Nymimi is a journey I began 9 months ago.
Three things inspired me:
ONE. Nylah and Samirah aka NyNy and MiMi (hence the name Nymimi).
TWO. The adorable clothing of Right Bank Babies.
and
THREE. A beautiful young lady named Ashlee.
Before I became a mommy I dabbled in MANY different areas.
I attended makeup academy, studied religion in college, planned and designed events, ran an after school program, and was a director at a learning center.
Although I excelled in most of my endeavors, my enthusiasm and drive would quickly dry up after a few years of doing whatever it is I was doing at the moment.
Have you ever had the feeling that whatever it is that you are doing (even the stuff you are good at doing) isn't really what you are supposed to be doing?
That's how I felt...
So fast forward to May of 2009:
Samirah's adoption was FINALLLLLYYYY going to be finalized (we began the process in 2007 mind you)
and of course my beauties had to have the PERFECT little outfits for the ceremony!
During my quest to find the outfits, my girlfriend Patrice introduces me to her good friend Ellen, who happens to design the cutest stinkin' kids clothes on the planet and somehow I manage to buy the ENTIRE collection for that season (I will not disclose the exact amount I spent because my husband will KILL me if he ever finds out!).
So of course a few weeks later I go back for more...
the following month more...
and then one day I had an EPIPHANY.
How about I start selling the clothes????
I mean really. I had mom after mom stopping me in the streets asking where I got the clothes so why not sell to them?
In no time I began selling Right Bank Babies via Trunk Shows and the OC Market Place.
While selling, I thought to myself, "I need to find some cute accessories to compliment the line" and so I began searching. To my surprise all I could find were hats or headbands with the GINORMOUS silk flowers or felt clippies. Now, don't get me wrong, my beauties have happily sported the silk flowers and the felt clippies many a times but I was looking for something different.
Something a bit more sophisticated but scaled down for a little girl.
As fate would have it, during that time one of my closest friends Heather tells me about her daughter Ashlee and how she was creating and selling hair accessories herself. I asked Ashlee a few questions, she graciously answered them, and soon after I began designing and making my own accessories.
What happens next is something I NEVER, even in my wildest dreams, would have ever imagined!
Ellen and Lydia (her amazingly talented co-designer) love my designs and encourage me to use some of Right Bank's scrap fabrics to create pieces that would match the line.
I create those pieces.
Those pieces are used in the Fall '10 photo shoot.
THE REST IS HISTORY.
So back to what I used to feel before becoming a mommy...
a little confused as to what I wanted to do with my life.
Today, I know exactly what I want and what I should be doing.
I want to make my babies proud.
I want to encourage other mommies to follow their dreams.
&
I want to create beautiful things.
So welcome to my journey...
here are
The Chronicles of Nymimi.