Her Story
About Whitney
Whitney Arruda operates a custom garment construction and clothing alteration business in Palm Bay, Florida. She has worked independently in this field for over a decade, building on skills developed from making her own Halloween costumes as a child, and began ramping up her operations in 2025. This includes creating tabards for participants in worldwide night-fighting events, such as designs featuring large butterfly wings, as well as performing alterations like hemming pants. Arruda recently earned her bachelor's degree in organizational management in December 2005, with a specialty in HR to assist people in navigating workplace resources. She values respect and communication highly in both her professional and personal life, advising others to pursue work they love and to view mistakes as learning opportunities that can lead to happy accidents and new ideas. Her typical workday involves a dedicated art room setup with sewing machines, a staging table, and floor space for patterns, often resulting in the occasional pin prick.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Whitney
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received would be to do something that you love.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't get deterred. It's all trial and error. That's how you learn, by making mistakes. It only makes you better. Seems like a huge mishap and setback, but you learn a lot from every mistake that you make. And there will be a lot of them. Don't get discouraged. Mistakes can be happy accidents, too, and come up with something entirely brand new.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Respect is a huge one for me in both. It boils down to just being polite. Communication is also huge. That's like my number one thing, because I feel like so many things could be solved if we would just talk to each other.
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