Hello everyone! I am delighted that you are taking the time to read about my company history. I wanted to write extensively about my start, journey, and lessons learned in hopes of you finding inspiration and truth in what it is really like being an entrepreneur and starting a business. Hopefully you can apply some of these lessons to your own creative endeavors.
Starting my own business was very natural for me as I grew up in an education-cultivated and entrepreneurial home. Everything I needed as a child was right there at my fingertips, including volumes of encyclopedias, dictionaries, English literature anthologies, children's books, art and crafts supplies, as well as musical instruments and of course music resounding throughout the house day in and day out.
I was always creative and when my father, who was a single father, saw that I was entrepreneurial, he gave his full support. But, one important factor I should mention is because women knew my father was raising his children alone they donated trash bags full of their old clothing to him for me to have. Of course most of the pieces were too big for me, so in order for me to fit them I would go through the pile, select what I liked and then from my grandmother's sewing influence I would figure out ways to alter the clothing to my size. Unbeknownst to myself, this was truly my entering in to the world of fashion. By the time I was ten I already knew how to do hems, sew on buttons, and use a seam ripper.
The artistic skills I have today mostly came from the influence of family members. I was shy and quiet and would watch relatives operate in their profession and then go off to a corner, take what I saw visually and implement that same technique on myself. From there I would practice over and over until I got better. Inspired by the sketches of my uncle I began my own fashion design sketches at age eleven and by twelve I made my first two-piece outfit out of denim completely sewn by hand. My grandmother and relatives were stunned at how neat and perfect the garments were because of my age. At fifteen I bought my first sewing machine from a yard sale and designed my first dress which was for the 10th grade homecoming dance. I remember walking into the lobby of the hotel and going directly to the photo area to take a picture. When I removed my coat, borrowed from my sister, and turned around to pose all of my classmates and peers who were in the vicinity were all staring. I was very proud of my first design. A few years later, I designed two prom dresses inspired by fashions from the Vogue magazines I collected. My grandmother and I drafted patterns, purchased fabrics, sewed, and hand beaded the dresses ourselves. She was an excellent seamstress and always reminded me that a garment should be just as beautiful on the inside as the outside. After graduating high school I knew I wanted to head off to college to began my journey toward becoming a fashion designer, but life hit hard and became a whirling roller coaster. However, I was able to take the initial classes I needed like, Figure drawing, Color theory, Fashion sketching, Design principles, and Textiles, and it was in Textiles class I realized I was highly passionate about fiber before it become anything. I had the opportunity to be a part of the Dresser's Club where I dressed models and gained a world of experience from working behind the scenes of fashion shows. It was truly amazing. When I was told that I could take my General Education classes at a community college because it was cheaper I left the university and ended up at El Camino College, which seemed like a deterrent from my dreams, but it ended up being a blessing in disguise. When I saw a vender selling a triangular crocheted head tie on campus I was stunned that crochet could be made AND sold. Previously, I only saw crocheting as a hobby. I was around 20 years old when suddenly a major trigger when off in my heart and a lightbulb shined bright in my mind. I went home that day, picked up my crochet hooks and begin crocheting my own head tie and have not stopped crocheting since. The seed of Raghouse International was birthed that day with the thought that head ties would be the catalyst to my success. In a way they were, but not how I thought. I didn't know there would be a long journey ahead of me. 20 years later that one head tie has turned into the brand I have today.
Like many makers I started off selling at local events, farmer's markets, church meets, colleges, and private home parties. I participated in fashion shows and anything that would help expose my brand.
In December of 2007 I opened my doors to the online community by starting an Etsy shop. Within seconds of setting up my Paypal account a sell came through and in my first year on Etsy I was featured on 30 blogs.
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One very pivotal moment for me was when I had a friend who invited me to sell at her college festival the same weekend another college down the street was having a Pan African Festival. One was mostly white and the other was mostly black. At the white festival I was received well and made lots of sales. On the second day after the festival was over I went over to the Pan African Festival and nothing. Everyone looked down on my products, mentioned how my products were too expensive and associated with grandmothers. I returned home deeply emotional and contemplative and since that time one of the greatest lessons I learned was that there are black makers who create with a black aesthetic that is supported by the black community because their style of design aligns with their ideas of black culture. Then there are makers like me who are black, but create with a more European aesthetic and who receive more support from a white audience. I was a changed person, but I was also a little more enlightened on how to market my company even better to those I felt were a more true and supportive audience.
Twenty years later, just recently, I took a Sunday to plug in my hard drive and go through years worth of photos, memories, and company history. I was amazed and slightly angered at the same time. When I looked at the things I made in the past, I wowed myself. I never wasted a button, a piece of lace, or piece of string. The photos I took were stunning. I thought to myself, How did I ever think these were terrible? I wasted so much time doing things over and over trying to meet a standard I didn't even know was a standard or not. Then, finally, I forgave myself. ![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSkYElocUgjDmSaGPDK2RQOWD13tMM29aPlRRxPTrrk74Ob5tZI9wXEtWAUCl_2gvjvKDKmL_-xkX_72YZo6fDysNm39n_otJG9Nf-9Z30f2DtMgQR0-6Bv4Rk9bxsZHkG-YNrC6BCRRDf/w200-h150/country+style+53+copy.jpg)
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While viewing video footage, photos, editing work, and fashion campaigns I became fully proud of everything I have ever done. I saw that what truly set me apart was the way I designed and also the fact that I designed outside of a stereotypical expectation.
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I would say to anyone who is starting a creative business to operate your business the way you want. Don't worry about what you think a norm or standard is. Create your own unique brand through your own vision and stick with it. However you market your product on social media, keep your message at the foundation of the point you are trying to make through your art and do not let strangers dictate how you should run your business. Most of it is negative energy anyway. Never worry about those who criticize you and your art form. More often then not they are jealous because they are not doing what you are doing or are not as talented at you.
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