We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kayla Penn-Jones a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kayla, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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.
” Taking Risk ” is one of the toughest parts of life, but it is inevitable if you want growth. In my professional and creative career I’ve taken so many risk to get to where I am today. I’ve started a new career in E-commerce ( something I’ve never done before ) but has been so rewarding and I’ve gained so much knowledge. I also, stepped out on Faith and created my own brand ” Selectively Social ” which includes a plethora of T-shirts , Sweatshirts, Sweatsuits, and Shorts for both Men and Women. I was nervous to start but the amount of support and love i’ve received from it has been endless ! Moral of the story, you never know what you’re capable of and what God can do for you unless you take a risk and step out on Faith!
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?
I am Kayla Penn-Jones, I like to refer to myself as a ” Fashion Enthusiast” , I love all things Fashion! I went to Marymount University and majored in Fashion Merchandising ( that’s where my professional Fashion Career started ). As a young girl, I was always into Style and Fashion from helping friends with daily outfits, and assisting with prom dress designs. Once i finished college I worked in Visual Merchandising and started personal styling as a side hustle, I received many of my magazine publications during that time ! I’ve been in the industry now for about 10 years and it has it’s ups and downs but I love it!
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My goal at the end of it all is to create space and opportunities for young black girls within the Fashion Realm ! Showing them that they too can achieve BIG THINGS within this industry. I want to have a network with different mentors for them as well, just being a resource to anyone and everyone who needs it.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
i think my entire journey shows resilience. After 10 years I’m still reinventing myself and making myself marketable with the times . I could have given up when certain things got slow and rough, but I always kept going from styling, to blogging, starting a YouTube channel, Creating a clothing brand and the list goes on.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Personal: penny_laynee.
- Youtube: StyleChatWithKay