Camilla James

Class of 2009 Interviewed by Cam Henderson | September 2018

The passion we see from our alumni everyday is something that words fail to do justice. Camilla James is one of the many entrepreneurs among our alum community, and the passion she has for her most recent endeavour, The Saltwater Collective, is quite inspiring. As the designer and owner of her own swimwear company, Camilla has set out to change the way that we look at fashion, and the way we look.

Your are the owner and designer of The Saltwater Collective. What does that look like/entail? And is this your end-all-be-all, or should we look forward to your future endeavours?

Yes I am! I must say that at this point, the one consistent part about running this business is that no two days look the same and I am constantly learning. It is tough to paint a picture of what the job looks like, but at this point I don’t have any employees, so I do all of the product design, development, marketing, sourcing, finance and the list goes on. I have recently contracted some help with PR and community management from another Mulgrave graduate (Christina Pearce) so that has been an exciting development, and I also have a warehouse that stores my inventory and packs my orders for the summer season.

I absolutely love what I am doing, but I can’t say yet whether it is my end-all-be-all. I think it’s important (especially in your 20s) to give it your all, but not to close off other doors of opportunities. Who knows where this will lead me in the coming years?! A concrete goal I do have for myself is to stay self employed.

Whether I am doing Saltwater forever or expanding to other endeavors, I want to be in charge of my time and accountable for my success.

If you could highlight 1-3 of the most valuable lessons that you’ve carried forward from Mulgrave, what would they be?

• Aim high • Always do your best • Speak up!

You worked at quite a high level during your time studying at university, being the GM of a Alma Mater Coffee house during your final year. What is it like to hold those responsibilities while studying at the same time? How has it changed your perspective towards work ethic, and would you recommend it?

My entire Queen’s experience was incredible. I was involved in leadership roles through extracurriculars and work for many years and these have been the most impactful experiences on my personal growth to date. Working as the GM for Common Ground was one of the best and most challenging things I have taken on. I learned hands-on about running a business, management techniques, critical decision making skills and the importance of workplace culture that I could not have learned in a classroom. It certainly taught me a LOT about work ethic - especially in the position of boss and manager. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I quickly learned that leading by example is key because you cannot expect anybody to do something that you are not willing to do and that being the boss means you are right alongside everyone putting in 110% and then some! The greatest lesson I learned from being a GM is that if you have a goal, don’t let anyone or anything hold you back from going after it. I had little to no experience that qualified me for the job of managing over a hundred people, let alone running a business, but somehow I convinced someone to give me a chance, the business turned its first profit in 7 years, and my coworkers are still close friends to this day. It taught me to take risks and to embrace my unconventional path.

Upon graduation, you had the opportunity to work at Walmart. What was one of the most important things that you learned from that opportunity?

I must say that I really felt the value of my time working for Walmart after I moved on and started building my own retail business. Being exposed to the inner workings of the biggest retail giant on the planet taught me a lot about business cycles and the challenges that retailers face from an operational standpoint. I think that working in a long-term strategy role put me at an advantage when entering the market with my own

retail venture. Understanding that retail is very fast-paced and unpredictable even for the experts in the market has helped give me perspective when I am experiencing challenges!

At what point did you know that The Saltwater Collective was where you wanted to focus all your time? What was the most important factor in your decision?

Ever since my experience as GM of Common Ground, I knew that I wanted to have my own business. The energy, motivation (and challenge, of course) was unlike anything I had felt before. I learned so much about myself through the experience - a major thing being that I needed to be 100% accountable for my own success and that sink or swim situations seem to bring out the best in me.

I don’t think that there is a ‘right’ time to quit a full time job to pursue your own venture. It differs from person to person and is very contingent on finances, but the turning point for me was when balancing both jobs was getting so difficult that I felt I would start under-performing at both. I was very happy with the two years I had put in at Walmart, so in June 2017 I decided to go full time with Saltwater.

How did you get involved in The Saltwater Collective?

The brand you see today has a pretty unique story behind it! I adopted The Saltwater Collective in its infancy from two young women who had started it as a passion project in university. It was mostly apparel-focused with the goal of raising awareness around ocean conservation. Due to personal circumstances, they were looking for someone to carry it forward, so in early 2017 I took over the brand name and started building my own vision for the brand - a swimwear line inspired by their beginnings.

I hope the story behind how I got started with Saltwater will remind people that everyone’s j ourney looks very different, and there isn’t one way to do things. Every path to success looks completely different and it is important to be adaptable!

The Saltwater Collective is obviously very focussed on ethically sourcing it’s materials as well as finding

ethical means of production. Could you explain how the company does each of those things?

Yes, we are very focussed on sustainability and ethical production! The ways in which we incorporate this into the business is through our textile sourcing and our manufacturing methods.

The fabrics we use are woven from ECONYL® yarn. ECONYL® yarn was developed by an Italian company (Aquafil S.p.A) who is on the forefront of textile innovation. The yarn used to make the fabric is regenerated from pre-and post-consumer Nylon waste that would otherwise be abandoned in nature or dumped in landfills. Aquafil recovers nylon waste from all over the world through a combination of self-directed programmes, and partnerships with initiatives such as Healthy Seas - a volunteer initiative focused on recovering abandoned fishing nets from the ocean, and Net-works, an organisation that empowers southeast asian communities to collect and sell their spent fishing nets. After collection, the end result of the regeneration system is a beautiful, high quality fabric equivalent to any virgin nylon product.

The fashion industry is a lead contributor to pollution and environmental degradation globally. Although we are still a small brand, we are trying to be a part of the solution and help educate consumers on how important it is to demand a higher standard from the fashion industry. We believe that sustainable fabrics are the way of the future. In a circular economy, waste is not wasted. Why take from the earth when we don’t have to? Finally, we manufacture all of our garments right here in Toronto! Not only does this allow us to be very involved in every step of the process of garment creation we also get to support the Canadian economy and partner with fellow small business owners.

If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Failure is a part of success.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In 5 years I hope that Saltwater will be the most recognised swimwear label for women in the Canadian market. When someone is thinking of buying a swimsuit, I want Saltwater to be the first brand that pops into their mind! I have big growth goals for the brand, and not to give away too much, but I hope to have established a solid international presence as well.

If you could impart some wisdom on newly graduated students, what would you say?

Do not let your fears or doubts hold you back from going after something you want. Don’t let the idea that you aren’t ‘qualified enough’ or ‘experienced enough’ hold you back from trying. We are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. Don’t be afraid of breaking the mold and taking risks. You are responsible for your own success and as long as you keep an open mind and are willing to learn and work hard, anything is possible - really.