FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO HAUTE COUTURE
She took jobs waiting tables, care-taking and babysitting. On the job one day as a waitress, she was "discovered" by a photographer, in the classic "Hollywood" way. He implored her to meet an agent at the Elite-modeling agency. Sylwia was unimpressed.
"I said 'no, we're not going out (on a date)', how' bout that?" she laughs. But after the photographer convinced her that this was not a come-on, Sylwia did indeed go for the interview, and her modeling career was launched.
As a model, "I did not break Giselle records," she smiles, but her time on the catwalk gave her tremendous insight into what was going on behind the scenes. She became fascinated
with the designs, fabrics, tailoring, structuring of the clothes, and that 7-year-old child in her came to life.
"Since I was already making my own clothes, which I always did since I was a kid, why not make it for others?" It was word of mouth that launched her designing career, but in the beginning, it was not easy. She had been so immersed in the "model" sizes of "0" or "2", or at most, "4", that designing for real women, with real curves, was a challenge. And they all wanted hourglass figures.
"My first customer with real curves," she says, "asked me if I could make her a white, fitted suit. I said 'of course I can’ As soon as she left the store, I looked up in the sky and said 'God help me' because I have no idea how I'm going to pull this off. But I did! And she was very happy."
From there, Sylwia's business took of. I asked her to paint a picture of her design aesthetic for us. "Imagine Katherine Hepburn, with a very modern, strong but sophisticated, and very feminine look. Very clean, tailored, very decisive. I start with a very clean palette. Ivory is probably my favorite color. I work with some patterns, especially in spring and summer, but nothing too loud, nothing over-done."
She says she loves to get a customer to open up -- about their lifestyle, about what they'd like to hide on their body, and what they'd like to accentuate.
"I've never had a problem making them glow."
Sylwia remembers the early days of struggling, opening her first shop in Lincoln Park. After a long day of work, she'd be going to bed about the same time a neighboring Starbucks would be opening up at 4 a.m.
"You question if you're doing the right thing. But I always had the same answer. I'd wake up in the morning and I'd say 'I love what I do' and I would never change it for anything else and it has paid off. I used to believe in one thing, and I still do: There are no impossible things. If we really put our mind to it, we can do it. It works! It really works!"
"I love seeing my customers walking down the street. It's happiness, mixed with pride and a bit of competitiveness. I want to be the best."
In the future, Sylwia has design ideas for handbags, and it's her "dream" to create shoes, as well. And Sylwia credits her family with much of her success. Her mom still collects many of the dresses she's done over the years -- even the "ugly ones in the beginning" -- and her mom still has that polka dot skirt from age 7.
My clients are usually more mature, looking for the perfect design for business meetings, or luncheons, or a gown for the gala, or the opening night of the symphony, or for giving a speech. And Sylwia loves creating wedding dresses; In fact, much of her word-of-mouth business comes from the out-of-state friends and family members of a bride who's wearing one of her creations.
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