Week of April 11, 2023

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LACI HELPS BABY CLOTHING CO. REBIRTH


The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) helped Ashlee Espinoza and her business partner Laura “Lola” Wydler prepare their eco-friendly children’s loungewear line, Rosewood the label, to become investor ready. The pair enrolled in LACI’s Founders Business Accelerator Program, which provides six months of business curriculum and executive coaching, with a focus on creating a sustainable circular economy brand. Through the program, Rosewood the Label also widened their Los Angeles business support network.


Ashlee and Lola met more than a decade ago while working at a high-end women’s fashion house in Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA). Both had a passion for fashion, decades of manufacturing knowledge, and an underlying desire to protect the environment.


In 2018, Lola conceptualized Rosewood the label, a free spirited clothing brand for mothers and babies, inspired by the birth of her own child and Los Angeles’ Rosewood/Fairfax area. They put special care into creating an environmentally friendly material for their products using modal fabric manufactured from sustainable wood pulp. The fabric is soft, flexible and durable, meant to be passed down through time. The pair leveraged their network to partner with talented local women pattern makers, sample sewers, artists, designers, copywriters, photographers, and bookkeepers.


In 2021, after gaining some brand traction in the children’s clothing market, Lola and Ashlee experienced the negative supply chain effects due to COVID-19. Forced to slow down, the founders pivoted their focus from eco-friendly fabrics to their best selling elevated children’s loungewear line. The pair turned to LACI for assistance in 2022, enrolling in Cohort 7 of the Founders Business Accelerator Program



Rosewood the label will relaunch their Spring Lounge Sets through an upcoming pilot project for a Community Children's Clothing Swap later this spring. The women founders are looking to attract local workforce talent in 2023 to help activate these new community clothing waste-diversion programs. Rosewood the label is located in LA City Council District 5


EWDD administers and supports several incubators in the City of Los Angeles through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, including LACI, which provides programs year round to support the acceleration and growth of sustainable companies like Rosewood the label. To learn more about the City’s incubators and accelerators, visit: bit.ly/EWDDIncubator-Program


GRANT HELPS DRY CLEANER PRESS ON


After five years in the dry cleaning industry, Isabel Vides (pictured above left) decided to become an entrepreneur and work as a sole proprietor. In 2021, she incorporated her business, Swiss Cleaners, which is based in Sylmar.


During the pandemic, Isabel’s sales dropped and she closed her business temporarily to catch up on rent and utilities. In February 2021, she contacted the North Valley BusinessSource Center for support. Business consultants helped her successfully apply for several COVID-19 financial relief programs to help her get back on her feet, including the City of Los Angeles’ Comeback Checks Grant, and Small Business Rental Assistance grants. 


She returned to the North Valley BSC for assistance when one of her dry cleaning machines broke. Business coach Brandon Mojica guided Isabel in preparing a loan application for working capital. In February 2023, Isabel was approved for an $8,000 loan to repair the equipment, which allowed her to continue running her business. 


Isabel recommends the North Valley BSC to any business owner who needs help. "The center helped me so much to keep me afloat and stabilize my business," she said. "Now, I'm growing the business and couldn't have done it without their help."


Swiss Cleaners is located in LA City Council District 7. 


Interested in launching and scaling your own business? Contact your local BusinessSource Center at bit.ly/LABusinessSource 

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If you have any questions, comments, or wish to have a contribution considered for inclusion in an upcoming "Updates," please feel free to contact Jamie Francisco at (213) 744-9048 or Jamie.Francisco@lacity.org