We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Marshella Griffin-Larry. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Marshella below.
Marshella, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?
My Mother, Marlene Griffin is my Shero.
Growing up, I can remember studying her closely and trying to emulate her in every way. The way she treated others with love, always providing a smile to make someone else’s day, even if her day wasn’t going so well.
The way she dressed, put on her make-up, changed her hair all the time, danced, sang and told jokes.
Her and my Father have always been supportive of me and my Sibling’s dreams(even when they may not have understood them). We were always taught that we could achieve anything we set our mind to.
In 2012, my Mother was first diagnosed with Breast Cancer..she beat it!
In 2017, I was diagnosed with with Stage 3 Breast Cancer…I beat it!
Watching my Mother previously deal with her Cancer journey with such grace, as well as living with Lupus, gave me the strength to know that I could beat these afflictions as well(Lupus and Cancer).
In 2019, Mom would go on to get diagnosed a 2nd time with Breast Cancer(this time with a double mastectomy)..
She beat it again!
My Mother has always been creative and is a natural comedian and entertainer. All of that was definitely passed down to me, my Brother Don Jr. and Sister Mariesha.
Our Parent’s instilled in us tremendous Faith in God, Unconditional Love for other people and the ability to be innovators and leaders. All three of us are Creatives and Business Owners.
In 2022, my Mother was again, diagnosed with Breast Cancer but this time it was Metastatic and had spread to her bones.
Again, she is still here..Facing it..Beating it with Faith, Grace and a strength that leaves us all in awe.
Watching her stare down this demon 3 times now, and going through it once for myself, I know that there is nothing you can’t do with God on your side. She is the reason why I live each day in a state of gratefulness.
Her model of Faith, even on the day’s that are hardest for her is such an inspiration.
When people tell me I remind them so much of my Mother, It is the highest compliment that anyone could pay me.
My whole life I have wanted to be like her, but I am positive that mold was broken after her birth.
Through Singing-Songwriting(Marshellamuzic.com) and Chemoswagg.com, I am able to use the Gift’s that God has provided me, to help others and leave a legacy of Love. My daily prayer is that my Parent’s know how much I love them and that they are proud of the human I turned out to be. It is because of their foundation rooted in Christ that our Family continues to strive towards greatness. When People encounter our Family, our prayer is that God’s light and love are seen through our actions and the thing’s we create and release into the world.
I have Faith because of my Mommy. I Love hard because of Her. I Laugh hard because of Her. I Create because of Her. I don’t sweat the small stuff because of Her. I see beauty in the little things because of Her.
I am extremely Blessed to have come from Her.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
In 2017 I was diagnosed with Stage 3 HER2+ Breast Cancer.
While going through my journey, The chemotherapy and radiation had really taken a toll on me. I wanted to feel like myself again.
I started creating and buying cute and comfy clothing to wear to my treatments along with stylish beanies and hats for my shiny bald, and beautiful head. I found that when I had on an easy to throw on, stylish outfit, along with a nice red lipstick or other bright color, I felt so much better mentally and physically.
Cancer Warriors and regular people on the street started complimenting me and asking where I was getting my clothes and accessories.
I started thinking that providing these options for other people would not only contribute to my healing, but also to those who were struggling and in need of a “pick me up” during their trying times.
This is how my company, Chemoswagg.com was born in 2019.
My Mother getting diagnosed a second time with Breast Cancer that year really pushed me to start my company so I could send her comfy, cute and chic clothing to wear.
Going through Cancer watching my Mother go through it 3 times has really made an impact on the way I live my life.
Having a second chance at life caused me to pursue gifts that I may not have previously because of Fear.
Learning to let go and let God use me and my gifts for his Glory has been the biggest blessing.
I released my debut music project in 2021 under the artist name “Marshella Muzic” www.marshellamuzic.com
Writing and recording all those songs was very therapeutic for me and aided me in my healing journey.
That project is one of the thing’s I am most proud of in my life.
My Parent’s and many Friends and Family have always encouraged me to delve deeper into my music.
Fear and insecurity was always at the forefront when it came to creating my own music.
Having my musical outlet as well as my creative outlet with Chemoswagg.com has really changed me.
It is so important to live each day like its your last, Always be kind to one another and try to leave this world a little better than it was after we are gone.
Everything I do with Marshellamuzic.com and Chemoswagg.com is not for financial gain.
They are both labors of love and my gift to God for allowing me to use what he put inside me to Bless others.
We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.
At first, I just wanted to find clothes for myself to wear during treatments and Doctors visits. I would take clothes I had at home or go buy large shirts and plain beanies to decorate at home with my trusty glue gun. That was what I initially did before I decided to really become a business.
I did ALOT of research on Google and Youtube. Once I figured out how to set up my shop on Shopify, I started looking for vendors. I knew that I would not be able to create the volume that I needed on my own.
I found a couple of really great T-Shirt Vendors and some other wholesale vendors that actually dropship to your customers.
Because I am the only employee of my company, I thought these options would suit me better.
Some of my Inventory I have on hand at my headquarters but because alot of the T-shirt and accessory designs are custom, it is easiest for me to design them and send them off to the company that will Print and Ship for me.
This option has made all the difference in the world.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
I think that my willingness to be open about my Cancer Journey has been the best source for me. When I started my journey, I was so scared and felt very alone. My only saving grace was that my Mom had went through Breast Cancer for the first time. She did not have to have chemo or radiation the first time so me going through that was a new thing for all of us.
During treatments, I made funny videos and answered alot of questions on Social Media for people who wanted to understand.
I feel that my willingness to be transparent and to also help a stranger has been my main source of pulling in clientele.
People have a need to feel seen, heard and understood. I like to think that is one of my Gifts from God. I enjoy meeting people from all walks of life and hearing their stories. Hopefully by sharing my journey(the good and bad), I am able to answer the questions that I so desperately needed someone to answer for me while I was going through my journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chemoswagg.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chemo.swagg/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chemo.swagg/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshella-griffin-larry-50477336/
- Other: www.marshellamuzic.com
bandcamp.com/marshellamuzic
https://www.youtube.com/@MarshellaMuzic/featured
instagram.com/marshella_muzic
facebook.com/marshellaGmuzic
twitter.com/marshellamuzic
Image Credits
Mike Quain Aleah Clark