My desire with my brand is to create apparel and accessories with meaningful messages we can relate to. In our new series, “BUT, IS IT MEANINGFUL?”, I will delve into the inspiration behind some of your favorite designs and why it is meaningful to me.
First up is my most frequently worn tee, “Rebuking Negative Energy.”
This tee was created during a difficult time I faced in my business last year.
In the midst of the pandemic, AMM was doing better than it did the year before. I was well on my way to having my best sales month ever with my newest collection at the time. I felt so proud and amazed at the growth that happened in such a short span. I went from $1500 in sales one month to over five figures in sales the very next month. Crazy, right!? I was amazed and humbled that so many people loved and wanted to spend their hard-earned money on products that I personally created. It was such a blessed time - for a short time. Before I could truly process the sudden growth and celebrate my first major business milestone, I was suddenly faced with attack after attack from complete strangers online. What was going on!?
Now, if yall know me, you know that I’m all about supporting, encouraging and loving on folk. So, to have anyone accuse me of wrongdoing, and attacking me, my character, creativity, and my brand, it hurt - deep. Logging onto social media and reading rude and nasty comments on my posts was a lot. I tried responding and replying to the comments as professionally as I could (while respectfully defending myself and my brand), but unfortunately, my truth didn’t matter to them. Those that took time to leave negative comments and wrongly judge me surely weren’t going to change their minds. I’m not going to lie - I shed some tears, I lost some sleep and I really let the opinions and thoughts of STRANGERS put me in a bad space. I started to question myself, what I was doing and if it was worth the stress it suddenly brought.
I shared with those closest to me what was going on. They listened to my frustrations and pushed me to keep going. I’m thankful for them and their encouragement (and their offers to "clap-back" on my behalf LOL).
All I could do was pray and press on (literally and figuratively). The enemy was at work, but I had work to do (and a ton of orders to process!). I legit didn’t have the time to exert anymore energy into the negativity. I had to remember that I’m on a mission to spread meaningful messages and that God has given me not only a gift, but a vision and the resources, to bring it to fruition. As I continued to pray and focus on God and my faith (and not the negativity), I could feel a much needed shift. Instead of feeling stressed, I felt energized. No longer defeated, but encouraged. Not (as) angry, but motivated and that is how “Rebuking Negative Energy” was born.
This tee is meaningful because it serves as a reminder to not allow anyone or anything to steal our joy. Instead of celebrating my win, I was stressing and taking a loss because of it. We can’t control the thoughts, opinions nor actions of others, but we CAN control how we respond to it. Nevermind the naysayers. Pay the petty no mind. Keep praying, keep it pushing and let God do what He do! If the vibes aren't peaceful, positive or productive, it is not worth wasting our time or energy. I’m rebuking it (and blocking it) and pray that you’re able to do the same!
Oh, and by the way, Rebuking Negative Energy is one of my top 3 selling tees to date. Not only did that experience strengthen my faith, but was also the reason behind this meaningful design that so many of us can relate to.
P.S. - If you have one of our Rebuking products, THANK YOU! Comment below and let me know how it's been meaningful to you!
Until next time!
xoxo,
Renee
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