Meet Tianna Mae Andresen | Fashion Designer & Founder of Barkada Baby

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tianna Mae Andresen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tianna Mae, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
For a while, I was really yearning for a creative community and eventually Barkada Baby became that for me. Initially Barkada Baby existed as an online platform for my art, poetry, film photos, and different writing and project works. About a half a year into it, I was encouraged by my community to expand my business by selling my art and fashion pieces I made and now it has evolved to a slow fashion and art design business centered on empowering and building community. I never thought it would get to this point but looking back, it all makes sense.

What should our readers know about your business?
Barkada Baby is a dreamy digital art and slow fashion design brand rooted in Queer and Filipino American culture, and inspired by everything that brings us life and joy. Barkada Baby is community made and dedicated and we want to prove that sustainability, accessibility, community building, and social justice have a place in (and are at the core of) fashion.

As a brand, We sit at the genderless intersection of street wear, cultural wear, and avant-garde. We make clothes and art for those who value community, supporting artists, and want unique looks that are conscious of labor and environmental exploitation.

My biggest challenge is being a self taught fashion designer and being one of the first people in my family to start a business. All the challenges I have encountered from the business and artistic standpoint have been overcome because of the support of my community whether that be skill sharing, helping with applications, or providing monetary or physical support. I would say I am most proud of the values that I uphold throughout my brand. Although it is hard because of the way that the fashion industry has been built, through this process I know that it isn’t impossible to live in a world where fashion can be equitable, accessible, and ethical. I pride my business off of its community based values and everything I do as Barkada Baby has the intention of bringing the community together through art and fashion.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Growing up in the Central District of Seattle, I am lucky to be surrounded by such a powerful and diverse community who is trying to re-establish the once redlined, then displaced community. The CD has so much nature around it too which is super grounding so I would start off the day with a morning hike through Frink Park, which is a forest in the city. I would definitely show my friend around the CD and bring them to one of the Ethiopian food spots like Cafe Selam. We could also go to Golden Wheat for breakfast, which is a cafe that serves tamales too. For lunch we could also go to Moonlight Cafe, a Vietnamese restaurant with vegetarian and vegan options. We could the drive down to Lake Washington Boulevard that connects North and South Seattle and drive along the water, blasting music from the car with the windows down.

In terms of Filipino spots, Filipinos in Seattle have such a rich history and resistance movement so I would also show my friend places like Jose Rizal Bridge (which has an amazing view), the Filipino Community Center, the Filipino American National Historical Society Archives, and maybe take them on a walking tour of the International district. We would stop by Hood Famous Cafe and Bar for Filipino inspired cafe items and maybe make it to Archipelago for food served with Filipino history. We could also possibly go to Pike Place Market and hit up Oriental Mart for the Salmon Sinigang. And of course, Seattle’s Best Tea for milk tea.

At night we could go out to different bars/clubs on Cap Hill, I would really recommend attending some performances put on by the QTPOC community or music themed nights. I l also like go to Tig Kitchen and Bar in UDistrict because it has amazing Korean food and good drinks.

Other fun things: Take a dance class at The Beacon, Paddle board on Lake Union/Gas Works Park, Clay or Pottery class at Reclaim Clay Collective, Museums (theres a lot), see a play at 5th Ave or Paramount, or check out local vendor markets

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Barkada Baby is completely community made and dedicated. I would not be here with the strong community values I hold without the support of my family, friends, loved ones, children of the future generation and the general Filipinx community of Seattle. I would not be the fashion designer I am without my lovely co-founders of Mesh UW, Manya Jain, Dan Nguyen, Justin Totaan, Archie Sugiyama, and Amy Sun nor would I even know how to sew without the knowledge passed down to me from my mother and grandmother. Every single piece I make and event I put on is inspired and even physically supported by my friends and family. Without them there is no me!

Website: https://barkadababy.com/

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

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/barkada-baby

Other: Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hE2NyT Youtube Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi3HEVn5Kj0 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwtKg89QngQ&t=220s

Image Credits
Tianna Mae Andresen, Amarra Andresen, Neil Yuzon, CJ Marshall