We recently connected with Dekia Greene and have shared our conversation below.

Dekia, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Luxe Looks Rooted in Love. I have curated a brand that will highlight the trends of today’s time while paying homage to the creators of the past. My boutique, Blck Vine Co. LLC is about more than the individuals’ composition of fibers, it’s about love—a love of feeling good and wanting more. I wanted to create a space for creativity in fashion expression and support the continuation of uniqueness in both pop and creative culture. My brand is all about the art of fashion, and the art of giving back. Not only is my boutique rooted in love, but so is my YouTube channel, as my header reads “To simply live is to simply love.” I know firsthand that being a creator takes vulnerability, tenacity, and courage; that’s why, in due time, a percentage of my profit will go into funding the visions of future Black creators in varying artistic avenues. There will also be an opportunity for brand partnerships and marketing to promote the acceleration of other Black business owners and creatives. Rooted. Planted. Watered. To see a fruitful tree of Black excellence in creativity.

My mission is so important to me because if you “do everything in love,” (1 Corinthians 16:14), the love you give will be the love you receive tenfold. In the formation of my brands, I set out to be a living, breathing, in-person, and virtual, embodiment of love. I consider all that I touch to be a part of me, and just like Beyonce said, “I shine, and everything next to me gets lit up too.” I wanted my mission to be rooted in love because love conquers all, love never fails, and love keeps no record of wrong. Throughout my life, no matter the test or trial, whenever I let love lead and responded in a way that reflected the good in the situation, I got good out of the situation. Every problem we face in life isn’t meant to defeat us, it’s meant to push us towards the things we seek. Going through my first year of business, I saw for myself that love never fails; at moments when I felt my brand wasn’t making an impact, a customer from my boutique, or a subscriber from my channel would leave me a comment about how the clothes they purchased made them feel confident in their skin and the shape of their body or how they felt inspired by the vlog content or the tips I gave. These comments were my reason to keep going and little did they know personified my mission. When you do things to better not only yourself but to care for others, that type of light no man can dim. I planted my mission in a soil of sustainable unchanging truth. We as humans are social beings, and in being social, we benefit from one another in one way or another; but why not in that experience, love life, and love one another? How? Uplift one another towards better. I am because of those who loved me, uplifted me, and supported my dreams. In coming to terms with wanting a business or brands of my own, it took encouragement, it took mentors, and people being rooted in love to understand, we can all win! In the same way, my village of love never failed me, my mission is to pour that same love onto others continually. In the formation of my mission, I saw a drought of love around genuinely valuing Black creators, collective success in a capitalistic society, educating others to elevate without thinking they will steal your fame, doing the same venture as your friend without spiteful competition, and all other sorts of negative norms that infiltrate our society. In searching for a solution, I found the perfect cure, love conquers all. Love is endless and although it shouldn’t be taken lightly, the more we experience it for ourselves, the better off we’ll be. I wanted to create a fountain of outpouring support that continuously gives others the feeling and resources to affirm that they too can chase their dreams, that they too can be different, that they too do not have to define their value in selfish images of singling success, that they too can create a life that impacts other positively, and that they too can lead with love.

Dekia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

To start, I must begin in love.

My name is Dekia Greene and I am a 23-year-old, entrepreneur, who would like to take you on a brief story of my becoming. Love has brought me through, over, and out. At a young age, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur… “Yeah right,” some might say but if you know about Dassyg, then you know. I used to create uniquely crafted jewelry and sell my custom pieces to friends and family. At the time, not only was I writing receipts, but also lesson plans. I loved to be in charge and lead people past the status quo. I strived to dismantle the idea that Blacks were illiterate or lazy. I designed and implemented my own tutoring service for my younger siblings and took the motive to school. I was called the “teacher’s pet,” the “know it all,” the “Black girl, that acted White,” but it was instilled in me to help our people. My heart went out to my classmates who got discriminated against for not knowing how to read or understand material on their own, things I was gifted to excel in. The labels I heard from the teachers about these students behind closed doors pushed me to advocate in their place.

A career title is like a car, you can change it according to your wants, your needs, or even your dreams. Unlike most, social work was not a major that I chose, it was a way of life that molded and shaped me into who I am today. I have always had a strong relationship with social justice initiatives and the well-being of others; my journey first began in high school where I was able to see the power of using my voice to raise awareness and elevate my community. I was the first student in my school’s history to organize a Black History Month Awareness event and fundraiser to donate to the African-American museum in our community (a landmark in jeopardy of closing). The beauty in bringing the community together was just something I knew I wanted to continue to pursue.

For me, social work values are like character traits that I get to renovate and improve every day. Social work is the fuel to my life and without it, I do not know where I would be. I live by two quotes that in my opinion intertwine; the first one is “I am light,” and the second is “We are the change that we seek.” In this world, it takes a single soul to draw in on a problem and seek a solution. I feel like in my pursuit of a career in social work, I simultaneously fulfill my life’s purpose, and with that, my heart is constantly full.

The story doesn’t end there, my story will end in love. The love I have, and the unconditional love I receive from above verifies that I am more than who others say I am, more than the social constructions of an appropriate lifestyle, more than my image, and more than my fears. I am my ancestor’s wildest dreams. After spending some summers exploring the whistles of suppressed truth on road trips throughout the South- it was in me to want more for my people, for our culture, and for the preservation and prosperity of our future. Yes, I know I “have a car/career,” but what’s important to me in this life is more precious than any possession, for “if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”

My brand is a space where I want to highlight the impact of creative culture and elevate one’s perception of art and its impact on our society. Mainstream trends are fun, but people find true worth in uniqueness. For my boutique, I like to add value to what fashion and styling represent. I navigate and filter perceptions by addressing the root of why fashion- for the love of feeling good and wanting more out of life. Why Blck Vine? The name Blck Vine is symbolism that like a vine is defined to be any plant with a growth habit, so will be the community of support and praise to the arts represented on behalf of the Black community. Consistently growing, expanding, blooming life, and surprising others with its beauty. Also, it may seem my boutique is geared towards ladies at the moment, but please stay tuned, we have projects in the works, for all! The impact of my boutique is purposed bigger than to serve just myself; the flame of my dreams is fully lit, when I have the opportunity to light other’s matches along the way. I want my growing audience to know that I’m never too above others, that I don’t have time to give back to my community, and support my passion project of uplifting Black voices in different spaces. My story is a story of us, and it will always be centered on how can I expand my reach for multiple creators to have a place to shine.

This is only the beginning. Love.

I will continue to let love have the last word.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

When searching for brands and images in different markets that I want to support, I always prioritize the quality and experience they sell. My top priority for building my reputation within my varying markets of being a business owner, content creator, and social worker, is to prioritize the same for others. Through research and creativity, I have found a way to give my boutique clientele a luxury unboxing experience, with quality products inside, without the exploiting luxury expense tag that usually comes along with such a shopping experience. Those who shop at my online boutique, receive a personalized package, with thought-out details, wrapped in love, to their door within a week max, 98% of the time (seasonal shipping and processing time vary). The experience I’m trying to sell is that online shopping doesn’t have to be harder and more strenuous than going to the mall. If you ship your products out as soon as possible, your shoppers will most likely need them soon, and the validation of fast shipping shows them that you respect them and you care for them to have their order. I never want to miss an opportunity for those who want to support my brand, to have an ill taste in their mouth because when the item arrived their event had already passed, or the item arrived wrinkled beyond comprehension, or the item arrived with tears, rips, or holes, that’s why quality is so important. One thing to consider in searching for ways to create and build your reputation is that you only get one first impression so make it count. Quality will always go further than being “cheap.” Although it seems “inexpensive” clothing is where most people shop, it’s usually because of accessibility. If you dismantle the stereotype around online boutique shopping being an inconvenience because it’s slow, or the quality leaves room for doubt in choosing to shop online again, then the accessibility level will be on an even playing field for both avenues. What people really want is quality at affordable prices, an experience that treats them well, and a brand they love and can get behind; in knowing that, I use that need to my advantage by ingraining that in the experience I sell. I have countless reviews since I started from customers sharing how for their unboxing experience “everything was great. The quality is amazing [they] loved every outfit,” or how they felt good about themselves because of how the quality and material “actually fit and makes [them] happy and feel good.” Having something you can be proud to offer the clients within your market will not only support your confidence, but it will spill into the confidence of those who shop or work with you. A reputation that others can be confident in is a reputation that continues to grow and blossom; pour into your reputation what you want to get out.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

In today’s day and age social media is a huge part of branding and grabbing the audience meant for you and your business. For me personally, I see social media as a platform to express myself and my brand creatively. The key to building an audience on social media consists of three things, consistency, individualism, and confidence. One of the hardest lessons I had to learn about social media is that planning ahead is your friend; as a creative who didn’t want to limit their creative expression and the uniqueness of living in the moment, I thought using content that wasn’t produced that same week would stunt my growth. I labeled my content as “expired goods” if it wasn’t identifying with the constantly changing vision I had for my feed on my boutique social media @blckvineco, or even if it was a vlog I filmed two months prior for my YouTube Channel “Simply Greene,” that I felt no one wanted to see anymore because of trends and timing. However, the thing about social media and finding your audience is that if you give them consistency, individualism, and confidence, your audience will be attracted to your content because they want to see you, the brand, or whatever else you might be showcasing. Consistency isn’t just about a posting schedule, but it’s also about the upkeep of your branding; identify a theme or creative expression that aligns with what you want to produce and push towards that. Content themes are like logos, it’s okay to redesign but you don’t want to constantly send new messaging. Too much inconsistency, or media messaging through trying to reach different audiences can ultimately leave all potential audiences confused. This is where individualism comes in. No matter how you ultimately choose to properly channel your content, the content story you tell is written by you, and read by your audience, both of these produce two different experiences. When writing the story I want to tell, I make sure I am proud of the story I am telling and that others find parts of it to identify with or be inspired by. I built-and I continue to build my audience by honoring individualism, “no one can beat you, at being you!” I am who I am, and that is my greatest gift. By knowing yourself and having confidence in your gifts, you can personify a virtual experience for individuals to tag alongside, or join into. In affording a space for your audience to be a part of your story you must stay engaged, I constantly make it a priority to build relationships with my boutique clientele and my vlog viewers; if I see personally my audience wearing my brand or supporting either of my brands I reach out by reposting their posts or engaging with them in my comments. Build your community with your audience, a place where they feel seen and heard and you’ll find your audience wants to be there and because of it, they invite others.

My advice for those starting to build their social media presence is to identify ways to tackle the three needs: consistency, individualism, and confidence, and mold them to reflect your brand and how you want to be perceived by an audience. Consistency can be a tough brick to master when it comes to building your brand, but brick by brick, it lays the foundation for success. In learning how to make consistency work for me, I had to be honest with myself about the time I had available to tend to content creation, editing, and post planning to be effective at having material align with my vision and goals creatively and analytically for my boutique and my YouTube channel. One tool I can attest to is beneficial is a content calendar; I have two separate content calendars for each of my ventures. In both calendars, I incorporate days for designing and visualizing what type of content I want to shoot, days for photoshoots or vlog-ing, days for uploading and organizing content, days for editing content, days for final review of content, and days to post content. This breakup of days is beneficial because it allows me to give myself grace when I have to move days around due to unforeseen circumstances, like weather. After all, I can look ahead and identify alternative days that will still align with the timeline I have for the entire month. For individualism, find your why. Why are you passionate about your brand, why are you different than other brands, and why should an audience follow you? If you aren’t sure take some time to develop a why you can be confident about. Confidence is the biggest appeal factor in attraction. Being confident in your individualism carves out a specific bookshelf genre for you and your story. Why try and adapt to the genres already written if you’re writing to shake things up? Be confident in the difference you want to make and stand firm in your individualism; in doing this, consistently, you’ll be sure to find others that support your why.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blckvineco.com
• Instagram: @blckvineco
• Facebook: blckvineco
• Twitter: @blckvineco
• Youtube: simplygreene