We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Henry Kemp a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Henry, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I would say the biggest risk I have ever taken was moving to Los Angeles with no family or friends. I had some success back home in Utah with my clothing brand Hippie Culture and I was told it had potential to do better in LA by strangers considering how well known LA is for fashion. After weighing out the pros and cons I decided to take the risk because I knew that it would challenge me to grow into the person I wanted to become as a human and creative as well as being able to pursue a career in doing what I love. I couldn’t picture myself doing anything else. I ended up moving to Hollywood and started trying to sell my clothing on Melrose and doing minutare shoots with some friends I made. That’s when I realized how competitive LA was in fashion and I needed to learn more. I met a clothing manufacturer in the fashion district in which I ended up moving into and working alongside to learn more about the industry. I assisted with photo shoots, finding models to walk in a fashion shows for the designer, putting up art installations and setting up a studio for others to shoot their content. In return I the designer was going to teach me how to sew but never got around to it so I looked into school and decided to take a sample making class at LATTC. I fell in love with sewing and after talking to a few teachers and other students I decided to continue into the program to learn more. Since then I have learned to make custom pieces from scratch. I source the fabric myself, make the patterns, cut and sew. With this new knowledge I have decided to start a new brand Kemp which will be limited Designer pieces on top of keeping my original brand Hippie Culture Clothing.

Henry, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As a child growing up I moved a lot living in 8 different states also switching schools so I got to experience many different people with different backgrounds. From the jump meeting everyone I accepted everyone because often time with moving to a new place being an outsider I learned that you aren’t going to be accepted by everyone so I treated everyone equally. I also had a love for clothing but grew up poor so my parents didn’t always buy me the nicest clothing but whenever I got money I would go buy what I could. No one ever told me I could pursue fashion for a career as a child and I didn’t realize I could until a little after college I begin graphic design and screen printing for other friends brands. After a while that’s when I got my brand idea for Hippie Culture and begin designing, networking and taking photos for it. Hippie Culture is a brand dedicated to bringing people from all backgrounds together as one to create a safe environment for all. The way we promote that is not through changing others but by changing yourself and being that energy you want to see out in the world. Through our individual actions we create a better world. That is something I live by and as I’ve gotten older realize we need more than ever. As for the new brand Kemp, it allows me to go beyond my limits to create clothing that is unique, high quality craftsmanship. As my knowledge of fashion grows I will continues to push limits and make clothing that inspires me whether that is through the fabrics I choose, the style, looks or in some cases the aesthetic. With everything that I do I put my heart into it because this is something I love and I want people to feel that they love the pieces their wearing while feeling confident or good about what they are wearing. Being in fashion school I am conscious that the clothing I am making it safe for the environment as well.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Throughout my time living in LA there are moments where I have been homeless either sleeping in my car, sleeping on a couch somewhere and at one point in living in the streets. There was a point where I could have died and in those moments I never thought to myself that I wanted to give up on fashion and go back to what was safe. It is what i love and i would die doing because it gives me purpose. I never blamed anyone else for what happened to myself. I just kept my focus on what was going good in my life and what I could do better. I am thankful for god and the community I built at school because at my lowest points I had a few people around me that would take the time to hangout and tell me to keep pushing. Through being homeless it gave me a completely different perspective on how fragile life can be and to also life to the fullest.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think there are many things non-creatives may struggle to understand especially for creatives. When promoting your art you have to be your biggest fan and believer at all times so there are times where people may mistake that for arrogance or cockiness when in reality you are just promoting your work and accomplishments. There are times where not many people will understand your art or even who you are so often what you put out can be misconstrued. For anyone who is a creative or has experienced spoke similarities I would say do not take it personal. At times I used to feel weird or even ashamed for being a creative amongst non-creatives but you should never be ashamed of who you are. Do what makes you feel happy and gives you purpose.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Henrykempiv, HippieCultureClothing, Kemp_Collection
• Youtube: Henrykempiv

Image Credits

Single photo of me taken by Joshua Haynesworth

All other photos taken by myself