Creative Ladies | Thassia from Victoria's Class

If you didn't meet Thassia from Victoria's Class when she was on my sidebar, I'm really pleased to introduce this lovely lady to you today. Thassia is the woman behind Victoria's Class, a hair accessories company based in Holland. She is such a genuine and sweet person :) I've asked her a few questions about running a handmade business and the path she took to get there.

1 // Can you give us a little introduction to your shop, Victoria's Class and yourself?

Hi, I am Thassia, I am a wife of a loving husband and a mother of a beautiful girl. I was born and raised in Brazil and moved to Holland around 7 years ago to stay with the love of my life. Our daughter is 4 years old now and she was the inspiration behind my shop and its name, Victoria’s Class. We both love hair accessories and she has had a great collection since she was a baby. However, as my daughter started to grow, keeping some of the hair accessories in her hair was a great challenge, some of them would just slip off in a matter of 5 minutes. This made me realize the need for some cute but also practical accessories, for they don’t just need to adorn the hair, they also need to keep bangs off, the hair neat and stay in place throughout a whole day at the playground! This gave me the idea to make some functional accessories such as the hairclip with grips and 3 in 1 headbands, which were functional too on the top of being absolutely cute! I try to design my accessories with a fresh touch to bring uniqueness to each piece, this way my customers have that “one-of-a-kind” feeling about their accessories.

2 // How did you get started in the handmade industry?

I suppose since I was a child! My mother is an artisan with over 40 year’s experience and known by her flawless workmanship. She taught me how to hand and machine sew, paint, crochet, knit, cross stitch, beading, patchwork, textile paint, textile application etc etc etc  from a very early age and I am sure that by the age of 12 I mastered these skills just as well as I do today. That is a funny thing that it did not occur to me to use those skills for my own business before, since my mother is very successful in her niche and is never out of work! In fact it was only after I finished my Master Degree in Food Quality Management (yeah, yeah, really not related…) and my husband’s support in convincing me I had some strong entrepreneurial skills, that I started to consider ideas for business.

We brainstormed many times until the accessories idea came up. I wanted to make beautiful but wearable and functional accessories; something modern with fresh designs but that stands the test of time; I wanted to make something that didn’t look plastic or mass produced by machines but something my customers would touch and feel it was well made, and better, that it was specially made for them. Something personal, in fact. And we have had great pleasure doing it so far!

 3 // What is your favourite part about your job?

The flexibility. I love it that owning my own business gives me the flexibility during week days which I doubt I would get if I worked for someone else, for instance having lunch with my daughter or taking her to dance classes. Of course the job needs to be done and the disadvantage is that I work long hours and during weekends too sometimes. But it is all about the balance, and when you love what you do then things are easier.

4 // You are from Holland! What is your favourite thing about where you live?

The signposting on the roads is great... ☺

5 // How do you like to relax?

Travelling!! In fact I think that this is the only way I can actually relax. When you have a business a lot of your time is dedicated to it and it gets difficult to relax even in the weekends. If I am at home and I have free time I will get myself busy with my family, or with  jobs around the house, or getting social with friends, all of which is very nice but sometimes quite wearing. And I just can’t do it any other away, I am a busy person! So to relax I need to pack our bags and be in another environment for some time.

6 // What is the best advice you have ever received?

I guess it was my husband’s advice for me to become an entrepreneur. I completely change the direction of my life with this advice and I am pleased I followed it. If you have an idea for business that you believe in, I would advise anyone to follow it!

Thanks so much for sharing your story with us Thassia!

If you'd like to check out the full range, visit the Victoria's Class store. You can also follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

Kitty
xo