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Yummi babe is any girl that is familiar with current trends but doesn’t follow them completely. She likes to reach for handmade and ethical items that don’t only brighten her day but are also functional.”

Yummi apparel is an independent small business started by Patricia Bevc, a 26-year-old fashion design graduate from Krško, with a love and appreciation for all things beautiful and comfortable. Soft hues, intricate details and a sense of romance are the main components of the brand, which started out as underwear only but has since developed a wider range of items, including swimsuits and clothing items.

“I’ve always been of creative nature and was interested in everything, from illustrations, digital design to photography. During my studies I’d decided to combine all of those in order to express the many aspects of my creativity.” And thus, the brand Yummi Apparel was born. It all started with Patricia’s love for bralettes, she explains, “I didn’t like wearing underwire bras during the day, when I had errands to run and lectures to attend and it wasn’t easy to find a bra that would be pretty and comfortable. In my second year of university I enrolled in a Business class and it gave me the extra nudge I needed to make my dream a reality.”

Starting her own business wasn’t easy and it took her a while to figure out how to juggle her studies and the work that the brand required because Patricia sews all the pieces herself. “It also helped with my diploma in the end, because the brand has given me so much priceless practical knowledge.”

Slovenia’s market is small, and Patricia learned that first hand through starting a brand and selling her own products. “Luckily we live in the era of social media and it’s become easier for smaller brands such as Yummi to showcase our work and branch out into foreign markets. Most of my customers are from Slovenia but there are some that live beyond its borders and many of those are regulars. It makes me so happy to see customers return and purchase items for the third, the fourth time…”

Making bralettes is a delicate thing and Patricia pays attention to details which is what makes her products so popular with her customers.  The materials are hard to get by in Slovenia, especially if you’re a small brand, but she’s managed to create a network of resources that allows her to create items of quality and explore different and interesting materials with each new collection.

“I get my inspiration for the concept and overall looks of the collections mostly from my personal style and the backgrounds of them usually come from my personal life. I’m mostly inspired by the atmosphere of previous eras for example the 90s or different fictional characters such as Lolita.  Yummi style is trying to make sure that our customers and followers get a bit of dreamy vibes and fantasy in their lives, either through details on the items or the overall appearance of the brand.”

A big breakthrough for Patricia was the first collection of swimwear in the Summer 2017 season. “It was the question I’d gotten the most since the start of the brand, but I was still pleasantly surprised by the response it had gotten from the girls. I’m also really proud of my work in 2018. The start of the year had been marked by some health issues I’d had, followed by a surgery at the Oncological Institute, a week before my birthday. But the whole experience gave me a lot of newfound élan and courage. The first collection I’d created after that was a swimwear collection featuring floral patterns I’d named ‘Florist’. The message behind it was simple: my life (and health) was blossoming again and I wanted to carry that vibe into a Yummi story.”

Patricia is currently taking a break and has moved to the Netherlands for a few months. “I could probably say I’m compensating for the time I hadn’t taken off during my studies for an exchange or travelling… I spent most of my free time behind sewing machines. I mostly just want to recharge my batteries and tackle the next wave of Yummi stories with a fresh dose of inspiration.”

“I don’t really have a motto,” she concludes, “I think quotes tend to get too cheesy. But I do always tell myself that the most important thing in the world is my health and my family – the rest will eventually take care of itself.”

 

You can find Yummi Apparel on Instagram @yummi.apparel or shop at: yummiapparel.com