We recently connected with Salecia Barry and have shared our conversation below.
Salecia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
The name of my business is a culmination of the experiences that led me into business for myself. It wasn’t our first name but its our best one. Originally, we were operating under Lion Rose Records. It was intended to be a play on some of my favorite quotes that I felt conveyed the message of what I was trying to achieve in my business. The quotes being “until the lions learn to write, history will be told from the perspective of the hunter” and “the rose that grew from concrete”. With my business being centered around giving a voice and safe space to black, brown, and indigenous women and youth, I wanted to carry the weight of that in the name. My first two years of business taught me A LOT. In my learning, I uncovered that the demographic I went into business for actually needed something that Lion Rose Records’ current model wasn’t providing, at least not yet. When I released my debut project ‘Prism’ the concept went over a lot of heads. As an independent and entirely self produced artist, I wanted to showcase the variety of sound I could create. Similarly to how a single ray of light cuts through a prism to create the full spectrum of color, I was a vessel that could take one sound and produce a full array of genres. That concept is one that stuck with me. Kaleidoscope Palace, our current name, takes a few keys from that idea. A kaleidoscope refracts one image into a variety of patterns, shapes, and colors. Its also the name of a community of butterflies. And if that sounds random, let me cook for a second. Lion Rose Records held a fierceness to it. I’ll always love it for what it was and especially how it represented where I was in my journey of owning my business and my creativity as a whole. However, my goal for my business was to create safe spaces for my target demographic to create and exist in without fear of harm or predatory behavior. I just didn’t feel like our old name invited that same energy. Kaleidoscope Palace serves that purpose much better. Because a lot of the artists I worked with weren’t looking for new ways to become more fierce. They were looking for ways to soften and a safe place where they could. The transition there for me was a lot like that of the butterfly because I had to step away from things for a good while to really see that. I wanted to ensure that I was creating space for a pivot in perspective like the one I had experienced. I feel like our new name is much more aligned with the purpose of our mission.
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’m a multi media artist who creates music, art and digital graphics and content for myself and others. I started in 2020 after I witnessed a mass of local artists I deeply respect come forward about stories of abuse in the creative community. I host events that center black, brown, and indigenous women and youth and sell art and music that celebrates them. I’m most proud of my ability to keep going. I’ve experienced a lot of pushback in my craft and career goals and none of it ever stops me. I just keep moving forward in my goals and I’m really proud of myself for that because its not as easy as it sounds.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
No one really needs a savior. That old quote of give a man a fish or teach him how to fish really rings true. The people who are really serious about getting somewhere or getting something done aren’t looking for someone to swoop in and do it for them. They’re looking for someone to teach them how to do it. When we last spoke, I was offering web building and design packages where I basically built brands for people. I learned that most people didn’t actually want that. Most of the people I worked with wanted to know a formula for how to take their experiences and business goals and build their own brand. Learning that caused me to shift virtually my entire business model.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
I’m going to say this and its going to sound literally insane in this current economy but I just did it. I had a credit card freshly paid off and I put the start up materials right on there and just got to work. I bought equipment, I bought product, I bought licenses, I bought the core basics of what I needed to get started and just got to work. My business is completely virtual so I didn’t have to worry about securing a store front or a physical studio. I literally just worked with what I had and still am. Somethings I’d say paid for themselves and others were learning experiences we’re still paying off but I can’t say I have any regrets.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Kaleidoscope.palace
- Youtube: @Kaleidoscopepalace