Meet April Cardenas-Hager | Fashion Buyer and Product Development Specialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with April Cardenas-Hager and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi April, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Very[Si] really starts with the reason I tried cannabis in the first place. I had been dealing with anxiety and depression since I was young with many life variables factoring in. After meeting with therapists, trying different medications, and even testing some out-there therapeutic methods, I tried the power of flower. I was so against cannabis for the majority of my life, I can’t even begin to explain how hard it was to give it a shot. Coming from a strict Catholic upbringing and being raised in Mexico where cannabis was still extremely illegal and badly stigmatized, it was a whole other level of unknown and taboo for me. Fast forward a few years and I can say simply, I’m so glad I tried it as it has helped immensely. My anxiety, my sleep, my focus, my personal peace and other aspects of my life have significantly improved.

I realized not everything we are told and instructed in life should be taken at face value. The personal discovery is what matters; some things work differently for different people. My success with cannabis has helped me be more open minded, open hearted, and ultimately just open to new versions and beginnings of myself. Ultimately, that’s what led to me creating Very[Si] and The Flora Purse.

In January of 2020, I needed a change of scenery after working in fashion for 10 years in Los Angeles. I unintentionally ended up in Colorado as Covid hit and Colorado became my home by happy accident. A few years after moving, a mutual friend of ours got a very nice looking zippered smell-proof hard side case with compartments for all his flower and accessories. I was impressed since I didn’t know anything like that existed. I thought it was great since, yes, flower is part of my life and wellness journey but I do not garden 100% of my time and I don’t love my clothes or stuff being smelly or stained. It got me thinking, maybe I should find one for me that matches my style and I can freely carry around with my specific things separated in a little purse or pouch for convenience and peace of mind.

Working as a buyer, sourcing agent, and product developer in the fashion industry has been a huge part of my life and experience, so I put my skills to work and tried to find something I could use for myself. To my surprise and shock… I could not find anything! 
I was like, “ What! This doesn’t seem right, what am I missing?”. I kept looking for a couple months… NOTHING. Don’t get me wrong I could find lots of different backpacks and cases and all, but nothing that would look stylish to bring out and about as a daily staple. Most things were a little too “Rick and Morty” if you know what I mean. I thought it was strange, it couldn’t be right. Since I know that women are a huge part of the demand, is it possible that there is no product for women like me?

I wanted a bag that I could use both in and out of the house, one that could be dressed up or down with multifunctionality. It needed multiple pockets for my never-ending stash of “just in case” items—need Advil? Eyedrops? Kleenex? Chapstick? A snack? Yep, that’s me. So, after months of searching and discussing with my husband about the lack of options for women and the market’s focus on men, he suggested, “Why don’t you make one for yourself, hun?” WAIT, WHAT? That’s an amazing idea! And from there, Very[Si] was born.

I started researching and trying to understand the functional part of the product, since I already knew the process for developing a product but didn’t know much about the specific smell proof aspect. I sourced the materials we needed and hopped on a flight to my hometown Monterrey, Mexico. 
As a girl living in Mexico where most events tend to require highly dressed-up attire and the norm has always been “better overdressed than underdressed,” I designed many of my own Wedding gowns and elegant wardrobe pieces. As many know, such items are expensive and I often had to spend extra to get them fitted to my size after purchasing. So, instead of paying full price for designer items, I ended up creating my own with a local seamstress that is the same lady who I worked with to create the first Very[Si] prototype purse.

I have always said I won’t sell something I wouldn’t buy. In my past jobs, I enjoyed being behind the scenes and the lower risk that came with it. However, it was difficult knowing how everything worked and not sharing it with everyone, helping others to do, create, and find what they want without spending a fortune. Of course, I believe in paying, but I insist on paying for quality, for the actual product, and for the value and labor that went into its creation. I prefer knowing the real people and hands involved in the work, rather than just the brand name. I love uniqueness and realness. Real people creating functional versatile things.

After years of work, time, extensive testing, numerous changes, much self-doubt, and tremendous support from my partner, Very[Si] came together and was alive.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Omg, so many lessons… where do I even start?
Was it easy? NOT AT ALL. It takes a lot of work, focus, patience, support, growth, rejection, strength, sweat, trials and an incredible believe and strength of mind to do this. I think the main factor for me has been the “imposter syndrome”. It is certainly real, and it’s crazy as humans sometimes we think we are the only ones feeling that kind of anxiety or fear of rejection/failure. Nowadays with social media and the internet it’s pretty easy to believe and compare yourself with everything you see on the daily – which I have to remind myself everyday, it is not true. I have a love/hate relationship with social media truthfully – on one side I love it and I think its an amazing way to communicate, connect, grow and beneficial for so many things BUT – on the other hand, it can be so damaging mentally and emotionally if you aren’t aware of what your mind is “consuming” constantly and also, the most difficult thing the awareness of what my own mind is telling myself (so my inner voice is telling me about me and my life because of what it’s seeing online) are they good things? are they bad things? am I putting myself down? am I benefitting at all from it? otherwise why do it! So I think it takes a lot of work to get to that awareness, and I try, but man I am not successful sometimes, and I fall for it, the comparing, the feeling not “good enough” etc. I have learned you are never going to be liked, respected, appreciated, supported or even considered by everyone, no matter how hard you try, it is physically impossible. So, I am not saying im the best at it but I have definitely taken up the goal to start thinking for myself and believing in myself, trying to stay honest with myself about things I feel and being compassionate when I don’t succeed, I gotta stand up and try again.
I want the world to know that it doesn’t matter what you see or think about others out there – you will never know what they are going through behind close doors, or in their own minds. Let’s help each other, give the benefit of the doubt more, forgive each other and yourselves also! We are all human, and likely struggle most of the days with similar things just in different scenarios, if you want to do something, DO IT, try it, go for it, you will never regret having tried. If you never try, you will never know! 😉

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
OOHH… this is a good one. Well for me I think it’d be multiple locations around Denver, south Denver and North Denver.
Being from another country definitely makes it a bit more exciting to see so many things that we don’t get in Mexico. For example, simple things like, snow! Yes, I know, but I love it, or the leaves when they turn colors in the fall, so the seasons basically! So definitely a drive through the mountains to watch the changes of the leaves and colors, visit a hot springs location and have a drink at a local brewery enjoying the sun and outdoors Colorado offers!
Red Rocks would be a must. Just red rocks itself is incredible, but summer early yoga classes whilst the sun is rising is hard to beat. Or a live music concert or event while the sun is setting is certainly an amazing experience.
Visiting downtown Boulder and the Egyptian Tea House. (yummmm – try the golden milk tea)
A sports game to let loose and cheer on together.
Probably a float on a river or a hike where the mountains are appreciated. (I would lean more towards a float since I am not the best hiker lol!)
A rooftop where we can see the sunset while listening to good music and having a good chat with friends.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
100% Samuel Hager, my husband. He has been an incredible and unexpected support for myself personally and professionally. I have learned so much from him. Very[Si] wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for him. Sammy is from North Dakota and I am from Mexico, so it has been an interesting, fun, exciting, wonderful, difficult, incredible ride together getting to know both our cultures, languages, differences and trying to bring the best of both worlds together for our family. We are all about growing together intentionally and transparently, we try to be the best version of ourselves for the other’s benefit and out relationship. He has encouraged me and supported me through thick and thin and I wouldn’t be who I am today without him. He is one of the best men I have ever met – personally and professionally.

Website: https://verysi.co

Instagram: @verysi_co

Other: TikTok: @verysi_co