Oak View graduate starts her own company

TRENDSETTER–Oak Park resident Nichole Bunch displays the latest fashions from Rawstate Denimthe jeans company she founded. Nicole Bunch knows the importance of the right fit.

For nearly a decade, the 26year-old Oak Park resident has continued to make everyday alterations to ensure that her life, much like a pair of her designer jeans, fits just right.

The moves look like they have paid off for the young entrepreneur. Bunch recently launched her own apparel company, RawState Denim, in a decision that required a number of risks and a lot of hard work.

Bunch grew up in Oak Park and attended Brookside Elementary School, Medea Creek Middle School and Oak Park High School.

While attending Oak Park, the young fashion designer realized that traditional high school wasn’t for her.

“Oak Park is a great school,” Bunch said. “But at the time, I acted. So, it was very challenging to act and go to school at the same time.”

In need of not only a more flexible class schedule, but also additional one-on-one time with her teachers, Bunch transferred to Oak View High School, an alternative high school in Oak Park.

Bunch believes the Oak View staff gave her an inner confidence that encouraged her to take chances in life.

Bunch credits Randi Liepman, a longtime teacher at Oak View, for helping her.

“(Randi) was. . .the one person who really believed in me and encouraged me to be creative and do whatever I could do,” Bunch said. Liepman said she knew her young student was something special.

“Nicole is one of those people who I hope I’ll know for the rest of my life,” Liepman said. “I always knew she was going to do something big.”

Because there were fewer than 20 students in her graduating class, Bunch said Cliff Moore, the school principal at the time, made

sure students remained on track“Mr. Moore was so involved in each of our own personalives,” Bunch said. “He’d call uinto the office once a month, aleast, and review where we werat and what we needed to do to move forward.”

Bunch graduated from Oak View in 1997 and attended Moorpark College. She moved to Los Angeles and began taking classes at Santa Monica City College. It was there, while working as a waitress, that Bunch took her biggest chance yet.

One of Bunch’s regular customers invited her to start work as an assistant for Lucky Brand JeansBunch, who admittedly is not the academic type, left school to take on the fashion industry.

“I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” Bunch said.

Lucky Brand Jeans was started in Los Angeles in 1990 by Gene Montesano and Barry Perlman. Ihas since been purchased by the Liz Claiborne Company and has grown to become one of the largest jean manufacturers in the world.

Bunch started at Lucky Jeans as an assistant. She was eventually promoted to one of the leading sales positions within the company before she made yet another risky move.

She left Lucky Jeans to work for a small company called !it Jeans where she put her sales experience to use by making a name for the smaller company.

“I started pounding the pavement, literally, to get them on the map,” Bunch said. “It was then thaI realized . . . I could be doing this for myself.”

Bunch left the sure paycheck behind and started RawState Denim. Bunch and her fiancé, ScotBehrle, emptied their bank accounts and took out a loan to jump starthe fledgling company.

Six months have past and Bunch said she’s shipped over 600 jeans to some 25 stores throughouthe U.S. and Japan. She created four styles of jeans, as well as a line of denim miniskirts, jackets and caprpants. All of her clothes are handmade in Los Angeles.

Bunch said her secret to success is “keeping the design simple.” She believes there is room in the fashion industry for a new jean company, and says real success comes from drive, dedication and patience“There’s no weekends off, no hours off,” Bunch said. “You do ifor yourself, which is what keeps you going.” RawState is a family businessBunch’s 15-year-old sister, Shannon, and her parents, Denise and Mike, have not only been supportive of her decision to start a new company, but they continue to help with the day-to-day operationsBunch said.

Bunch’s showroom is now open in downtown Los Angeles. Bunch said she has been busy brokering deals with store owners and premiering her designs at two of the largest fashion industry conventions – MAGIC International in Las Vegas and L.A. Fashion Market in Los Angeles. For more information abouRawState Denim, visit the website at www.rawstatedenim.com.