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Life & Work with Velvet

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Velvet.

Hi Velvet, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am originally from Washington, DC. I started AfroVelvet in 2014 and produced my first fashion show in 2015. The ongoing production is named 100% Cacao and has since been presented in cities like New Orleans, Los Angeles, and New York.

I started out as a project manager, stylist, and asst. photographer/videographer in 2013, working with a start-up creative agency and working with artists like Solange Knowles on her Saint Heron project. In 2016/17, I was the artist resident at A Creative DC. I held my first gallery exhibition for my first conceptual series “Catalyst” (2014) which highlighted black women breaking the norms of roles they are normally associated with.

I also hosted 100% Cacao and presented my own first wearable art collection. During this time, I began to produce my own music, a magazine highlighting local artists. I began doing staging and set design within the hotel industry, starting with The Line Hotel in DC. In 2017, I moved to New Orleans for a few months and hosted two fashion shows in the city.

In 2018, I moved to Los Angeles for two years and worked as a celebrity stylist, photographer, and videographer while continuing to do performance art and music. I released my first song on streaming platforms like Apple Music while living in LA. I relocated to Baltimore in 2020 and started two other passion projects, Clothed Captions and Velvet’s Kitchen, and have since released several singles and produced many conceptual projects.

I have also presented many performance installations in spaces like 410 Lofts, BARS Space, The Eaton Hotel, The Fridge DC, The Fringe DC, etc. I have been featured in publications like The Washington Post, Washington City Paper, The Line Hotel Radio, Eaton Radio, The Truth in This Art Podcast, and G.O.L.D. Podcast and more.

I continue to do set design, clothing design, videography, and styling for music videos. I have worked with artists in Baltimore like MovaKween, G.O.L.D., Baby Kahlo, Threeeyedmouse, and Odd Mojo, including my own music videos. I have opened for artists like ILYHook and Babyxsosa.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. However, I believe that resistance is a part of the journey to becoming your best and highest self even when it’s painful. I believe my biggest struggle has been with men in the arts and entertainment industry. I’ve been alone in most of my journey and working to figure out things along the way. I’ve always had a spirit of optimism, but that has been taken advantage of in many ways.

I have been sexually assaulted to see “how much I really wanted to succeed” I was raped in Los Angeles and in DC and told “I was lazy and didn’t really want “it” It is a success by men who’ve felt they had power over my accomplishments. Honestly, the hardest part has been finding that wholeness again, that confidence, and knowing that my purpose is much greater than the wounds.

That inner strength is slowly returning, but it really hasn’t been easy. I think that the fact that I am here to tell my story and also empower other survivors of abuse only means my purpose has become even greater. The responsibility to myself and my aspirations has only been amplified. I know that I have the will and the inner wisdom to pave another path where the road is blocked or bumpy.

No one deserves to go through what I went through, hopefully, my story can serve as strength and guidance for others.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I do a bit of everything. The mission with AfroVelvet is to restore the balance of creation. Therefore, I don’t believe in limitation or stagnation. We are, each of us, vast. My understanding of my vastness and ability to tap into my multiplicity and pure imaginations sets me apart from others.

I am a transmogrified, designer, producer, architect, director, and more. I am most proud of my collaborations. I have worked with so many people around the world through my work. I’ve seen romantic relationships, friendships, work relationships, and creative collaborations bloom from my bringing people together.

I enjoy working with others. I love the community and I love to support others in their transformations as I reimagine who I am and am supported in my own self explorations. It’s a wonderful way to give back to the cycle and be in a constant state of gratitude.

We’d love to hear what you think about risk-taking?
I am a risk-taker. Haha. I think taking risks helps you to grow because you are bound to fail at some and succeed at others. However, if you never take any risks then you won’t really know your own potential, or what it looks like to manifest the reality you want. I think my main risks have been with moving to places on my own with no one, no money, and no plan.

I don’t suggest doing that often, but it is a good way to see what you’re capable of. When I moved to New Orleans, I didn’t even know where I would stay, however, someone reached out to me who I didn’t even know was watching and offered me a place to live for free. And we became wonderful friends, I said I was going to NOLA to produce 100% Cacao. I was depressed for a month honestly, because I didn’t have money or food and my partner broke up with me over the phone (the only person I really had to talk to at the time).

However, I kept being rewarded with the things I needed. Then one day, I decided to go to a cafe to work and just get out of my depression. This lady walks up to me and asks what I’m working on and I told her I was looking for locations to host my fashion show and also making a model call flyer. She told me she owned 40 properties in New Orleans including the cafe I was sitting in and that she would make it happen for me for FREE!

I hosted a model call and got 16 models for my show, and everything else just kept coming together.

After my show, I was offered to do a pop-up installation for the opening of a black-owned business. More kept coming. I made so many connections and that was a huge boost to my confidence. And I did all of this with 0 dollars. But of course, the money started flowing in too. If you never take a risk you never fail. And if you never fail do you ever really succeed? I don’t think success is money or notoriety.

I think success is the journey to self-fulfillment. The lives you touch as you journey. The love you receive and give as you journey. That is the true gift.

Pricing:

  • Set Design rates start at $600
  • Styling rates start at $300
  • The performance rate is $350 for 30-45min $500 for installation
  • Customs start at $300 for labor
  • Video/Photo rates $800/$400 base rate

Contact Info:

Image Credits
@ohthtsfifi, @africanist, @m.s.captures, @frolickglitchy, and @afrovelvet

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