on mass production, on the contrary – the ones which make clothes, accessories or other gadgets for customer’s individual order. Why do I think such brands are worth being promoted? Well, for sure they approach their potential recipients in a much friendlier manner, and therefore we can expect our needs to be fulfilled with great attention to detail. What’s more, having personal contact with the person who will be in charge of completing our order makes it possible to ask for advice and to adjust the product to our individual needs.

In this way I’ve come across a clothing brand called Pastelove love, which comes from my hometown Jaworzno, and whose owner is Marzena Harasiuk-Adamczyk, who can undoubtedly steal people’s hearts with her openness, diligence and persistence in pursuing her goals. In this interview you’ll get to know the beginnings of Pastelove love brand, what range of products they can offer, as well as Marzena’s plans for the nearest future.

Passion Piece: Could you tell my readers a few words about yourself?

Marzena: My name’s Marzena. Professionally, I deal with sewing and designing clothes for my own brand which is called Pastelove love. Personally, I’m a mother of two wonderful kids: Maksymilian and Liliana. I’m a cheerful and gentle person by nature. I truly value honesty, diligence and warmth in other people. I’m very active, I can’t sit in one place. I demand a lot from myself, and I aim at being perfect in every project I undertake. I always look for extra activities for myself, which allow me to be a step further than I was yesterday.

Passion Piece: You’ve always been interested in handicraft. While improving your skills, you’ve also created various, frequently surprisingly amazing things. How did you come up with the idea of setting up Pastelove love?

Marzena: Pastelove love was born out of love for fashion. While being a little girl I set up my first notebook with clothing designs. I loved playing with accessories, patterns and colors. Of course, back then I didn’t plan to create clothes, I simply wanted to capture my projects on paper, the ones which had appeared in my head. I’ve always had an artistic soul, I enjoyed drawing, dancing, singing, playing musical instruments. Despite the fact that I did all these things with different final effects, I’ve always been motivated by love for things I do. I appreciate handicraft in all its forms, I leave a piece of myself even in the simplest things. In the contemporary world we can find everything in shops almost at our fingertips, but we still can’t buy time, which we always somehow lack. That’s why, I believe that if we decide to devote some time to create a present for someone, it immediately gains more value. I’m not talking about its material worth, but emotional one.

Passion Piece: How did your sewing adventure start?

Marzena: I was given my first sewing machine by my husband and family. The first year wasn’t really intensive, when it comes to sewing, because it was the time when I became a new mom. It was a totally new role for me, so I fully dedicated myself to motherhood. But, over time, when my son was growing up, I was trying to sew some clothes for him. I got to like it a lot, and since that time I started devoting more and more time to my passion. I’m a self-taught person, the basics are simply a matter of trial and error to me. I always emphasize that it’s a wonderful lesson of humility and patience. Sewing and designing clothes fascinated me strongly enough to spend my nights and every free moment on practicing. I reached a point in my life where I wanted to know more than I was able to learn on my own, that’s why I signed up for my first course. It was a huge step forward for me. I gained knowledge, which allowed me to set myself even more demanding goals and to take up even more difficult projects.

Passion Piece: What was the most challenging for you while mastering this demanding art of sewing?

Marzena: The biggest challenge for me was finding time to follow my passion. I’m a person who likes to sacrifice oneself fully to what I do, however having two kids makes it a difficult task. I spent every spare moment on reaching higher levels. Of course, these were just small steps, but I had been consequent in my actions for two years when the first outcomes of my work started to be visible. The next huge challenge was facing the fact that nothing comes easily and nothing comes at once. The key role is played here by patience, persistence, pursuing your objectives and practice.

Passion Piece: Where do you find inspirations for your projects?

Marzena: I don’t look for inspirations, everything comes naturally. So far I didn’t need any external stimuli, thanks to which I would create new projects. I don’t feel the need to search for inspirations purposefully, my everyday reality is usually inspiring enough for me. Sometimes I notice a piece of cloth and the idea how to use it appears in the blink of an eye. It also happens that I bought some cloth a year earlier, and I still miss a good idea how to use it. Projects, which I decide to undertake, totally reflect my personality, favorite colors and lifestyle.

Passion Piece: Who do you most often sew for?

Marzena: The first projects, which I carried out, were mainly clothes for children. It brings me lots of joy when I see a smile on the child’s face after receiving a gift. At the beginning of my sewing path I needed this kind of recipients, who wouldn’t notice my deficiencies. It gave me a real boost. Over time, I also tried to sew something for myself. I was truly happy when my friends, as well as complete strangers asked me where I had bought a given garment, which I made on my own. It was the most beautiful compliment for me. Now, I sew for everyone. So far, I’ve carried out projects mainly for kids, but I’ve slowly started creating Women’s and Men’s clothing, which I also enjoy a lot. I’ve recently managed to get in touch with some companies which I sew for, e.g. promotional clothing or gadgets.

Passion Piece: What distinguishes Pastelove love from other clothing brands available on our domestic market?

Marzena: My objective is to make Pastelove love distinguish itself mostly because of high quality fabrics which I sew from. It gives me a lot of satisfaction to hear that children’s clothes which I create don’t wear out easily, and kids simply grow out of them. It’s wonderful feedback for me, as kids, without a doubt, are the most demanding customers.

I also aim at making my projects unique, characteristic, so that they are printed in people’s memory. I dream of the situation, in which projects would be immediately associated with my brand.

I want Pastelove love to be famous for great attention to detail, it’s extremely important for me.

I’ve currently introduced the possibility to customize clothes, I think it’s an attractive offer, as everyone can find a part of themselves in the finished product.

I propose various solutions and fabrics. I’m willing to advise people how to choose the right items. I want everyone to feel comfortable and unique during each phase of creating a given product. I try to devote my time to everyone.

Passion Piece: What advice would you give to everyone interested not only in fashion, but also creating their own unique clothes? What should they remember about?

Marzena: I think that the most important is to stay who you are. There’s no point in following fashion or current trends blindly. Of course, it’s great to advert to what’s fashionable at the moment, but it should be done within the limits of one’s own preferences and taste. There are trends, which are quite popular among a large group of people, but if it’s not my style – I don’t sew it, even though these clothes would probably be appreciated by lots of potential customers.

It’s also important not to give up, keep trying and not to be afraid to experiment.

Passion Piece: What do you find to be your greatest success?

Marzena: Organizing and fulfilling myself during one of the most demanding stages of my life, I think that’s what I consider to be my greatest personal success. It involved a lot of sacrifice and sleepless nights.

I’m really happy that I had a chance to sew for people who are or were important in my life. I’m thinking here about the possibility to hand Ewa Chodakowska a sweatshirt or to cooperate with a dance school Tito Dance Studio,which is run by Rafał Kryla – a finalist of the first edition of You Can Dance show.

These people occurred not to be just a one-time episode in my life. I’m a person who gets really attached to people. I regularly go to the meetings with Ewa Chodakowska which are part of her Be Active Tour. Ewa is a wonderful, kind and beautiful woman. Such events are a massive dose of motivation and a possibility to meet all these amazing people again, the ones who I got to know there. Ewa unites valuable people around her, she has a really great team.

Rafał Tito Kryla, the founder of a dance school Tito Dance Studio is a fantastic, ambitious and friendly man. I’ve learned a lot from him, I got to know his wonderful choreographers, and kids who attend his school. He has recently become the MMA fighter. I’m very happy that during hist first and at the same time victorious fight, Pastelove love had a chance to be one of his sponsors.

I had also a great time while designing and sewing costumes for D.G.R.O DANCE FAMILY, whose choreographer is Damian Cetera. This group is created by outstanding people and talented dancers. Seeing performances given by dancers dancing in the costumes, which I sewed for them, really moved my heart. It was an incredible experience for me.

However, I don’t like referring to my work as a success or its lack, as I truly respect people who I have met and with whom I have been cooperating, they are really great people. Attaching a ‘success’ label to them doesn’t sit well with me.

Passion Piece: How did you start your cooperation with Ewa Chodakowska? What are its outcomes?

Marzena: I love sport, all types of physical activity. Not a long time ago, I noticed that there would be organized a training led by Ewa Chodakowska close to my city. There was also a possibility to meet Ewa in person. Since I’ve been doing her workouts at home for quite a long time, I signed up for that training without a moment of hesitation. As I’ve already mentioned, I love giving people things, which I make on my own, there was also no exception in this case. I decided to sew a sweatshirt, which would be customized especially for her. My choice has fallen upon an oversize sweatshirt in a wonderful pink color. On the back there was embroidered her surname and number 01. Around the hood I decided to embroider a caption, which was a sentence she has frequently repeated after her trainings ‘and it’s done now’, as an extra trimming I added stripes with the caption ‘be yourself’. Ewa really liked that sweatshirt. She’s an extremely warm and kind person. After that training coaches from her team got in touch with me and asked me to make customized sweatshirts for them, too. It was a great honor for me, and completing this order brought me lots of satisfaction, especially because of the fact that those coaches really got to like their new sweatshirts.

This acquaintance, which I have just described, has brought me lots of new ideas, but most importantly new friendships. During these trainings I’ve met wonderful and valuable people, who keep trying to overcome their weaknesses and in this way present their real power.

Passion Piece: Which new projects are you going to surprise us with in the future?

Marzena: Currently, I’m working on my own website. Unfortunately, I can’t really reveal more, although there’s a lot of stuff going on. I carry out new, personal projects, but I also receive orders from companies which are very well-known throughout Poland. I think it’s worth to follow my fanpages on Facebook and Instagram, because there will be a good deal of news and new products to see.

Passion Piece: Where do you see yourself in 10 years’ time?

Marzena: With the eyes of my imagination, in 10 years’ time, I can still see myself doing what makes me happy now. I dream of using this time for improving myself and my skills needed to do my work well. Who knows, maybe in 10 years’ time Pastelove love will be a recognized clothing brand – that’s my real dream.

However, 10 years is a long period of time. At the moment, I’m not thinking that far ahead. I can just reveal that in less than a month will happen something truly important for me. There will be a possibility to meet me in person, because I’ll have my own workshop in the center of Jaworzno. I’m really happy to meet the needs of my clients, as they often ask me if my products are available at hand, most often as a gift for their dear ones. I really want my workshop to provide them with everything they need. For sure it won’t be a wide range of products, due to the fact that most of the things I sew for individual orders.

Passion Piece: Have you got any other passions besides handicraft?

Marzena: Yes, of course! As I’ve already mentioned before I love sport in various forms: cycling, roller blading, aerobics, fitness, aqua-aerobics. I treat all kinds of physical activity as a great way of relaxation and spending my free time.

Passion Piece: Which motto would you like to share with my readers?

Marzena: My favorite motto which has applied to me fairly these days is ‘Take actions! In a year time you’ll regret that you didn’t start today’. I wasn’t always that consequent while pursuing my goals, I had moments of weakness. As a New Year’s resolution I promised myself to make use of every opportunity which would knock at my door. It’s June, and I don’t regret anything. On the contrary, I’m happy about all finished projects.

Passion Piece: Thank you very much for this truly inspiring conversation. I wish you continued success, not only when it comes to your professional, but also private life. I can’t wait for the opening day of your workshop!

Marzena is a great example that persistence and hard work finally bring desired outcomes. Everyone is talented in a way, but needs to find this talent in oneself. Be true to what you believe and to what you are really interested in, and you will gain the pinnacle of your potential one day. I don’t know about you, guys, but I’m going to visit Pastelove love, as I’ve been dreaming about my own customized sweatshirt!

See you around!

Yours,

Passion Piece

Photos by Pastelove love