Guest: Chelsea Parke Kramer — founder of Parke Host: Elizabeth Stein, founder & CEO of Purely Elizabeth Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio
Chelsea Parke Kramer found the idea for Parke at a farmers market in Miami on a random Saturday. She was chatting with a vintage Levi's vendor, bought a few pairs, went home, and called her mom the next week: "We need to do this." What started as reworked men's vintage jeans sized for women — 200 units, launched on TikTok in July 2022 — has grown into a 20-plus person brand with a devoted community, an original denim line, a cozy basics collection, and a fully planned 12-month product calendar.
In this episode, Chelsea and Elizabeth talk about what it actually takes to build a brand community that means something, how her background as a college field hockey player shaped her as a founder and leader, and why her yoga teacher's advice — "don't analyze the room" — is the piece of business wisdom she comes back to every single day. They also talk about making friends in a new city, the discipline of staying grounded when everything is moving fast, and why a bad launch is just another learning.
Key Takeaways
Authenticity is the foundation of community — without it, no brand community can grow; it's the non-negotiable before anything else
Don't analyze the room — comparing where you are to where other brands appear to be is the thing most likely to derail you; you have no idea what's happening in their back end
You can't scale from chaos — create systems, build teams, slow down enough to get clear, and your team will be clearer too; the founder's calm is contagious
Start before you feel ready — Chelsea had no idea where the farmers market conversation would lead; she just called the vendor the following week and figured it out step by step
Celebrate the community, not just the influencers — the person showing up for every single launch is your real community; they deserve to be gifted and celebrated just as much as anyone else
Movement is the non-negotiable for staying grounded — it doesn't have to be a full studio session; a 10-minute walk counts, and the grounding effect carries through everything else in the day
Products Mentioned
- Purely Elizabeth Chocolate Chip Cookie Granola — Chelsea's current obsession; she goes through a bag a day and her husband is trying to ration it
- Purely Elizabeth Glow Granola — Salted Vanilla Pistachio (Limited Edition) — featured in the intro; made with roasted pistachios, real vanilla bean, sea salt, coconut sugar, collagen peptides, coconut water powder, and biotin; available at purelyelizabeth.com and Cha Cha Matcha locations in February, also on TikTok Shop
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Purely Elizabeth Protein Oatmeal — Maple Cinnamon Roll, Apple Harvest Crumble, and Chocolate Chip Banana Bread; coming soon to Albertsons, Publix, Whole Foods, and Target
→ Shop Purely Elizabeth Chocolate Chip Cookie Granola → Shop Purely Elizabeth Protein Oatmeal
Episode Highlights
On how Parke started at a farmers market:
Chelsea and her mom were at the Coconut Grove Saturday farmers market when they met a vintage clothing vendor whose father runs one of the largest vintage recycled clothing warehouses in the US, in LA. Chelsea went home, bought a few pairs of Levi's, didn't think much of it — and then called her mom the following week: "We need to do this." She flew to LA, bought vintage men's jeans at wholesale, had them reworked into women's sizes, launched 200 units on TikTok in July 2022, and sold out almost immediately. That random Saturday conversation changed everything.
On building Parke's community through TikTok — before anyone called it a strategy:
Before Parke existed, Chelsea had been posting outfit-of-the-day content on TikTok, building a small organic following of around 10,000. When she launched the brand, she had a ready audience who already knew her taste. The personal community and the brand community grew simultaneously until they fused into one. She still uses community input to drive real product decisions — running color polls in her chat, letting followers name products, and incorporating their feedback directly into what gets developed. The purple they've been requesting for a year launches for Valentine's Day 2026.
On scaling from 5 to 20+ people:
The first year and a half was Chelsea, her sister-in-law (now COO), her mom shipping orders, and a manufacturer. Her sister-in-law handles everything spreadsheet-related; Chelsea handles creative, storytelling, and product direction. As the team grew to 20-plus, the challenge became building systems fast enough to keep up with growth — a 12-month product calendar, defined team structures, and processes that let people do their best work without the founder in every decision. She now plans a year out, but it took most of the first three years to get there.
On the "don't analyze the room" philosophy:
Her Miami yoga teacher Mimi said it first — when everyone in class is doing handstands and you're on day one, looking around doesn't tell you anything useful. Chelsea brings this to her team explicitly: don't compare your role to someone else's, don't compare the brand to another brand's launches or follower counts. Social media is a highlight reel. You have no idea what's happening behind the scenes. Stay focused on your own work, your own community, your own lane.
On moving to Miami with no friends:
Chelsea moved to Miami knowing essentially no one, turning down LA because her mom insisted three time zones was too far. She made friends at yoga studios, by introducing herself to strangers on walks, and by saying yes to dinners she would have rather skipped. Five years later she says she'd do it 10 times over — the personal growth of building a life from scratch in your early 20s, without family to fall back on, is something she couldn't have gotten any other way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Chelsea Parke Kramer?
Chelsea Parke Kramer is the founder of Parke, a fashion brand known for vintage-inspired denim and cozy basics. She launched Parke in July 2022 after a chance conversation at a Miami farmers market led her to vintage men's Levi's that she reworked into women's sizes. Before Parke, she worked in fashion wholesale and jewelry. She's a former college field hockey player and built Parke's community primarily through TikTok storytelling and authenticity. The brand has grown from 200 units to a team of 20-plus people in three and a half years.
What is Parke the brand?
Parke is a fashion brand founded by Chelsea Parke Kramer in Miami in 2022. It started with reworked vintage Levi's denim — men's jeans resized into women's cuts — and has since evolved into an original denim line and a cozy basics collection known as "the cozies." Parke is built around community engagement, TikTok storytelling, and letting customers directly influence product decisions. The brand launches at least one new product per month and is known for its Valentine's Day collection.
How did Parke get started?
Chelsea Parke Kramer and her mom were at the Coconut Grove Saturday farmers market in Miami when they met a vintage clothing vendor whose father owns one of the largest vintage recycled clothing warehouses in the country. Chelsea bought a few pairs of Levi's, called her mom the following week, flew to LA, bought vintage men's jeans at wholesale, had them reworked into women's sizing, and launched 200 units on TikTok in July 2022. They sold out almost immediately.
What are Chelsea Parke Kramer's top tips for building a brand community?
Three core principles: authenticity above everything (without it no community grows), active two-way interaction with your customers through Q&As, polls, and direct feedback so they see their input actually shape the product, and in-person moments — pop-ups, meetups, anything that lets your community meet the team and each other. She also prioritizes community gifting alongside influencer gifting every single launch. The customer showing up every time deserves to be celebrated.
What advice does Chelsea Parke Kramer have for early-stage founders?
Start before you feel ready — she had no plan when she called the vendor the following week, and figured it out as she went. Don't compare yourself to other brands on social media; the highlight reel tells you nothing about what's actually happening. Build systems early so you're not scaling from chaos. And redefine success: Chelsea measures it by whether her team is proud of their work and what she learned, not by whether a given launch was the biggest one yet.
What is Chelsea Parke Kramer's morning routine?
Chelsea wakes up around 6 a.m., stays in bed until around 6:30, has coffee with her husband, works out around 7:30–8 a.m., and is at her desk by 9–9:30 a.m. She schedules her day to the minute — including lunch — not out of rigidity but because structure is what keeps her grounded. She credits her background as a college field hockey player and team captain with instilling that routine-driven mindset. Movement is her number one non-negotiable for wellness, and it doesn't have to be a full session — a 10-minute walk counts.
Topics: Fashion Entrepreneurship · Brand Community Building · TikTok Marketing · Vintage Denim · Female Founders · Founder Mindset · Miami Wellness · Movement & Routine · Starting Before You're Ready
