Please introduce yourself, what you do, why you do it, and what you want people to know about you.
I am Kristoffer Legarde, a Filipino, and have moved to LA back in 2019. I am an Entrepreneur, Creative Director, Artist, Dancer, Actor, and a Foodie. I grew up in a household of businessmen and women. They educated me on the ins and outs of putting up a business and how to manage it. Although I didn’t take up Business Management back in college, I am a product of a Multimedia Arts course at CSB-School of Design and Arts in The Philippines. This is where I got the proper skill and technique training in honing my creative and artistic side in different areas of the arts.
During that time, I was part of the school’s two dance companies namely, La Salle Dance Company Street and Romancion. My forte is hip-hop and over time ventured into contemporary. Ever since I was a kid, I have always loved to dance.
After college, I worked for a television station as a choreographer and dancer on a Sunday Variety show called “Party Pilipinas”. Alongside this job, I was also an actor in some television shows, films, event shows, and commercials.
Not long after, I began to focus my career on a corporate level at advertising agencies and events companies. I started as a graphic designer and worked my way up as a Creative Director. I have conceptualized and executed live events for social and corporate companies. With my training under the agencies, I worked with. I have ventured into Hosting and voice over acting as a side hustle.
A decade had passed and corporate life took a toll on me. I put up my own Events Company and Clothing Brand in Manila. However, in the second year, I had to move to Los Angeles. During the pandemic year, my creative and business-minded self was incubated. September of 2020 I launched my brand “Stoque” and called my lifestyle online shop – Stoque Boutique. I channeled my passion to my brand and to date, it already has 6 categories: Stoque Wear, Stoque Interiors, Stoque Decor, Stoque Kitchen, Stoque Art and Stoque Creatives.
Stoque Wear is a clothing brand focusing on mens wear at the moment. Stoque Interiors is a professional service for the Interior Designing of homes and commercial spaces. Stoque Decor is a shop for uniquely designed home decorations. Stoque Kitchen offers 11 flavors of Basque Cheesecakes and soon will have its complete set menu and restaurant. Stoque Art is a venue for local painters who wants to showcase and sell their paintings through Stoque Boutique. Lastly, Stoque Creatives offers services for web designing, digital ad layouts, and soon to have a team of creative minds that will produce events.
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
I think I am unique because of my creativity, grit, willpower, and thrive to make my dreams come true. I may have the same vision as some entrepreneurs but what differentiates me from them is the variety of products and services I can offer in a lifestyle venue.
Most importantly, my mission is to build an empire that will give back to the community and employ individuals who are also passionate to learn and hone their skills to become the person they want to be.
Describe THAT moment when you realized you wanted to do what you do now. Who did you tell first? What has it been like since that moment?
It was at that moment during the pandemic year that my thirst for creating something out of the ordinary and to put my brand “Stoque” out there in the universe. I wanted to share my talents with the world and give inspiration that with hard work dreams really do come true. Of course, my family were the first people to known the vision and pushed me to reach my career goals. Since the launch of Stoque Boutique last September 2020, it had been a challenging but rewarding experience.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to face and how did you overcome it?
All of what Stoque Boutique has become in just a year is a result of hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Doing everything on my own is still the biggest challenge from dreaming to creating, designing and application, researching to outsourcing, production to quality control, media concept to digital application for ads, financing to marketing, website/store building to promoting, inventories to selling, and client relations to self-fulfillment. Building the brand has taught me a lot of things and even unlocked skills that I have never thought I can do.
If you had to pick the TOP 3 people you’d want to meet that could take your career (or business) to the next level…who would those 3 people be?
- One of the Sharks at “Shark Tank”
- Jeff Bezos
- Oprah Winfrey
List the direct links/URL to your social media profiles so people can follow you:
- Instagram: @krisleandro
- Website: https://www.stoqueboutique.com