From mum’s dining room to her own studio: The story of Karin Roman.
For some time now, we have been hearing the name Karin Roman in the Eastern Cape’s fashion circles. From matric farewell dresses that make their way onto social media to fashion shows showcasing her creations, Karin has been steadily building her name through her work. She may not always be the loudest person in the room, but her designs have been speaking for her. At HER Eastern Cape, we believe it is time to bring this quiet mover to the forefront and let her tell her own story.
Behind the brand Truly Karin is a woman who started with curiosity, found her passion in sewing, and slowly built a business that has taken her from her mother’s dining room to her own studio. When we look at where she is today, it is easy to admire the dresses and the finished products. But Karin’s story also includes uncertainty, retrenchment, slow sales, a change in direction and the courage to keep going when the future was far from clear.
“I wanted to do something I didn’t even know I had a passion for,” she tells us, reflecting on the beginning of her journey in 2017. “Once I discovered I had a passion for sewing and making clothes, that’s when I turned my passion into my business.”
Almost a decade later, Karin says she is a different woman. She has gained experience, built relationships and stepped outside her comfort zone. The quiet girl who once had a dream has become a woman willing to put herself and her business out there.
The early years were a process of figuring things out. Karin experimented with seasonal collections, producing a limited number of pieces each season while learning what worked for her business. By 2019, she was creating collections, but over time she realised that her real strength lay elsewhere.
Her move towards custom garments changed the direction of Truly Karin. Rather than producing pieces and hoping customers would buy them, she began working directly with clients to create outfits suited to their individual needs.
One moment helped put her work in front of a much wider audience. In 2023, Karin created a matric farewell dress that went viral. The attention brought new customers and helped her see the potential of focusing on custom designs. It was a turning point, not only for her business model but also for the audience she was reaching.
Looking back, she says one of her biggest lessons has been learning to set boundaries. “Some clients can take advantage of your time if you appear to be always available to them,” she explains. “Separate your business life from your private life. Knowing my value is a big one for me. If you don’t know your value, people will walk all over you.”
It is advice that comes from experience. Building a business is not only about mastering a skill or finding customers. It also means learning how to protect your time, recognise your worth and create working relationships that respect both sides.
If there was a period that forced Karin to reconsider everything, it was 2020. She was retrenched that year, leaving her business as her only source of income. At the same time, COVID-19 had disrupted the market, and customers were spending less. Karin had launched her first collection with excitement, but the response in sales did not match the hopes she had attached to it.
Her planned autumn collection eventually launched in September, six months later than intended. Although the feedback was positive, sales remained low. The disappointment affected her deeply, and she says the period led to a short spell of depression.
From mum’s dining room to her own studio: The story of Karin Roman.
“I was so fearful and had so many doubts regarding my business,” she recalls. “It was making it or break it for me.”
For someone who had no job to fall back on, the pressure was real. She had to face the possibility that the way she had imagined running her business might not be sustainable.
But instead of walking away, Karin changed direction. She moved towards custom garments, a model that allowed her to focus on individual clients and the specific needs of each person she dressed.
“That period shaped me,” she says.
It is a simple statement, but it carries the weight of a lesson many entrepreneurs know well. Sometimes, growth does not come from pushing harder in the same direction. It comes from being honest about what is not working and having the courage to try something different.
Today, Truly Karin focuses on custom garments, with matriculants and brides making up much of her clientele. Every design begins with a conversation. Karin and her clients exchange ideas, look at inspiration images and work towards a garment that reflects the occasion and the person wearing it.
For her, the value is in creating something specifically for the individual.
“I deal with clients one on one and create garments especially for their body types,” she says. “It’s a matter of preferring quality over quantity.”
That personal approach is central to her business. Karin does not simply want to make a beautiful dress; she wants the person wearing it to feel comfortable and confident in the final result.
She works alone, managing everything from production and sourcing fabric to marketing. Social media has played an important role in helping her reach customers, but using it effectively meant confronting another personal challenge: being visible.
“As an introvert, getting in front of the camera and creating content for my business was something I never would have done,” she admits.
When she began showing up more consistently online, customers started coming through. She has since built much of her clientele through social media, while sourcing most of her fabric from shops in the Eastern Cape. She serves clients in the province because her process requires in-person consultations, measurements and fittings.
Her work may begin with fabric and a sketch, but the experience is personal from the first conversation to the final fitting.
One of Karin’s proudest moments came in 2023, when she hosted her first fashion show. The event introduced Truly Karin to new audiences and opened doors to collaborations with photographers, videographers and make-up artists. It also helped her build relationships and attract customers from across the Eastern Cape.
But ask her what it means to look back at her journey, and her answer goes beyond the business milestones.
“Thinking back to where I started in 2017, I get a bit teary-eyed, because never in a million years did I think my business would grow to where it is today,” she says. “From starting in my mum’s dining room to having my own studio. That in itself is a proud moment for me.”
There is no elaborate success formula in Karin’s story. There is learning, adjusting, showing up and continuing to work even when the results take time. Her next chapter is not about abandoning what she has built to chase something else. She wants to continue designing custom dresses and serving people in the Eastern Cape.
“I love to see how they light up during fittings,” she says. “My purpose is to serve people in the Eastern Cape, to make them look beautiful and feel confident in my designs.”
That, for Karin, is the work worth continuing.
Before we wrap up our conversation, we ask Karin what she would say to a woman who has a dream but keeps waiting for the right time to start. Her response is direct, shaped by the years she spent learning to believe in herself.
“Feel the fear and do it anyway. Start where you are. Start with what you have. There are no handouts. Build something now for your future self. She will thank you for it someday.”
She has another reminder for women who are doing the work without much recognition: “If no one claps for you, clap for yourself. I do that all the time.”
It is also the advice she would give her younger self. She wishes she had been less afraid, taken the leap sooner and believed in herself a little more. If she could return to that younger version of Karin, she says, she would give her the biggest hug.
Perhaps that is what makes her story worth telling now. Karin Roman did not build Truly Karin by having every answer from the beginning. She built it by discovering what she loved, learning through difficult seasons and allowing herself to grow beyond the person she thought she was.
The name has been appearing on dresses and fashion-show runways for years. Now, we know a little more about the woman behind it. And if Karin’s journey so far is anything to go by, there are still many stories to be told through the garments she creates.
For more, visit: Truly Karin
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