At 17-years-old Jojo Perell runs her own Etsy shop and Depop shop where she sells her charming, sparkly, and trendy creations. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and hopes her love for sewing and passion for fashion will carry her into a creative career.
When Jojo was younger, she attended fashion camp with Lesley Ware where she learned to sew. As she got older, her interests changed, but a TikTok thrift flip brought her back. This inspired her to restore her love for sewing, but said, “I did it all wrong. I didn’t remember anything!” She started taking classes with The Creative Cookie, with instructor Bianca Norris, again to relearn the craft.
She began making clothes when she found these “really cool vintage tops” on Depop, but they were being marked-up as high as $200. Jojo said, “I know they thrifted it for like $10”. She fell in love with one over-priced top in particular, the butterfly top, so instead of paying the absurd value, she decided to make it herself. She thought to herself, “Oh, I can make these for significantly cheaper than what they are selling the vintage t-shirts for.” When Jojo went to Stretch House, a spandex fabric store to buy the butterfly top fabric, she fell in love with all the patterns and colors. She couldn’t help herself and began making all kinds of spandex tops. This craft is so important to Jojo because she loves “being able to make something that either...no one else has or something that is made by you.”
After she decided to make the butterfly top, Jojo fell in love with making her own clothes. However, the butterfly top that she first made remains her favorite piece and can still be found on her website. Everything she creates is made to order and, while there is no variety in sizes offered right now, as she grows her business, she hopes to have a full range of sizes.
Jojo plans to attend SCAD, Savannah College of Art & Design, in the Fall and hopes to pursue a creative career back in New York City.
Jojo said that making clothes is, “exciting! Sometimes it gives me butterflies. Sometimes it’s frustrating, like today my sewing machines decided to break.” To her, it’s this combination that makes her creations so exciting to make. If others want to follow in Jojo’s footsteps, she said, “Find things that you really like (and) try to make it for yourself.” Jojo believes the best way to accomplish this is to really enjoy it. She said, “If you really like something then you’re gonna be driven enough to accomplish your goals.”
You can find Jojo’s work on her Instagram: @borntodieboutique and on both her Etsy and Depop shops.
