Marissa Jacobe was an early entrepreneur, running her first fashion design business in grade school. "I sold one-of-a-kind paper doll outfits to my schoolmates...I was never lacking chocolate money!" Today, she designs for her label, Modistasf.

Marissa was born in Manila, Philippines, but she was raised in the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. She has lived most of her adult life in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California. She considers herself a San Franciscan from the Noe Valley/Mission District area of the city. Recently, she moved to Los Angeles for work purposes.

One of Marissa's greatest accomplishments has been having her clothes marketed and sold through word of mouth. "Fashion, to me, is a reflection of one's lifestyle and sense of identity. My clothing line represents my West Coast lifestyle and urban versatile sense of identity: work to party, beach to work, party to you name it..."

Her favorite designers are "Coco Chanel, for her determination and business sense, Yohji Yamamoto, for his innovation and creativity, and Donna Karan, for her timeless urban look." Marissa draws design inspiration from her friends. "My clothing line is inspired and named after my BFFs! I love them!"

Marissa has learned to cope and work with pressures of her career. "The design/creative process is synonymous to stress, which is both harmful and rewarding at the same time.  I seem to thrive on a high stress level; I produce at my utmost best when I am under pressure."

 Seeing her original designs copied can be tough. "It's heartbreaking to see your designs being "knocked-off" and copied by big named, big box store designers who produced their lines overseas. My line is produced locally and made in the USA. I guess I just try to take getting knocked-off as a compliment."

When asked what advice she would offer to aspiring designers, Marissa answered, "As my sister would say, ‘Be a nurse’."

Marissa Jacobe is a featured UsTrendy designer. You will find her blogs and portfolio at: http://www.ustrendy.com/modistasf/.

Rachel's small frame left her either shopping the children's section in stores, or having everything altered to fit. Soon she began to make her own clothes and “what started out as a necessity grew into a passion and a great expression for my creativity.”

As a tie designer, she faced a “bit of an uphill battle” initially. With most office attire being business casual, ties were no longer a part of the standard daily uniform. “The trend is changing though, and ties are cool again. My goal was always to make ties that they actually wanted to wear.”

Rachel feels that marketing yourself as an independent designer is a constant struggle. “You can have the greatest designs but if no one knows you are out here, it's tough.” Independent designers also have a limited budget “but sometimes that can spark creativity – you learn to do more with less.” She adds a great point that by utilizing social media, you don't need a huge budget to get exposure anymore.

She ends the interview with a few more helpful tips for designers: “Never give up. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Network as much as possible – talk to anyone who will listen, and be open to constantly evolving. Promote yourself, because if you don't, nobody else will. And just keep designing!”

Rachel Park is a featured designer at UsTrendy.com, where you can view her portfolio and blogs: http://www.ustrendy.com/rachel-park-designs/

Adolfo Sanchez believes that his greatest accomplishment as a fashion designer has been to prove to everyone that he could make his dreams come true. "I love that I am having the opportunity to do what I enjoy and turn it into a profession. It definitely requires a lot of work, time and energy but it's so rewarding to see people wearing something you imagined and created."

Adolfo was born in Los Angeles, and raised in Orange County, California.  He began his design career in 2006. "I began going out at a very young age …I met a group of individuals that were very much into fashion and loved to create very wild costumes and clothing for nightclubs and parties. So I become exposed to fashion and creating at a very young age, but it wasn't until I was 19 that I began sewing, and one year later, in 2006, was when I really began to pursue the industry."

He draws inspiration from everything that surrounds him: people, places, architecture, and fashion history. He likes to recreate historical fashion details, working them into contemporary looks. Some of his favorite designers include House of Worth, Balenciaga, Givenchy, Thierry Mugler, Gaultier, and McQueen. Along with fashion design, some of his interests and hobbies include yoga, painting, cooking, dancing, laughing and having a great time, no matter what the occasion.

His definition of fashion encompasses many facets of a person's self expression. "Fashion, to me, means so much more than just making clothes or wearing clothes. It is a way to express ourselves as individuals. We can go to an art gallery and view beautiful work, but to be able to view and wear art is, to me, much more exciting, because the garment becomes personal to you and when you view certain pieces in your closet or collection you remember events, people, or places, and all those memories stay with you. We also have to remember that the way we carry ourselves and look says a lot about who we are. I truly believe fashion is the best way to express to people who you are."

Adolfo has learned that it can be difficult to be taken seriously when you are a young new designer. "There are a lot of situations that I have been through that have made me aware of what to look out for and that have made me the stronger person that I am today."

He advises new designers to never give up. "It sometimes can seem like an easier route and can a lot of times become very stressful to continue, but if you stay determined, focused and true to yourself then you will start to see your dreams come to life. We just always have to keep in mind that nothing happens overnight, but things happen."

Adolfo Sanchez is a featured designer at UsTrendy.com. His portfolio and blogs can be viewed at: http://www.ustrendy.com/adolfo-sanchez/.

Julissa dreamed of being a fashion designer when she was a little girl in the Dominican Republic. “I always dreamed of being a Fashion Designer. I was probably not even 8 years old when I decided what to call my company, Julissa Designs.” She drew clothing whenever she had the chance, even during school. Her classmates would ask for her designs so that they could take them to a seamstress to be made. “I felt so honored...and I would write at the bottom of the page: Julissa Designs.”

She spent a great deal of time with her grandmother, who was a seamstress. She learned to appreciate every step of the design process. “It is fascinating to me to find inspiration to design a new collection. Is just wonderful, is what I love to do.”

Julissa looks everywhere for inspiration. “I can get inspired from anything, from a time period to a song, from an Art to a feeling. In my opinion, that is one of the best things about being a fashion designer.”  Some of her favorite designers are Rodarte, Oscar De La Renta, Marc Jacobs, Viktor and Rolf.

Julissa feels that her greatest accomplishment as a designer has been to keep her dream alive, working to create new designs and building her business. “I get emotional when somebody compliments me on my designs or creations. I feel accomplished when I design a new collection and feel even better when I make a few pieces from that collection. I feed my dream like that; it gives me the power to continue.”

She has struggled to create her own label, but she refuses to give up.”In my case, finding a job with a fashion company has been very difficult, which is why I decided to start my own company.  It is also hard to start on your own, but I can’t let that be an obstacle. I have a dream that I have to work hard for. My dream is to continue to make my brand successful and to have it sold across the world."

Her advice to emerging fashion designers is to never give up. “You have to persevere and never take your eyes off your goal, and you have to keep the dream alive. Success means to follow through; you have to be ready for the hard times and for the great times, but you have to try.”

Julissa is a featured UsTrendy designer; you will find her portfolio and blogs at: http://www.ustrendy.com/julissa-designs/

Amber Barker is a fashion designer from Las Vegas, Nevada. She is one of those amazing women who can do almost anything. She loves sewing, designing, and sketching, painting and illustration. "I definitely know my way around a computer, which can come in handy when I am designing a look and I want to test how it will work. Just import textures and colors via Photoshop, and you have a look that you can work with!”

She also likes to build things and take things apart, remaking them into an interesting and one-of-a-kind piece. "Once I made a purse out of a 90's computer keyboard, and some leather. I love my drill; it was a Christmas present three years ago!"  

She discovered her love for fashion design when her mother taught her to sew her first seam. "When my mom let me play with a box of fabric scraps and I tried to staple together a pillow (stuffed with more fabric of course) she decided to teach me how to sew a strait line and stuff a pillow." As soon as she finished the pillow, she insisted on making a shirt. "It's the first thing I thought of, and so I made a lopsided, flat, shapeless shirt out of pink and white striped fabric. It has been in my blood ever since!"

To conquer the monotony of sewing for hours, Amber plays music or movies on her laptop. She finds that the most difficult obstacle she has faced as a designer is spreading the word about her designs. "I work another job, so it's hard to make time to do all the sewing, and try and gather new clients as I go along. It gets easier the longer I do it, but especially in this recession, I find it hard to build up a bigger client base."

Amber finds her inspiration in "anything and everything. From mud puddles after it rains, to skyscrapers, to music and movies, I find inspiration whenever I feel something. Then I sketch what I feel, and even if it doesn't always turn out the way I like, I still have the feeling of inspiration bursting out of me, and I try again until I can show the world the feeling I got from something as simple as a mud puddle." Some of her favorite designers are the "chic" Oscar de la Renta and Louis Vuitton, and the "fun" Betsey Johnson and Anna Sui.

She believes fashion is just another form of art. "Whether you paint it and hang a canvas, or sew it and wear it, you can express so many things: your confidence level, taste, opinion, affinity for certain colors. You can express where you come from, how you were raised, what you are feeling that day." She regards fashion as a form of self-expression, much like language. "There are so many ways to speak with clothes, and I want to shout about them! I sew because I can let my creativity run wild along with my imagination, and I am not held back from anything I want to express."

Amber considers her greatest career accomplishment to be the bridal jacket she made for her sister. "[S]he loved it. I am telling you, she is the pickiest woman alive, so to have her approval was quite an accomplishment!"

She advises aspiring designers to be true to their own creative ideas. "Create what you feel, not what the world wants to see. In a funny way, if you sew what you feel, it becomes what the world wants to see. And it's because they can see your passion, and they too can feel what you're feeling!"

Amber Barker is a featured UsTrendy designer. You can find her blogs and portfolio at: http://www.ustrendy.com/fashiondesigndiva777/