We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Andrea Cleopatra. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Andrea below.

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 started out in the fashion industry sourcing vintage fashion because I wanted to help reduce the carbon footprint that fast fashion has created. As much as I love vintage, after awhile all of the garments I found started to look the same. Through experience I realized that there was a way to reduce our footprint even further by upcycling damaged and worn out vintage clothing and other textiles. That is how I got started with my main streetwear brand Blk X Market.

Blk X Market is an edgy, luxury streetwear brand. Most of the pieces in this particular clothing line are 1-of-1 garments or produced as very limited collections. I love gender neutral clothing, so everything I produce is based on size, not gender. I also take custom requests for clients that would like their clothing tailored a certain way or in an extended size.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The first lesson my mentor ever taught me the was that my friends would never be my biggest supporters. Luckily, I have an amazing support system that proved him wrong. I can’t go anywhere in Atlanta without seeing at least one person wearing my merch.

My business is completely self-funded, and that is not an easy feat. My clients have become my friends and they are really, truly what helps me fill in the gaps. They make sure I always sell out, They promote the hell out of my brand, and share my work. They make sure they have food ready for me when I drop off orders, because they know I’m always on the go. Honestly, I couldn’t do what I do without them.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

My favorite book so far is Chillpreneur: The New Rules for Creating Success, Freedom, and Abundance on Your Terms by Denise Duffield-Thomas. I love this book because I can relate to some of the topics the author wants to help people overcome. I’m the biggest procrastinator in the world. If I wasn’t responsible for producing a half of my collections by myself this wouldn’t be a major problem. I appreciate that this books touches tackles how to stay true to myself and my calling while not allowing my flaws to hold me back.

I like learning so I constantly take e-commerce courses and study any fashion programs I can get into. The last program I participated in was the Streetwear Essentials Course offered by Complex and Parson’s School of Design.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blkxmarket.com
• Instagram: @_blk.market_