We recently connected with Rosie Shapiro and have shared our conversation below.
: Hi Rosie, so excited to have you with us today and we are really interested in hearing your thoughts about how folks can develop their empathy? In our experience, most folks want to be empathic towards others, but in a world where we are often only surrounded by people who are very similar to us, it can sometimes be a challenge to develop empathy for others who might not be as similar to us. Any thoughts or advice?
I was raised by parents who deeply care for others, animals and the environment. It has been engrained in me to do the same. I was always encourage to be vocal about my feelings which allowed me to develop strong emotional connections with others. From that I learned that encouraging individuals to see situations from different points of view fosters empathy by promoting understanding of others’ feelings and experiences. I also believe in practicing kindness. I encourage acts of kindness and compassion in my daily life which reinforces empathetic behavior.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I grew up in Ojai, California, surrounded by nature and the mountains, while also spending much time at the beach. As I grew older, I developed a strong passion for the artistic aspects of life and explored many creative outlets such as music, art, hair and makeup and, ultimately, fashion design. As my passion for fashion grew stronger, I ended a five-year career in the hair industry and went back to school Downtown L.A. at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandise (FIDM), where I majored in fashion design. While in school, my goal was to create my own sustainable swimwear brand, so I did just that. For me, ethical production and sustainability was the only choice. I knew I had to create this brand so that I wasn’t contributing to all the waste and fast fashion issues in the industry while staying true to my aesthetic. Rose Lion was produced with the intention of lessoning the environmental impact of our swimwear.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Getting to where I am professionally today was a journey in itself. I was in the midst of a successful career as a hairstylist, but I realized that I had a deeper passion. Taking a leap of faith, I dove headfirst into a pursuit of owning my own swimwear brand. It wasn’t easy. After uprooting and moving to Los Angeles, I committed to becoming the best student at FIDM that I possibly could. This included years of sleepless study nights, 30 days in Paris touring ateliers and fashion houses, spending hours at the sewing machine, and always staying late after class to work harder. Since I was a few years older than many of the students and had returned to school, I approached it very seriously. In the midst of all of this, my dream of having a swimwear brand became clouded many different times, wanting to do couture, run my own showroom, even thinking of moving to NYC, etc. After a couple years, I realized that my dream of creating well-made, timeless but modern and stylish swimwear kept coming back to me.
Sorting out the details of creating a line was challenging since I was so committed to sustainability. I had to research where to get the suits made, where to find sustainable fabric and materials, where to produce the tags, etc. It took a lot of trial and error and word of mouth to finally be able to lock everything into place. All of that took more than a year, while feeling discouraged at times. As I kept learning and finding solutions, I actually became more patient and understood that quality takes time.
Throughout all of this trial and error, I have learned that these 3 qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge were most impactful in my journey: 1, hard work pays off 2, patience, determination and persistence is absolutely necessary along the way and 3, always keep an open mind and meet as many people as you can along the way.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
The most impactful thing my parents did for me was always believing in me and supporting my endeavors.
Contact Info:
- Website: roselionswim.com
- Instagram: @roselionswim
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/rosiesshapiro
Image Credits
Rose Machado, Arnie Watkins, Jonathan Bar, Queeny van der Zande, Alena Nazarova
