We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Eboni Huggins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Eboni below.

Eboni, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Starting Uncouth was a big risk in itself. I’m a single mother of three Dragons (…or children, whichever you prefer), so deciding to invest my own money into a niche business was something I really had to pine over. Starting a business requires capital and a lot of time…two things, as a mother, I’d rather directly invest into the lives of the children I birthed. But at the end of the day, I realized that everything I do with following my dreams and the path I was called to follow, from the money to the time spent creating, DOES INDEED directly positively impact my children by way of influence, which, in my opinion, weighs a lot more than how much money I spend on them. It shows them that humans, parents in particular, are not monolithic, and that no matter which stage you’re at in life, you can choose your dreams without compromising how you parent.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m originally from Brooklyn and Queens, New York, but I’ve spent some of my younger years in Columbia, South Carolina and Atlanta (Decatur), Georgia, where I graduated High School. I’ve lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, for 9 years now and I love it here. It was a slow burn (I hated it for the first 3 years and travelled back home to NY each year because of it), but I’ve grown to stop comparing Charlotte to other cities and fell in love with what it offered me and my children. It’s a great place for Black Businesses and Creatives to flourish, which is what propelled me to start Nana’s Girls Squared, the crystal jewelry business I started with my sister, Uncouth by Ebby, and I’m currently finishing my first short story erotica collective, “Grown Folks Business (Your Mama Told You To Stay Out Of). I’m very inspired here and it’s showing in my work.

I’m a mother of three humans, Lundon, Lexi, and Isaiah “Bam”, who are the best things I’ve ever created. They each are physically manifestations of a part of my personality, and raising them is the most beneficial, rewarding thing I’ll ever do. They ARE my reason for living and thriving. I believe in the concept of “communal raising” so, even though I’m a single parent, I have a village who assists with everything I cannot do or don’t have the time to do. I’m the epitome of a “Millennial Mom”, so my children are encouraged to be free-thinkers. It’s a tougher way to parent, but my charge is to raise high functioning, kind adults. They won’t be babies forever.

I’ve suffered with depressive episodes as a teen and adult and journaling brought me out of the darkest spaces I’ve been in. I’d go to stationary stores looking for journals that reflected my personality and most, if not all, were covered in bright colors and flowers, hearts, and other “fluffy” graphics that didn’t align with me. I wanted journals that fit my personality and because I couldn’t find them, Uncouth by Ebby was born. I design each cover intentionally, with bold phrases and one main color; no graphics, no illustrations, just words. I design the pages based off of the theme of the journal, and I always include a letter from me to the journal-er, encouraging but explaining the purpose of the book. I design and sell other things, like mugs, pens ,and stickers, but the journals are my gifts to people who curse like sailors, have a sense of humor, and don’t give a f*ck how uncomfortable they make people by simply being unapologetically themselves.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is knowing that SOMEBODY, somewhere, will just GET it. They can live across the globe, but they get ME and they get my art. It’s an amazing feeling when someone tells me they were looking for products that reflected their personality and they found that in Uncouth. Art continuously bridges the gap between people, regardless of any demographic.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

“Your people will find you”. I was scared shitless to start a business without knowing how successful it would be, and knowing that I’m doing this all on my own was terrifying. I questioned if people would GET It, you know? If they’d understand that the “F*ck This, F*ck That, and F*ck Off” journal was created as a space to dispel negative thoughts through journaling, ultimately clearing your energy, and not just a black book with racy words on the cover. I worried about putting thousands of my own money into it without the promise of return, because even though writing, for me, is a necessity, the market is still niche. I spoke with a friend of mine and she said “Eb, your people will find you. Just do the work and they’ll come.” And she was right. So the lesson is to not be consumed with the outcomes so much that it paralyzes you. Do the f*cking work, focus on the PURPOSE, and your people will find you.

Contact Info:

• Website: uncouthbyebby.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/uncouthbyebby