Meet Amanda Perna of the House of Perna in Delray Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Perna.

Amanda, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have loved fashion my whole life. As a child, I would cut and paint my clothes to make them unique and not like everyone else’s. When I went to college at The University of Alabama, I took a sewing class and it changed my life forever. While in school, I interned with Oscar de la Renta and Calvin Klein, which led to me getting a job at Calvin Klein once I graduated. To further my education, I took classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology on the weekends while working full time at Calvin Klein. Fast forward a few years; I decided to leave the corporate world that I loved to start my own business. When I first started, I worked as a visual merchandiser with Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom during the day and on The House of Perna at night. I was also selected to be a contestant on the show Project Runway (twice). Eventually, I was able to work on my business full time and I haven’t looked back.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being an entrepreneur is never a smooth road. We had many struggles with finding the right team and manufacturers to make our pieces. We had trouble finding people who would do high-quality work and deliver on time. Thankfully, we have that under control now.

the House of Perna – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The House of Perna started as a women’s apparel business, but we have quickly expanded to be a lifestyle brand. We make clothing, handbags, accessories, and even menswear. We do a lot of custom, couture work for clients, but we also have pieces readily available for people to buy immediately. One thing that sets us apart is the quality of our products and our commitment to fair trade. We make all of our clothing in the United States, and partner with artisans all over the world for our accessories. We believe that it is worth it to pay more for production so that people receive fair compensation for their work. I also make custom prints for our collections so that the prints in our collection will not be shown by other brands.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career was the day that the sign went up outside our door at my first studio. It was the moment that I felt like everything I dream can be possible.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1240 Tangelo Terrace B21
  Delray Beach, FL 33444
• Website: THEHOUSEOFPERNA.COM
• Phone: 561-455-2336
• Email: THEHOUSEOFPERNA@GMAIL.COM
• Instagram: INSTAGRAM.COM/THEHOUSEOFPERNA.COM
• Facebook: FACEBOOK.COM/THEHOUSEOFPERNA.COM
• Twitter: TWITTER.COM/THEHOUSEOFPERNA.COM
• Other: AMANDAPERNA.COM

Image Credit:
Paula Stauffer (Paula Andrea Photography)

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