What made you want to start making videos on YouTube? Was there anyone in particular who inspired you?
Being avid YouTube watchers and blog readers, we have always wanted to create our own content. But it wasn’t until the end of high school, that we were able to attain the resources necessary to make videos (such as editing software’s and a high-quality camera). Also, to be honest, we wanted to keep things relatively low-key at the time, and starting during high school wasn’t really ideal. There are many people who inspire us, but the most notable is Jenn Im from Clothes Encounters – she inspired us to revolve our content around fashion. She pretty much pioneered that genre on YouTube.
You currently have more than 180k subscribers and over 4 million views. Did you ever expect to have an audience of this size?
Not at all! We just felt the urge to create videos that aligned with our passion to inspire others through fashion. We wanted to use YouTube as a creative outlet mainly because we were bored and were curious to see what we could come up with. Our very first video was a 20-minute long clothing haul and a lookbook and, embarrassingly, it has the most views on our channel! But regardless of the awkwardness, I think that people really appreciated the effort and quality of it, so they kept asking for more! After a few months, many people were starting to discover our channel and the positive feedback encouraged us to continue creating more content.
How did your YouTube channel make a difference in your lives?
We feel super blessed to have this platform to inspire and connect with others. We’ve grown so much since we started this channel and I believe that it really helped develop our confidence. We’ve met a lot of awesome people and have experienced so many new things that we probably wouldn’t have if it weren’t for our YouTube channel.
When you hosted your first pop-up shop + meet & greet and saw the amount of people who came, what were your thoughts?
C: The night before, I was talking to Ricci as we prepared for the event and, to be honest, we did not know what to expect in terms of attendance. Ricci & I prayed that people would show up and that we would be able to raise enough funds for our upcoming youth camp. When we arrived at the venue that morning, we were in shock that people were already waiting in line before the store even opened! In my mind I was like, “OH CRAP! We haven’t even set up the shop yet!" It was a fun kind of stress though because even when we were rushing to make the store look presentable, the excitement had us all giddy and jumpy.
R: We honestly only expected around maybe 50 people and I even told myself that 50 people was already a lot. As we were setting up the shop and making it look all pretty, Cassie & I had no idea the lineup went a few blocks down, our friends just showed us a video of the line up. I had no clue we had so many supporters in our city. The moment the shop opened, the place filled up so quickly... I was overwhelmed. I even tried counting how many people were there, but I gave up. It’s crazy to think that over 200 people from our city came out to show to support us and show us love.
Is there something in the other person's closet that you wish you owned?
C: Ricci’s booties. I can’t even count how much she has, but she definitely owns a lot! Also, thank goodness we’re generally the same size (shoes, top, waist, etc.) because you will often find us wearing each others clothes!
R: That’s a hard question to answer because we pretty much have the same clothes – but do accessories count? She has a bunch of cute, dainty rings that she never wears.
C: I like to think that my music taste is pretty eclectic and it changes and varies depending on my mood. Artists I’m currently listening to include: Disclosure, Hippo Campus, Coin, Oh Wonder, Evolution Worship, Milk & Bone, The Bad Suns, The 1975, Hillsong United, CRUISR, Smallpools, Alina Baraz, various old school R&B bands, and occasionally 5SOS (haha).
R: I love Christian music – Hillsong is my all time fave – but I also discovered a bunch of cool bands from Seattle, Citizens & Saints, and also Kings Kaleidoscope. They’re awesome. I also listen to some Christian rap artists like Andy Mineo and Lecrae.
R: I think inspiration comes from everywhere, like someone on the street or a picture on Tumblr, but if I had to name a few, I would say the Olsen twins are definitely one of my style inspirations. I’m really drawn to the slouchy minimalistic style. Erika Bowes is another one, it’s literally one of my goals to look like her... her hair and style is to die for and she’s actually the reason why I cut and dyed my hair.
I know that you're both currently in university programs that are unrelated to fashion, but, if given the opportunity, would you want to pursue a professional fashion career?
C: YES! We always talk about opening some sort of shop in conjunction with our YouTube channel and I think that if we have stable funds we would definitely pursue a career in fashion – probably only after I graduate though.
R: I think it’s awesome that we have YouTube as a creative outlet even though our education isn’t related to the fashion industry, but I would definitely love to transition from where I am now into the fashion industry. We’re seriously dreaming of opening a shop one day and we think it’s totally possible considering the fact that our pop-up shop was a success.
Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to start a YouTube channel?
BE YOURSELF and be confident with who you are as a person. Don’t try to be like other creators. People are interested in uniqueness & what YOU have to offer!