Today we’d like to introduce you to Shantel Davis.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
It all started when I took art classes at the age of 11. When I learned how to draw I fell in love with it. I learned how to sew at the tender age of 13 when I was taking Home Economics class. Ever since I held a needle in my hand I immediately fell in love with it. In my High School years I started drawing Fashion Illustrations. I have like tons of portfolios of my sketches. When I graduated from High School I started designing clothes without a pattern. I was in a Talent Show, I designed my costume without a pattern. Everyone loved it. I did it again with a dress without a pattern. I really shocked myself. I wanted to learn more about Sewing and Fashion Design so I attended Miami Dade Community College and Parsons School of Design and other schools here and there to learn the skill to the best of my ability to better myself. I also attended Florida Technical College to study Business Administration to learn how to manage my small Fashion Business. I love what I was learning. So even though I am now living the dream in designing my own clothes and selling my clothing online like Etsy, Mercari, Poshmark, Vinted, Offer Up, Depop and offline, I still make mistakes, But I always fix them to make the clothing into the customers liking. So my goal is to keep making clothing to my customers liking and needs.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No it has not always been peaches and cream when it comes to my Fashion and Sewing Business. I did had a lot of obstacles. Here is the whole list of them.
1. I have been told that not many black women as myself makes it as a Fashion Designer. I guess the main career in Miami area is either being a Registered Nurse or a Doctor. I told myself I did not want to become neither because it is not me.
2. I have been told that the career as a Fashion Designer in Miami Florida is unrealistic.
3. I have been second guessing myself because I was thinking that my fashion designs are not worth selling.
4. I have been told to give up on this dream because they felt that it is futile.
5. I have been told that I am just wasting my time and simply do something else. I understand that I need a back up plan so I can have something to fall back on. But it is not always easy to find a secular job to go along with my fashion career.
6. I was putting out money and I wasn’t getting nothing back.
7. I was making clothes that no one liked.
8. I wasn’t getting enough audience to sell my products.
9. Customers wanted too many discounts, even when I was already giving them decent discounts. It’s like I would give them the hand but they want the arm.
10. My work was not getting enough views. It was like they were invisible. If they were visible I was not making enough sales.
So those were the obstacles that I was going through. It is a lot better now.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I design clothing like Dresses, Skirts, Blouses, Pants, Shorts, Skorts, Handbags, Facial Masks and Accessories. I also design clothing for Women, Children and Men. I also design for Plus Sizes. I do this because all shapes and sizes needs clothing. I also do Alterations and Repairs. I always love happy and satisfied customers and buyers, that’s what I am most proud of. I use Ai- Models for my Fashion Designs so I can polish my online stores to sell. I can assure you that even though I use Ai-Models for my clothing products, the clothing products themselves are real. We all know that Ai-Models are fake right? Using Ai-Models are money-saving contrast from working with Real Models. Now with Real Models you have to compensate them. I don’t mind compensating the Models for their hard work modeling my clothing and my Fashion brand, I just wanted to go through avenues in having my Models modeling my products and bringing them to life. I just love to experiment in different thing. So I use Real Models and Ai-Models to model my Fashion Design products. The last thing I want to do is bamboozle people with it.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t believe in luck to be honest. I believe in working hard to get where I am at. Also relying on Jehovah God. My Father and my Friend. So as far as business I work hard to make as many customers happy and satisfied. In reality I know that I can’t make all customers happy. When I was working my secular job at Joann Fabrics before it closed in April of 2025 which was last year, even though I was working hard and honestly, I still could not make all customers happy. That is not realistic because no matter what you do, you will meet different kinds of people. You will meet particular people, picky people and entitled people. I learned about this all of my life when I even started working. I can be really good at a skill but I know that I can’t make everyone happy. That’s just a part of life. Just like facing rejection is a part of life. But I just keep grinding and keep it moving. I don’t let it consume me nor define me.
Pricing:
- $10.00
- $20.00
- $30.00
- $100.00
- $500.00
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ColorsAreBeautiful86
- Instagram: https://www.instagram..com/colorsarebeautiful_llc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colorsarebeautifulllc
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@colorsarebeautifulllc
