Originality
Nothing here should feel copied off a template.
01 / Before the name
The story
Before Zirla had a name, it was just JD — messing with things that already existed and making them feel like his own. Sewing patches. Painting shirts and pants that had no business looking that good. Making decals and stencils. Redoing his own space because “normal” was never really the goal.
It was never about owning the same thing everyone else had. It was about looking at the finished piece and saying, “Look what I made.”
That instinct is the real start of Zirla. The business didn’t create the creativity — it just gave it a name.
02 / Where it got real
The Cricut that started it
The practical beginning came with a Cricut and a small studio room in JD’s former home. Shirts, house decals, stencils — mostly personal, mostly experimental at first. Then his dad noticed people might actually pay for this stuff, and suggested turning it into something real.
Zirla Designs was founded around May 11, 2022. What started with one machine, one room, and too many ideas has been growing ever since — one weird project at a time.
Founded 05.11.22
03 / Figure it out
Built by making, not by shortcuts
JD didn’t start this with a factory, a team, or a big budget. He started it by making things, testing them, getting them wrong, and trying again. Every new skill — cut vinyl, stickers, apparel, DTF, signs, packaging — came with its own learning curve and its own set of problems to figure out.
That’s still the identity: curious, resourceful, and stubborn enough to make a strange idea actually work.
04 / The non-negotiables
What we care about
A short list. Taken suspiciously seriously.
Quality
If it’s not tested and reliable, it’s not for sale yet.
Presentation
How it arrives matters as much as what it is.
Realism
What you see is what you get, no smoke and mirrors.
Accessibility
Good work shouldn’t come with an insane price tag.
Honesty
We’ll tell you what’s ready, what’s not, and why.
05 / The human responsible
The person behind it
JD Velasquez is the Venezuelan-born founder and creative director of Zirla Designs, based in Southern California. What started as a habit of customizing clothes, making decals, and building one-off creations turned into an independent studio in 2022 — built on the belief that even the weirdest idea deserves a thoughtful, well-made result.
Still thinking about that idea?
We joke. Our quality doesn’t.
Got something weird, personal, or a little ridiculous rattling around in your head? That’s exactly what we’re here for.
Tell us your idea →