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

Hi Selina, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Instead of a meticulously planned, carefully considered decision, Carmico actually slowly and naturally came to be. I’ve been selling art in some form since I was 15; at first selling prints and stickers at local conventions, slowly building into bigger and better items. I continued this side hustle as a hobby through highschool and college, where I slowly realized my major wasn’t my true passion, product design was!

With the start of the pandemic, graduating college and getting laid off, it couldn’t have been a better time to take a chance on myself and give it a go. The world was at a halt anyways, right? I didn’t even hesitate, I remember thinking to myself “I’d be doing a disservice to myself to not at least *try*.” And I’m so glad I did.

I started Carmico with the goal of creating clearly thoughtful, high quality and wearable yet quirky apparel goods to inspire both the every day person and creatively stylish people to have fun with my pieces. We at Carmico wants nothing more than to make folks feel as loved, included and comfortable as possible!

What should our readers know about your business?
Carmico is a mindful, thoughtful apparel brand dedicated to making folks feel inspired, included and comfortable in our clothes. We aim every day to be as environmentally mindful as possible as a business, while there’s always more work to be done on that, we’re proud of the strides we’ve made.

Carmico is set apart from other similar brands for our tight-knit, friendly and transparent approach to our community. They aren’t fans, they aren’t customers, they’re our friends. We want nothing more than for our folks to feel included in the process and that their wants and needs are being considered! The community is actually what we’re the most proud of; to be a part of, let alone the face of such a loving, kind and compassionate community is something I will never take for granted, let alone the rest of the team.

It honestly all started when I found out people could sell the things they make at markets and conventions when I was in early highschool. After years of trying, I finally got into my first convention when I was 15 and instantly got hooked. After keeping up my side hustle as a hobby through highschool and into college, I realized my passions lied somewhere other than my in-progress Game Design degree. Once the pandemic hit, I graduated that same year and was also laid off. I figured, better now than never to take the plunge, it would be a disservice to myself to not at least try! I dedicated all of my time to making my products and social media shine, but more importantly, connecting with my community with a genuine heart. I got quite lucky that my first proper Kickstarter project went viral, along with many of my posts and a preorder, that skyrocketed my brand into a full fledged business. I quickly needed to find a space and a team to keep up with the demand!

It definitely wasn’t a walk in the park, that initial boom came with a lot of challenges I had to learn and adapt on the fly for. I never went to business school and there isn’t a guide book to tell you exactly what to do when your indie brand goes viral and you get more orders than the unfinished basement of your suburban home can handle. I’m really proud of myself and the Carmi-Crew (our fun nickname for the team!) for being so adaptable, patience and quick on their feet to overcome all of the growing pains we went through.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m actually pretty new to my area myself! I just moved to Guelph, ON at the beginning of June, but I’ve already got some fave spots. La Reina is an absolutely wonderful local Mexican restaurant with irresistible margaritas. My good friend Carly owns and runs her own body care business called Sage Soap Company, and she has her own shop in Guelph’s downtown!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d love to dedicate my shoutout to my partner Aidan, for always believing in me and going along with my schemes and antics, trusting my ideas and process. I’m also dedicating it to my long time best friend Ocean from OceanInSpace, without her I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.

Website: carmico.ca

Instagram: @carmiico

Twitter: @carmiico

Facebook: @itscarmico

Image Credits
HungryHipsters for all photos except the one of myself, which is by Mari Cervantes

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