Meet Erika Opalski | Founder/ CEO

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

Hi Erika, can you tell us about an impactful book you’ve read and why you liked it or what impact it had on you?
Hi, I’ve been reading a book called “The Warmth Of Other Sons”. It’s about the great migration of black people from the South after slavery ended. After the black lives matter movement and protests about 3 years ago I really wanted to learn more about history and try to understand why I thought everything was fine in society, but clearly it wasn’t. It’s been a huge eye-opener on struggles I’ve never known but want to do my part. I feel like this book should be a requirement in schools growing up.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
After graduating college at FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising) I packed up and moved to New York City and did costume design for movies and commercials. It was a magical time of learning, and growing not only as a professional but a person. The excitement of thinking on my feet and my office in a new location every day expanded my world. During my time on the east coast, I also became a wife and after shoveling my car out of the snow one too many winters, we packed up and moved back to California. Yes, I had a car in Manhattan, crazy I know. Once back in California I took a year off to become a mom and decided to return to work full time but this time utilizing my degree in Fashion Design. Since starting my company, had become a mom, traveled the world, put costumes on celebrities, attended award shows, and helped a women’s brand start up where I was given the opportunity to travel to China and visit factories, I did fabric worked for the Walt Disney Company where I started their tech department in character costumes and did fabric development for all the Disney walk-around characters for the theme parks worldwide. After Disney, I was a designer and was quickly promoted to project manager at TravisMathew. Over my 6-year stent at TravisMathew we went from a small company, the hours were long and hard but I always paid attention and learned whatever anyone was willing to teach me. Once again I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to the factories this time in Peru where I continued to expand my knowledge of fabric development, which was my true love. In 2019 I left TravisMathew to be the sportswear men’s designer for O’Neill and peruse my design roots.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love to hike and be active. One of my favorite places is the El Morro hike in Laguna Beach. It’s a short 3.5-mile hike to the top, when you arrive there’s a beautiful view of the ocean and greenery. At the bottom of the hike, there’s an amazing outdoor restaurant on a cliff that sells the best burgers and malt shakes. Not sure if it’s the view or the hike but the burgers always hit the spot.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people who had a tremendous impact on my life and I couldn’t be here today without their support and influence. My family always gets the first shoutout. Life didn’t come without struggles but I watched my parents work hard, take risks, fall down, and come back stronger. My parents are not only my cheerleaders but my mentors.

Also, another shoutout to my business partner. Her creative spirit and clear vision have made our company possible.

Website: https://fourfourco.com

Instagram: @fourfourco

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fourfourco/

Image Credits
We took all the photos and used our lovely friends as models