I pulled this excerpt (edited and all) from Kristie’s podcast interview. We’ve known each other for years, since our days at Temple University. But we weren’t always close. Over the years, I’ve gotten to know Kristie, and really understand her background growing up in Maryland as a bi-racial young woman. I really wanted to share…
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I had to be honest with Briana. When I saw her post about how she felt like she played with her dreams for a while, and did it out of insecurity, I was like, “okay, I have to interview her.” That’s how I felt about my brand; and I feel like a lot of women…
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I was really intrigued to be interviewing a millennial working for Avon. In all honesty, Avon, for me at least, was pretty much associated with my mom’s generation. That was until I was 16, and .Mark happened. Avon’s 2003 launch of .Mark was a memorable one for me. I’d get the catalogs and beg my…
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My name is Ondrea Lee and I’m the Social Media Manager at Cocotique. I’m Black. But if you want to go deep, my mother’s side of the family is Cherokee and white and Black, and my dad’s side is Black. I’m not engaged with my [Cherokee] culture, unfortunately, because most of my family members who…
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My name is Kalisha Hall and I’m a fashion designer. My brand is K. RaShae Collection. I started designing wanting to make a difference because I grew up not loving myself and not wanting to be brown for a long time. All of my friends had very light complexions, and I’d always hear “oh, you’re…
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My name is Chantale Escobar and I run my jewelry business, Eclectique Collection. Thinking back to 2010, where I only made jewelry for fun, you know the way art always begins; I can’t help but think about how narrow my sight really was, even though I was becoming more and more alive with each piece…
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I started as an NBC Page. The program has always been competitive but now it’s another level. I remember going to the site, uploading my resume, and sending it to the Universe. I honestly forgot about it. A few months later got a phone call from their recruitment office and the rest is history. I…
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My father was a business owner. He owned two restaurants and he was also a car salesman. When I was in high school, I worked at the restaurant. I helped my mom and I understood everything she was doing. Some things I would point out, like, “Hey Mom, I think you missed that” or even…
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My name is Tamu Green and my company is Lux Pad Interiors. I started the firm in 2013, actually, but I just went full time for myself at the beginning of 2016. I’ve been in New York for four years. I worked at another design firm and then branched out on my own. It’s been…
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I started the Grillz and Granola Trap Aerobics because I have an anxiety disorder and I have a lot of panic attacks. Thank god I have an amazing team [at work]. They know that I’ll write on a sticky note when I’m about to have one and I’ll go dip out and then calm down. One…
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