If you ask people what they think of East Van, you’ll get a mixed bag of answers. For many, it’s a tight-knit and vibrant community with a deep connection to the local arts and music scene.

For others, images of East Hastings Street come to mind, a place of relentless poverty, drug addiction, and crime; a place where dreams go to die.

But one East Van resident wants you to know that whatever situation you are in, even if you are homeless, living on the streets, or dealing with a dysfunctional family, you can make your dreams happen.

The owner and founder of one of Vancouvers newest fashion brands, PrettyEastVan, has opened up about the struggles in her life and how she ended up where she is today.

Coincidentally, she goes by the same name of her clothing brand.

PrettyEastVan (the person) is an indigenous woman that grew up in East Van and because of her broken family, ended up on the streets and homeless multiple times since the age of 12.

Throughout this horrible experience, drawing and art became an escape for her, a way to mentally get away from the addiction, violence, and poverty all around her. She was always drawing different outfits and designs, even when she was on the streets.

When covid hit, PrettyEastVan was already beginning to turn her life around, as she was going to school for social work. But the new challenges that came with the pandemic meant that she had to pivot.

Coming back to her passion for art and fashion, she started sewing and selling facemasks at the Aboriginal Front Door Society, where she sold about 600! This exposure was what connected her to a fashion designer who helped her get into the fashion business.

Below: a photo of PrettyEastVan with one of her T-shirt designs for Orange shirt day at SFU

https://www.instagram.com/p/CjN8osmJays/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Now, PrettyEastVan sells clothes with printed graphics that reflect her love of her community and the desire to bring the people of East Vancouver together. The Fashion Brand participates in community outreach programs and donates clothing to programs around the city.

PrettyEastVan especially wants young indigenous artists and creators to know that they should never stop trying.