TOMI Magazine November 2012

WWW.VOTARYNY.COM

create custom accessories that live up to the words ‘quality’. “The road to the factory was quite interesting. When I figured out what I wanted to do I knew it would be in the fashion industry. When I came back to America I thought of jackets, scarves. Like, things that you wear over stuff. That’s what gets eye con- tact from people. Scarves in particular.” Fashion is a huge part of entertain- ment. And it is also one of the main cutbacks in a economizing budget. Along with clothes, typical things to go are movies, vacations, other expensive luxuries. Fortunately, Votary still has the ability to earn money. “I wanted to fit into a price point that would be accessi- ble” - says Luigi. “I didn’t know of any manu- facturers in the US. So what I did was I searched online and found a manufacturer who responded with what type of work I need- ed. They had offices in New York. They took a real interest. They saw the passion I had.” What gives Votary a leap above the rest is the attention paid to developing a well made product. Most manufacturers, when building a clothing company, tend to make products that don't last a lifetime because es- sentially they want you to be a repeat custom- er and make repeat sales. “The product does sell itself” - states Luigi. “They are really soft. They don’t scratch at all.” - Tonisha L. Johnson

UNDER CONSTRUCTION A MILLION MILES AWAY L UIGI BIANCO

When entrepreneurs think to start a business, most don’t decide to go a million miles away to do so. But startup owner Luigi Bianco of fashion house Votary did. At the height of the economic decline, Luigi faced what most American’s faced: job loss. A former attorney, Luigi’s instincts kicked in. Going to job interview after job interview. Finding nothing. So, he did the unthinkable: he took a chance and headed to Europe to learn firsthand the art of fashion design. “A lot of people can’t do this ‘entrepreneur thing’. Some people who don’t see money right away tend to walk away fast. Someday’ I’m Ok. Someday’ I’m discouraged and I don’t know what’s next.” Success. That is aligned in the stars for this upcoming designer who unlike a few fa- mous names decide he needed more than just creative ideas and the means to delegate what he wanted his line to achieve. He wanted to honestly admit to having the true ability to

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NOVEMBER 2012 WWW.TOMIMAGAZINE.COM