We were lucky to catch up with Keeny Ndoudi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Keeny, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s go back in time to when you were an intern or apprentice – what’s an interesting story you can share from that stage of your career?

When I was in design school, I was so focused on finishing on time that I spent each summer doing classes full time. I didn’t get any internship experience, though I made it a point to try to connect with people in the industry through over avenues, such as conventions and fashion events.

When I graduated, I sought out different opportunities, but a majority, if not all of the ones in Houston were unpaid. I didn’t one remote, & one hands-on, & I learned a lot. Granted, as fun as it was gallivanting through the city, there were hard days. I remember a day where we were sewing slacks for the upcoming pop up shop, & I was so exhausted. I wanted to finish beefing up the inventory, though, so me & another design intern stayed from 10am to 10pm sewing. The next day, we walked in and the boss made us redo half of what we sewed, because they weren’t up to standard, as we were sleepy and frustrated. While to some that may seem cruel, and to others it may have seemed unwise to have been sewing while sleepy, one thing I learned that day was balance. Dig deep when you’re working, but know when to pause so that you don’t end up making more work for yourself. And have fun in the process—having to restart so many pairs of pants, I now can do it with my eyes closed!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Keeny Ndoudi, & I am a first generation Congolese-American fashion designer & image architect. Growing up, I changed my mind a lot on who I wanted to be & where I wanted to go. I didn’t always grow up with a lot of money, but my parents did their best to shield me from the realities of poverty. I always wanted to super girly, glittery tops, but my mom couldn’t afford it. We’d buy the simple, plain tops and bead it ourselves. That was what first got me into design.

My parents always thought it was a hobby, though. Being first-gen, they wanted to make sure I became a doctor or a lawyer—those are always needed. God placed this passion on my heart, though. I started business school, but during the pandemic realized how unhappy I was. My dad’s been an entrepreneur for a portion of my life, so business is something I just have a general knowledge of. I wanted to really push my creativity, so I dropped out & worked three jobs to pay off my previous school loans and fund design school.

I went to Savannah College of Art & Design, & pushed myself hard. I wanted to learn any and everything. My senior year, my grandmother passed away, & that really crushed me and stunted my creativity. I could barely function, & felt like I had burned a bridge with all the connections I had made with my professors.. I just couldn’t get right!

The beautiful thing about that, though, is you can always redeem yourself. While I am still looking for a full time opportunity in design, I’ve used this time to network, save money, practice my skills & freelance. I can focus on designing for me in this season, & not for someone else’s brand.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

One thing I wish I knew about earlier was the importance of scholarships, grants & competitions. While it’s important to get a job, getting your name out there and recognition can ALSO get you to that same goal. It’s extra work on top of school work, but so worth it.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Being the daughter of immigrants, I know that back home in Congo a lot of people don’t take the chance on following the creative route, even if it’s their passion. So many people have such a creative vision, but end up sitting in an office or something. My hope, prayer & end goal is to build a notable design school in Africa, and have a non-profit to fund kids to go there and drop the barrier of entry into creative fields for people that look like me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://ndoudikeeny.wixsite.com/keenyndoudi
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/mwasiyamoyi
• Linkedin: https://Www.Linkedin.Com/in/keenyndoudi

Image Credits

James Brunson