Meet Cristin Drescher | Owner & Creative

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

Hi Cristin, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
With a degree in Fashion Merchandising and a background in sewing, I began making clothes for my son. The first item I made was shorties for his first birthday. Ultimately, I decided to make them because I wasn’t satisfied with the selection from manufactured brands. I wanted clothes for him that were quality natural fabrics, fit well, and free from excessive prints and phrases. I added a few baby shower gifts to my list of makes and quickly realized I wanted to continue sewing. From there, I made the decision to commit full-time to creating a brand and pursuing my passion.

I began dreaming up the idea for Lark & Loe while browsing a variety of “first-time” outfits for my son. I wanted every outfit for him to be special, and there were so many ideas I had for him that I wasn’t finding from existing brands.

I landed on the name Lark & Loe when I was still in the early stages of bringing the brand to life. Lark is defined as an innocent, merry adventure. I love the idea of my son and other little ones wearing the brand as classic and simple clothing that allows them to move and explore as they develop. With styles that are free from exaggerated designs, I hope it allows their individual personalities to shine. The second part of the name, Loe, comes from my son Loewen! Without him, I wouldn’t have had the inspiration to dream up the brand. Everything I make has an influence of Loe and things I would love to see him wear.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I created Lark & Loe after becoming a Mom. As a parent and caregiver, I strive to give my son the best choices possible. While shopping for baby clothing, I wasn’t satisfied with the choices for our lifestyle. I wanted clothing with natural fibers for sensitive skin. It was also important for me to have options that were free from phrases/labels and entertainment characters. My search for desired clothing eventually turned to researching fabric sources, clothing patterns and ways to offer my same values to others.

All of the baby clothing and accessories offered in Lark & Loe are created by me. I select the fabric and styles for everything in the shop. I complete every step in the process from cutting the fabric to sewing, tagging the item with sizing and listing it on the website.

Two key features that I love about my shop are offering small batch and gender neutral items. The small batch aspect of my shop is important for a number of reasons. All of my products are handmade and not overproduced. I keep a small inventory that is constantly rotating with new colors and fabric materials. With small batch garments, I’m also able to add customization like embroidery or other unique customer requests. Secondly, the clothing styles and colors I use are gender neutral. The styles I create are visually simple with an emphasis on quality and comfort. An important quality of gender neutral clothing is giving focus to the baby’s personality and milestones they’re achieving. Babies grow through their clothing so quickly and I want everything I make to have the option for the longest use possible. With an emphasis on gender neutral, this allows clothing to be passed down to little cousins, siblings, and other newborn friends.

The fabric I source for my shop is from other women owned businesses, most often milled in the U.S. and occasionally in Europe. The fabrics I use for creating clothing are natural fibers (cotton, hemp, bamboo) and have a range of certifications from organic to Oeko-Tex 100. This is so important for baby clothing because it meets the standards for product safety compliance. Natural fibers ensure that the materials are breathable and there aren’t unnecessary chemicals included in the fabric that is being worn by the baby.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There are so many unique areas of San Diego! When showing friends around San Diego, I like to stay in one part of the county and do a few things in that area at a time. My ideal day would include shopping at Liberty Station (Moniker General and Pigment are favorites!), a picnic including sandwiches from Con Pane, and walking around the Point Loma Lighthouse and tide pools. In North County, some notable activities would include the Carlsbad Flower Fields, visiting the beaches, and a yoga or sound healing session at Yoga on State. Another favorite outing is catching a Padres game at Petco Park. I love that this can be tailored to a day with friends or more family oriented with kids. Even if you’re not a big baseball fan, the stadium offers great views of San Diego and the concessions are filled with local businesses!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family and friends have been incredibly instrumental in the encouragement and success through the Lark & Loe journey. Since my beginning ideas of the business, my husband has been so supportive of all the steps I’ve taken to bring the brand to life. I’m also so grateful to my parents for giving me my first workspace to set up my shop. My husband, parents and other family members continue to be supportive by helping me carve out time to create and plan for Lark & Loe. My friends have shown their support from shopping with me to sharing my story and listening to my doubts and helping me see beyond that. I’ve also grown a network of small business owners with similar values. I appreciate being able to learn from their experiences, share my own, and lifting each other up to achieve our unique business goals. Although Lark & Loe is created and run solely by me, I wouldn’t be where I am today without these different types of support from friends, family, and other business owners.

Website: https://www.larkandloe.com/

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/larkandloe

Image Credits
Kassie Layne Sydney Barrett