Just off of Guerrero on 19th St., there's a tiny storefront packed with creatively funky clothing for active, fashionable young women with discriminating tastes. An up-and-coming label, Nisa specializes in pieces that are stylish, innovative and refreshingly original.

Nisa was founded in 1996 by Umay Mohammed and designer Shinobu Sering, who met through mutual friends. Mohammed, now the company's project manager ("I'm the bitch," she says, laughing), had a degree in business and marketing from USF, but no design experience; she quickly learned pattern-making from Sering, and says she's still learning. Ivy Chan, a design student at the time, joined the team a few years later as an intern and is now a major part of the operation.

With the recent addition of Marie Biscarra-Pangan as sales and marketing director, the label is starting to get more exposure. In September, the Nisa ladies took a trip to New York for fashion week as part of an effort to increase their brand recognition.

"We just went for quick inspiration and to get our name more known in the East Coast," Biscarra-Pangan said. "We're known here in the West Coast a little bit, but we've noticed a lot of hip people visiting from New York who come here to shop, and they love it. So we said, 'We need to be more in New York.' "

The label also just took part in its first major fashion show, "Sew Down 5," in Los Angeles on November 7.

The philosophy behind Nisa's designs has little to do with what's trendy.

"We find inspiration from old things, rather than what's around these days, and I think that's saved us," Mohammed says.

"We don't check out what the color is going to be next year or anything like that," Sering adds. "We've been doing things like this for years and it's working, so we might as well stick with it."

The ladies say they're also inspired by people here in the City. "Everybody has something cool going on in San Francisco," Mohammed says. "Whatever it is - even their handbag - something's nice, interesting, you know what I mean?"

Comfort, function and affordability are other things they keep in mind when designing. Nisa's spring 2005 line, their "girliest" line yet, is flowy, feminine and fresh, featuring a lot of teal, royal blue and floral prints, with the addition of richer fabrics such as chiffon.

Look for Nisa fashions at Villains (1672 Haight), Therapy (545 Valencia), Backspace (425 Hayes), Momoca (2447 Dwight Way, Berkeley), and of course, at Nisa (3610 19th St).