We recently connected with Deweese White and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Deweese, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

It happened when I realized I didn’t wanna work for anyone else, that I wanted to be my own boss, and enjoy what I was doing. That sparked a drive in me that made me want to do better for myself and do better for others. The reason I started my own business was because I was determined to shut all the haters up and everyone who said that I couldn’t do it. I’ve been doing it now for four years and Deweese White Designs is the best in the business.

Deweese, 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?

One of the things that sets me apart is I have a drive to be a perfectionist.  I don’t like when something isn’t right because anything that has DWD stamped on it has to be top quality. a I believe in doing things the right way or not doing them at all.  The only way you can make your business grow and be the best is by listening to the customers and everything they want     Now one of the ways I do this is I work hard every night after working all day. I go home and I work on designs and I perfect my craft.  I will not except any thing less then greatness.
The other thing that sets my work part is it’s originality.   I get in the zone and get very focused. The inspiration for my wacky designs comes from my family, and from my experiences in life.  I fill up sketch books with my design ideas, then turn those into stamps using a laser forge.  I then layer those on clothing and fabric as art pieces.  I also write on clothes with fabric pens and apply washes of color using paint and fabric medium.  All my items are hand dyed using Procion fabric dye on a mixture of new and recycled materials.  Every item is made custom to order.  When I get an order on my website, I sit down and make that item by hand.  As a result it usually takes about two weeks to fill orders.  The process is very time consuming and it’s not easy, but I get it done , with the help of some very good people.
After I finish a design I post it on Instagram and my web store to sell it immediately.  I have a good following of fans and try to make entertaining videos to sell my stuff as well.
My creativity and most of my frustration comes from being told that people that have disabilites can’t do anything.   People are always going to hate on you when you’re doing something positive, but you must remain true to who you are, don’t ever quit and don’t ever give up.

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

Well, when I first came to my new job, I wanted to make a whole lotta money right out of the gate but I had to learn how to use computers first.  I also had to learn how to not get so frustrated with technology, or with myself.     I hated using computers because I always thought it was a waste of time, but people have told me that in order to make my business grow, I had to learn.  After a year or so, my iPad became an essential part of my business, and my creative process.
I have a learning disability called dyslexia, so what I do to combat that is I have Siri and Alexa to help me spell words and help me with with my reading. I think about this when I say you should never limit yourself or let people limit you.
I have also learned to except help when I need it, because when you have a learning disability you can overcome it like I have.  I think this is one of the ways that I have have grown and sparkled.

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

Social media is one of the best ways to promote my business and it is one of the best ways to get my name out there so that people know who I am.  Over the pandemic I was able to work and still make money even though I was unable to attend events (crafts fairs, art shows), which was where I made a majority of my money.  My instagram has grown from just a few followers to a community of fans that are very supportive.   Making funny videos and ads is another way to be creative.  I love making people laugh, so using that as a way to promote my business is a win/win.  I also have a serious side and I like to make people think with my posts as well.  I think both my social media and my art have these qualities.  All my creations share this goal. To be silly, absurd, and also thought provoking.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.deweesewhitedesigns.com
• Instagram: Deweesewhitedesigns
• Other: Tiktok: deweesewhitedesigns