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

Charles, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

The concept of the brand was inspired by the John Coltrane documentary called “Chasing Trane,” In this documentary they talked about his process for creating one the greatest jazz alums ever, “A Love Supreme.” They stated that he stayed in a room for weeks, without any interruptions from family or friends, he only came out to grab a bit to eat. After a couple of weeks, he had all of the music written down. He records the album in one session. In the documentary it was stated that he was Nurturing his Genius during the creation of this album. I thought that statement was so profound.

Coltrane, was considered a creative genius, made one of the greatest jazz albums ever. He still had to nurture his talent and his genius. Continually. Every single day. I felt that each of us could tap into our own “genius”.

I started out with “NURTURE YOUR GENIUS,” which was a major hit. Soon enough, the brand branched out, adding more and more meaningful words to the catalog, such as: Health, Purpose, Culture, Dreams, Faith, and Pride. I just wanted to create movement that promotes self-nurturing.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a small business owner and the father of two girls. I have always loved wearing inspirational t-shirts that have a message, and so I was finally able to come up with an inspirational idea. Prior to the clothing brand, I also own a business solutions company that focuses on copyright licensing,

Nurtured Clothing, a black-owned apparel brand, aspires to help individuals and communities become their best selves through powerful messages of empowerment and affirmation. Created in response to the damaging physical, emotional, and mental effects caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and awakening to racial and social injustice, Nurtured Clothing was created to inspire, empower and motivate people to honor and nurture their beliefs, culture, intellect, and more. The brand is quickly growing in popularity among younger and older consumers alike because of its powerful messaging and call for self-love and personal growth, especially in the face of inequities.

The company creates expressive t-shirts, hoodies, and other merchandise with the belief that words of affirmation have the power to transform lives. The unique “Nurture Your…” design was inspired by a documentary about the life of John Coltrane. “According to the documentary, Coltrane’s greatness wasn’t just the result of his innate genius, but because he nurtured his genius,” said Founder, Charles Morris. The design was created to look worn or aged to signify the time-consuming journey to ‘becoming your best you.’ The company emphasizes the word “YOUR” to be a constant reminder to customers to focus on themselves and never dim or doubt their greatness.

“Mental health, equality, social justice, cultural representation, and empowerment are just a few themes that we will continue to voice. We want to empower people to express themselves individually and inspire others within their community with a positive message of support and affirmation.”

In addition to its flagship design, Nurtured Clothing offers a special edition “NURTURE ALL OF YOU” design and recently released a limited-edition Juneteenth design, available from June 30 to July 31, 2021.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

My journey with my clothing brand is story of resilience. I started this business with no experience in this industry, so everything I am doing comes from trial and error. I continue to work on my craft to figure out how social media works, how to mark a clothing brand, etc. I have not had the success that I hoped for, but I learned that consistency is the key. I am going on two years now.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I can recall the time I was laid off after working for this company for 18 years. My oldest daughter was in private school and my youngest daughter was around 2 years old, so there was potentially a lot of stress. I took that opportunity to finally start working for myself. I knew I had at least a year of severance pay, so I knew I had a year building my business. My business was very successful up until the pandemic.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nurturedclothing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Nurtured_Clothing