Behind the brand: Tobi Stanley of Pearls

We had a chat with Tobi about how Pearls began, her thoughts on the fashion industry, working at a screen printing company, dealing with a year of COVID lockdowns, and more.

I was just typing in your email address and the “pearlshardware” part had me wondering, did Pearls begin as a hardware company? Also, what inspired the name Pearls?

Haha, it was never a hardware company. It started as a clothing company, but I didn’t want it to just be ‘Pearls Clothing’, which sounds like a normal clothing brand. I thought I’d make it sound like a hardware company so it had something to do with skateboarding. It was really a joke at the time.

I called it ‘Pearls’ because for years I wore a pearl necklace a lot when I was skating. It made me feel a bit feminine when I was in my skate clothes. Funny thing is, I haven’t worn pearls since pretty much the day I called it Pearls.

I read that you finished a degree in fashion but had decided by that point that fashion wasn’t an industry you wanted to be a part of. What is it about the fashion industry that put you off and in what way has the skateboarding industry been more appealing (aside from the obvious fact that you’re a skater!)?

During university I was helping with each fashion week and I just didn’t like the environment — it was very high-stress, felt like there was a lot of blaming and arguing, and it didn’t feel like a team at all. I am sure there are plenty of labels that aren’t like that but I just didn’t want to be around that atmosphere at the time. Part of my degree was studying textiles and screen printing, so I switched over to that industry and liked it a lot more. Most of the guys I worked with at my first screen printing job skated so we’d all go skate after work most days. After a while, it just seemed obvious to combine my 2 passions: skating and clothing design. Plus the skateboarding industry is a lot more laid back, so it felt right.

I love that you also studied graphic design purely to be able to start a skate label. That’s serious dedication to the cause. What was the most valuable piece of information or advice you got in that course?

The RMIT graphic design diploma was the best money I have ever spent. Being able to use Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, plus understanding website design, has made this business possible. It’s the only way to translate ideas in my head, or physical things I’ve made, into a design for production. It also has meant I can do the artwork and colour separations at my job, so I got to move up into a senior position. I think I figured out my way of creating a concept for a design from my fashion degree and graphic design helps me with the tools I need to refine it.

Aside from working on Pearls you also work full time at a screen printing company. How has that impacted what you’ve created with Pearls?

Yeah, I have been a screen printer for 3 years and now I manage a company. It’s been so helpful when considering designs, how the inks work, different ways of printing… pretty much figuring out all the parameters I can push. Plus, doing the artwork at work helps to learn new Adobe program skills all the time. I really like all the problem-solving. Also, I am running the invoicing system at work too, which helps me with my own account back end stuff. It’s a pretty amazing job for starting a brand. I’m very thankful!

Were the cargo pants in the Spring 21 collection designed from scratch? What was that process like?

Those cargo’s we’re based on a 90s cut, similar to an old pair of Flip cargos I had. I hadn’t seen any cargos that didn’t go slim at the bottom so I thought someone had to make them. The guys who work next to me do cut and sew for Passport, Butter Goods, Smile and Wave, etc. (pretty handy neighbors!) so I just worked with them to create the design and production.

I definitely want to do more cut and sew but it’s a big investment in each style you do. It requires a lot of money to produce and a large minimum so it’s hard to offer a lot when you’re only small. Plus turnaround is a long time with cut and sew so you have to be thinking months and months ahead. But I think I am going to work on another piece for next summer or winter.

There are quite a few skate shops in Australia that stock Pearls. Was it difficult to get your brand out there? And for anyone overseas reading this, how can they get their hands on Pearls goods?

My local Melbourne stores pick it up pretty quickly and I am from Perth so my old shops got in contact too. Other than that, I have friends in the industry who have also helped get me in some stores in other states — thank you everyone! I think skate stores are maybe looking for local brands that are a bit different now, so I feel like it’s a really great time to have this brand.

I would love to start stocking internationally and I have had some interest but nothing locked in yet. Hopefully soon! Otherwise, you can buy directly from the Pearls website. I ship internationally.

You’ve just come out of almost a year of COVID lockdowns in Melbourne. What was that like and how did that experience affect you and your work with Pearls? And what fun things are in the pipelines for you in 2022?

To be honest, COVID has been good for the business. I wasn’t able to travel, or go to the pub (haha), or do much at all except work, so it meant I was more focused than ever on growing the brand. It’s more labour than I ever expected, especially when you don’t realize how much back end work there is, like accounting, inventory/stocking issues, constant shipping and webstore/website updates etc.

Next year I’ll be focusing on making a video. We have a Sydney trip with the team planned in January, and hopefully bring Vanessa [Miles] down to Melbourne at some point too. I’ve only just started filming but Shari [White] is also going to come and help when she can get back from Canada. I’m very excited to make this vid. I think it’s going to be really special.

Interview: Sarah Huston
Photos: Nao Oka