Vivid paintings line the walls as screen-printing equipment and sewing machines fill the space of the 4life studio in Hunters Point.
“4life” is a community collaborative clothing brand owned by siblings Sarahí and Julian Rodriguez. The brand is inspired by their mother’s lifelong mantra, “live, laugh, love,” and they try to embody that philosophy.
Julian makes the designs while Sarahí is in charge of the logistics.
“We’re a brand that not only produces our own products, we also want to make sure that the products that we produce are well-intentioned with the messages behind the design,” Sarahí said. “I’d like to say that we are more intentional, and we try to have a community in all places, personally and business-wise.”
They started the business in 2022 and first started with screen-printing on recycled shirts, some donated by their grandparents, to give the clothes a new purpose.
Julian attended San Francisco State University and studied studio art, and Sarahí is currently studying ethnic studies.
“I think that we’re best friends,” Julian said. “She’s the only person that I’m really open with and I can share my ideas with her.”
When creating a new design, the two meet and start to create ideas about what they want to see. After choosing an idea, Julian starts sketching and perfecting the design until he feels it is ready to print. Through this process, they start to create different types of products.
“For us, it’s really important to give the right messages, with information to continue to be able to pass the knowledge on things that the majority of people do not know, and can hopefully learn,” Sarahí said.
On Feb. 8, they attended “Lovers Lane” in the Mission District, and for the first time after previously attending five events, they sold out their merchandise.
“It was a different feeling, especially since we haven’t sold out before,” Julian said. “It was a validation, like, ‘oh my god,’ the people really do like our stuff or are interested.”
At the event, they were accompanied by their business partner, Roman Guillen, who also sold his own merchandise, “Fine Art Streetwear.”
“I think Lovers Lane was right place and right time, and we came to win,” Guillen said. “We prepared adequately, and we got there hella early, got the lay of the land.”
The Rodriguezes met Guillen when they moved into their studio after they applied to an artist-in-residence program.
“Lots of time and dedication and money has been put in towards you know what they’re trying to start,” Guillen said. “I’ve really seen them grow and having a sense of responsibility towards not only themselves but their brand that they’re trying to create and those that are supporting that brand. I think it’s went from a hobby to an idea of a business to a real small business at this point.”
Nicholas Panameno, a student studying apparel with a concentration in design, has his own jewelry company, “Monochrome X’. Panameno attended the event and met Sarahí when they sold alongside each other at a school event.
“’I’m very proud for them for stepping up their game, like their table decor, how they’re set up versus their products, their stickers. I love their stickers so much,” Panameno said. “She always has my back and I have hers.”
The first personalized order they made was for a fashion show at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts. It took them a month to complete the designs, and it was the first time they used different mediums.
“It was doing something different and unique and only using my hands was really cool,” Julian said. “Only using different mediums like paint, fabric and then afterwards adding different rocks or different fabrics.”
According to Sarahí, they normally like to take between two and three months to complete the design because they want to make sure they have enough time, but it also depends on the materials they use because it is possible to complete within a week.
Their next product launch will be on April 15, which is celebrated as 415 day in San Francisco in recognition of its area code.
“We want to explore different art mediums, not only designing clothes, but also creating workshops to teach people,” Sarahí said. “We want to have a storefront that can be more inviting… keep learning and growing little by little.”
They attend pop-up events and use Instagram as their main platform to gain customers and promote their business. They also use TikTok and are currently in the process of creating a podcast to upload to YouTube.
