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

Alright, Briana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?

When I started my business it was 2021, not during COVID exactly but i guess it was still around. I love art, love to draw, figured i had my own style & i was into graphic designing. So I wanted to put my art into a clothes that I like to wear and just hope that other people would too (lol) . Since then it has been fun coming out with new designs and seeing how other people like it and would wear it. While doing that I started my own freelance graphic design business, where I do logos, Business cards, covers, flyers, websites, if it’s a graphic I’m doing it! I do wish I started that part of my business sooner because that’s where I’m really heading, and will be going a lot more in that field. Sooner would’ve been better because for a while I was figuring out what i wanted to do so I felt like I wasted time. I’m still overall happy about where I’m at now and what more I’ll be doing in the future.

Briana, 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?

My 1st Business/Brand “Thee Finest Brand” is an urban clothing brand from St.Louis,MO. It is mainly a women’s Brand but also has unisex clothing. Two-Piece Sets, Velour Sets, Dresses, Biker Shorts, Unisex T-Shirts, Unisex Boxer Shorts, Basketball Shorts, Varsity Jackets, Boxer shorts, & A LOT more! The way I have the brand set up is, i have a lot of stuff you can choose from but my big drops comes in collections. For example, Halloween is coming so I have a Halloween collection, I’ll have a fall, winter, Christmas, you get the point (lol). I wanted to do that because i felt that it would make the brand unique. I got into it because I love art and designing and making different stuff, I always wanted to get into graphic design/animation growing up so I’m def heading to where I want to be. I still take classes online, like coursera, too gain more skill and learn more stuff because i still have a lot i want to do! I think what makes me different is i don’t make the same clothes like everybody else, so a lot of times people are surprised when they come to my table or see my website and it’s not what they’ve seen before. The proudest thing I’ve did since I’ve started Thee Finest brand is finding a way to also do my graphic designing. Being a freelance graphic designer is great because you can make your own style, rules, & prices/budget. I have allot more to learn so I’m glad it’s finally picking up!

Fun fact: i got its name from my mom because we call her “Mz.Fine” & from My college “Thee” Jackson State Univ. So I played with it and got -> Thee Finest Brand llc

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

I fund my business by working and saving money from the business to build and also from my checks to help build it. I bought samples, then In bulk it is cheaper.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I started building my audience on social media by posting more. Which i still struggle with sometimes because being on social media all day can be so draining. I still try to post at least 1 every hour . Statically it says it works 3 times 1 hour, but like i said. I’m still trying (lol) .

Contact Info:

• Website: www.theefinestbrand.com & https://finest-designs.square.site/
• Instagram: @theefinestbrand
• Facebook: Thee Finest Brand LLC

Image Credits
@35multimedia Justin Holmes