Meet Paige Hawkins: CEO/FOUNDER – EVRYWR Official Clothing Line

We had the good fortune of connecting with Paige Hawkins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paige, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I first started my business, EVRYWR ( pronounced as everywhere) it was based off of the fact that I couldn’t find any loungewear for me. That was cute at least! (lol) Im a weird size between plus size and “regular” size so finding something that fits MY body the way I wanted it to was my main goal for not only me but for my customers as well. It was totally spur of the moment too! I was trying on clothes from another fashion company, while on the phone with a close friend of mine and I was complaining about how something was a size 14 ended up being too small or too big (even though both items were considered the same size.) So me, being the dramatic woman I am yelled. “I’M CREATING MY OWN CLOTHING LINE” and my friend was like “I love that idea for you”. It was the beginning of the pandemic and I had no idea how I was going to test vendors without spending a butt-load of money but I did it. I tested different qualities from other brands, what they considered a “14” compared to my definition of a size 14 and went to work! I flew to LA in September and launch on October 10th of 2020. Back to my thought process (LOL) I really wanted this brand to be a “for us by us” type of brand. Sounds cliche but its true, I wanted potential customers to look on my website or my social media pages and see models that resembled them. Not “plus size” models with no stomach… I wanted the fupa’s, the double chins, the back rolls, all of the things that makes us unapologetically us. I needed my company to be inclusive, which is why my sizes range from a S-3x (currently working towards bigger sizes) but also I didn’t want to be labeled under a tab. “Plus Size” like yes, thank you for including me but also… I feel like i’m being put on the spot when I have to scroll down to the plus size section. That was one of the most important aspects I wanted for my site. Everyone is able to go to the same tab and scroll through the same pages and look at the SAME CLOTHES. Inclusivity was my main focus and I hope that I am delivering that to my clientele.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As a brand, what sets me apart from others is my passion and my reason, nobody has that but me. That’s something I had to grow to realize. I was so nervous when first started a brand because around my launch, there were a few bigger brands that had just announced the launch for their “new addition loungewear brands”. That put me on edge and made me a little hesitant on if I should be creating this brand at all. But at the end of the day I kept pushing and thats the biggest thing I am proud of. Starting a business is not easy at all! My biggest challenge was believing in myself. Like I previously stated, around the time I launched, there were a lot of businesses who were dropping similar lines so I had to trust myself enough to know that no matter what I will gather an audience. I feel like thats the most important part about starting a business, knowing who you want to target, who you want involved in your journey and trusting yourself to pull through. I just want the world to know that I’m trying to build something for us. The black community (and other communities of course) but solely for my people. Something that nobody can take or duplicate, for inclusivity and security. EVRYWR is still a growing brand and there’s definitely still room for progress but also, I want yall to know that.. I did that.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Hmmm… Food wise, I would take them to these following places: – Mojave – Cafe Intermezzo – Thrive (korean bbq) – Superica (just for the margaritas) – Punch Bowl Social those are my go-to places whenever someone comes to the city because you can get literally anything from any one of these places (thats on the menu of course) and it would not disappoint! For social places, I would do any kind of pop-up shop. Those are usually extremely fun and safe (due to our current time in the pandemic). It gives them the flavor of the city without doing the usual “tourist-y” things that people usually do when they visit. Lastly, I would introduce them to my friends in that area because they’re the most interesting people in my opinion. I love mixing friend groups, it makes me happy that my peers get along and that we can potentially go on a trip together in the future!
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Honestly, I would have to give a shoutout to my mom and my friend Dazsha. My mom because she is my rock! She holds me down, in the beginning of my launch she was creating all of my shirts, shipping them to me or even shipping them to customers. She has been my diary, my planner, therapist, ATM machine (lol) anything you could possibly think of. I really don’t know if EVRYWR would be rolling right now if it wasn’t for her. I want to shoutout my friend Dazsha (pronounce Deja) because she is THE true definition of roll dog. I called her and told her I wanted to go to LA and that night we were booking flights and scheduling our stay at the hotel. She always gives me an extra push, forever down with my crazy antics and she’s one hell of a friend. Everyone needs a Dazsha, not mine… but find you one!

Website: www.evrywr.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evrywrofficial/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/paigenavae

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQaAZGcwe_sK28b928DYzaQ

Other: My podcast (: – https://www.buzzsprout.com/1722713/8064809

Image Credits
Corey Chiles – @cmclast on Instagram