Oakland's Mira Flores offers new life to your old clothes: How owner's hometown inspired business

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Mira Flores, located in Temescal Alley in Oakland, is a fashion line, an embroidery service shop, and a vintage store.

It's also the culmination of decades of hard work and passion from owner and creative director, Sam Saavedra. "It started with embroidery," she said. "Chain stitch embroidery is my heart, my craft. I love it."

Working away at a 120-year-old embroidery machine, Sam brings her creations to life.

"It's kind of like tattooing on clothes," she explained. "I do do a lot of traditional tattoo style, but I've done a range of different art on garments.

Landscapes, really detailed, creative and natural floral embroidery, to roses and fonts."

All of Mira Flores clothes are designed in Oakland and made in Peru, where Sam grew up and got her inspiration.

"I'm from Lima, which is the capital," she said. "I grew up in a neighborhood called Mira Flores, which is the name of the shop. The textile industry in Peru and going to the Garment District at seventeen and just seeing buttons and fabric and what we could make, it was really cool."

Sam moved back to the U.S. when she was 20 to go to college. About 5 years later, she began working at Levi's, which opened her eyes to the possibilities of what she was capable of creating.

She credits the women in her life for motivating her and being role models as she grew up. "What inspired me the most are the women that I grew up with," she explained.

"My mom was a single mom and she worked really hard, going back from the U.S. to Peru. My grandmothers were really stubborn and hard workers. They were always telling me that anything I put my mind to, if I just worked really hard, it would work out."

Over the last 3 years, Mira Flores has grown from a passion project into a brand, allowing Sam to expand the business to a brick-and-mortar shop.

"I went from only doing what people asked me to for them to creating one-of-a-kind pieces that are waiting to be sold," Saavedra said. "So were designing, were doing jackets, were doing cut-and-sew."

The Mira Flores shop also features seven different vendors that each bring their own unique style and flair to the space. But Sam insists that up-cycling clothes is at the heart of what she does.

"The whole purpose of the shop is we want you to give second life to your clothes," she said. "By repairing it, it adds personality and it can be customized."

All the while, Sam hopes that she can be an inspiration to other women who want to start their own business and chase their dreams. "I didn't let anybody tell me, 'are you sure? 'Maybe you should do this first," she said.

"I was like, 'no, I'm going to jump all the hoops and maybe some steps to get to where I want to be." Her advice? "Not everything you make is a masterpiece, and sometimes you have to go back to having fun with what you're making to then create that next big thing that people are going to love."

Learn more about Mira Flores by visiting, here.