Love Yourself Deeply
Liz Garibaldi never could have guessed when she quit her job in the Summer of 2017, that her clothing brand La Sirena would be prospering three years later.
The 33-year-old has made it her mission to spread the message of self-love on her shirts and sweaters, because “Tees are for everyone.”
She never would have gotten there if she hadn’t loved herself and followed her passion first, however.
Garibaldi knew that the leap of faith was necessary because she wasn’t happy or fulfilled in her nursing role. She knew that she wanted to help people, but didn’t think it was the right place for her to do so.
“I didn’t want to make money off of people being sick,” Garibaldi explained. “But at the same time, I was being told at home that I should stick to nursing because that was a secure job.”
She knew that her parents immigrated from Mexico to give her a better life, and to her, that included breaking glass ceilings and out of traditional gender roles. As Garibaldi explored her next move, she kept thinking back to when she would design invitations and graphics for family members as a child.
The first-generation Mexican-American tried a design class for fun and explained that it was the first time she felt free or alive.
“I was entered into a school contest without me knowing. I never believed that I would win, but when third place was called, and then second, I thought to myself ‘maybe next year’ and then when first place was announced and it was me, I knew what I wanted to do,” Garibaldi gushed.
Despite receiving little to no support, Garibaldi knew she wanted to spend more time creating so she enrolled in additional design classes and started to hone her craft.
After some experimentation and a project that failed to get off the ground, she took the nascent idea and formed La Sirena into an extension of the self-growth mentality she was starting to carry with her: Love yourself deeply.
As La Sirena has grown, the Latina owner has focused on making the message of the brand one of positivity, self-love, and helping others through her work.
And although no one helped her when she was starting out, Garibaldi feels it is her responsibility to help others gain experience and to teach them what she’s learned along the way.
“If you don’t love yourself, you won’t know how to love or help others,” Garibaldi insisted. “I want to be better, and I want to help others get better.”