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

EreiyalJ, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?

After touring, EreiyalJ is scaling up. EreiyalJ needed that time to build assets and relationships. Her breaks from touring include Creative Designing for artists, being a mentee, and thriving in Los Angeles. The multi-hyphenate depicts no influence of slowing down.

EreiyalJ says she scaling up by connecting with mainstream artists through her rad designs. Some of her tactics involve geek-like connection with technology. In other words, she’s a nerd with a laptop. It is quite expected for EreiyalJ to close a plethora of deals by the end of 2023.
EreiyalJ is scaling up by studying Milan Harris, Rich Fresh, and Misa Hylton. But those three became millionaires sporadically. Some of their tactics, are depicted by EreiyalJ, who got her start on the Internet. She developed her own rules, but still learned from those who came before. Her journey is more in association to a media mogul.

In 2019, EreiyalJ hosted her first fashion show at the Boys & Girls Club in Memphis to get the word out. To reach out to an audience she used Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. While most of us hide our passions, EreiyalJ dived completely in.

Here’s her quote from a 2019 Fashion Campaign full:

“There are some profound statements that you can make in life.
Fashion is a must with one of them.
Fashion is your expression. It’s your 30-second pitch.
Fashion is your best friend, it is your spokesperson, it is your helping hand, it is your world
your style is what makes you stand apart.
It is a choice that we make everyday. It is the way we connect and share aspirations. Turning fabric inside out reveals the passion that it takes to create. The choice of colors helps us express our mood. The way we feel is depicted in the clothing. We allow others to understand our purpose and our path. Words don’t have to be spoken. We often tell stories without speaking. We are able to touch pieces of clothing and feel the confidence that The Mermaid Brand has proudly implemented during productions.
Quotes depict the things we live for. Fashion is a sketch, and clothing is our notebook.”

She kept that same fuel as her Instagram got hot. Her friends made fun of her, saying, “What do you do on the Food Truck?” (As someone who wasn’t aware of Ereiyal’s superior intelligence because of her discreteness I get it.) But that mindset made the difference.

EreiyalJ is scaling up because of global supporters and word of mouth. EreiyalJ acknowledges her relationship with God and prayer to be on a tour specifically at one point during her college studies. EreiyalJ continues to work on and off touring. She nearly tripled her T-Shirt prices. While simultaneously donating towards Grove Hero’s foundations.

Those roots are what’s necessary to build Young Dolph-like success in the fashion industry. When EreiyalJ, launches many people aren’t thrown off by the price tag. It’s her aura and demeanor that eliminates questioning concerning quality. Customers share photos, which adds up in sales. Calculating EreiyalJ’s followers times her rates for a basic tee (10.5K x $100 = 1 million). EreiyalJ discusses how a few upcoming investments may be her way to that goal.

EreiyalJ is taking off because of her eclectic look and style. Her designs are timeless and the eye-catcher of every legend. Late 2022, Milan Harris Dm’d EreiyalJ, and depicted her appreciation for her designs. EreiyalJ is starting to pay more attention to opportunities in Atlanta (Milano Di Rouge Headquarters).

Here’s EreiyalJ’s story in a 2022 Voyage LA Interview:

“Production in LA was easy considering that I had been well-rounded with areas like Koreatown, Slauson, Beverly Hills, and Orange County. I’ve been established in a plethora of cities due to being a part of five tours with Paper Route Empire. LA has brought me the most success within a 3-year time span of creating my brand. I truly have a passion for fashion that has developed into multiple assets. Milan Harris provided me with different distribution centers, buyers, and suppliers in Los Angeles to grow my business.”

Sure, being a Creative designer doesn’t require an individual to be stagnant, but EreiyalJ is looking to create a home for her own company as she adds value to others. EreiyalJ’s goal from the jump has been to put on for Black designers.

Here’s a quote from her last Los Angeles interview:

“Everything that I’m doing now I’ve prayed for years ago. Being on the Forbes List, being a breadwinner in my family and showing my people that it’s possible is my prayer everyday, and I surely see it coming into fruition.”

EreiyalJ, 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?

In 2019, at age 21, EreiyalJ drove back home to Memphis from college in Knoxville (a 6 hour drive) to host her very first fashion show. Before starting her brand she understood the significance of giving before expecting to receive. Therefore, her gift was her fashion show, an event providing information on how to be a college entrepreneur while simultaneously introducing her brand and others. According to a friend “the parking lot was loaded” on August 10th 2019. Not only was it successful, it was fulfilling for younger and older people with dreams and aspirations. EreiyalJ can recall a text message she received from a close friend following her event saying how in such a short time she had been influenced to chase her dream and how it would be no doubt that EreiyalJ would be successful in accomplishing hers. After being forced off campus due to Covid, EreiyalJ returned to Memphis. Colleges made a full transition to online, so EreiyalJ became a full-time student entrepreneur. Shortly after, EreiyalJ shocked her friends and family with her next move. Shortly after, EreiyalJ shocked her friends and family with her next move. Many people began to question EreiyalJ’s enrollment as she embarked on a new journey. Although she barely made announcements she recalls moments of fixing fish plates while having her phone propped up to attend class. EreiyalJ plans to receive a Honorary degree from Tennessee soon.
Ultimately, EreiyalJ solves a problem in the fashion industry. She manages to offer unique styles with graphic tees, hoodies, hats and trousers, while remaining true to herself. Most of her ideas derive from her foundation in Memphis, TN. If you look closely, EreiyalJ has featured graphics of Memphis, Tn on her most expensive pieces.
Key is, this is what sets her apart, she sets the tone. Everyone in Memphis knows what setting the tone is (HitKidd, Gloss Up, KCarbon, Slime, and Aleza). EreiyalJ has done exactly that, but with fashion. Her choice of colors, fabrics, logo placement, and catalog is the “what’s next”. Most proud of her opportunity to grab the attention of Milan Harris, Rich Fresh, and Key Glock with her designs. EreiyalJ discusses briefly on how she plans to design with them all in the future.

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

Resilience is defined as the capacity to endure or recover quickly from traumatic experiences. EreiyalJ reveals that her journey has required her to be resilient in a plethora of ways. Most importantly, she acknowledges that God has played the most significant role in her current and future success. She explains that being a Black woman and trying to accomplish things that no one from her city has achieved, has its challenges. She also stresses that one should be prepared to face obstacles being that you are chasing a dream that no-one else can see. EreiyalJ most humbling experiences occurred during her college journey. EreiyalJ tries not to associate her dreams with negative terms like risk or resilient. She believes those terms were created to be a distraction towards God’s work and uncovering one’s destiny.

She sums up possible moments of resilience in this quote:

“I’ve had to break barriers and generational curses to experience the success that I do have. Being Black and being accepted in the culture is challenging especially when one is born in Memphis. There is a lack of respect for young women who desire to be impactful in the hip-hop fashion industry. Therefore, I find myself having to create my own lane constantly, where so many people attempt to recreate my look. Also, everyone wants to be the top person. Like that Lil Wayne Let the Beat Build song where he says something like they diminish I replenish. That’s what Memphis is like, it’s tough but my people that are aware of my gift continue to support me. That’s why ‘only time will tell’ is so significant to me.”

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

EreiyalJ is single-handedly responsible for being an asset to the bridge that formed the connection of fashion, design and Hip-Hop globally. Over the past 4 years, this young fashion designer and media mogul has used her magic to create timeless pieces for The Mermaid Brand and artists. She has caught the eye of some legends in the game known as TheRealNoIgJeremy, Milan Harris, and Rich Fresh.

Still not familiar? Maybe EreiyalJ’s 2020 Fashion Campaign rings a bell as she flaunts through Memphis, TN mimicking Rihanna’s Fashion Killa scenes. Or how about her being an asset to Paper Route Empire? Yes ma’am, that’s EreiyalJ. As she continues to break down barriers in the fashion industry, EreiyalJ still pays it forward to Mario Bradley and returns to touring annually. EreiyalJ explains

“As far as my career, I probably didn’t realize that I was doing IT, until I worked on my first full fashion set with Milan, and I met with TheRealNoIgJeremy. I was like ‘Oh wow, it’s really happening, and I had no idea that I would be able to fulfill all my desires of making fashion an asset. It’s like everything in my life happens at the right time. My first project in the industry was on set with Young Dolph for Blue Diamonds. Dolph was independent so he was in charge of most of the operations going on. I was right there with him when it was time for him to do his scenes in the bando. The first styling job I had was in Los Angeles two years later with Milano Di Rouge. Before that point, I was able to attend school and tour because of Covid (mandatory online school), I was able to work on my business while touring (scaling up online), and I was able to network and grow in other cities simultaneously. I’ve done free work throughout signing contracts, and building my portfolio.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shoutoutla.com/meet-ereiyal-cartwright-ereiyalj-creative-designer/?fbclid=PAAaYyVkdOBlZcWOgBNu8WxCKvWawl5T8Zp_wBn72M5YIyQUhKYGC5hosuUjY
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1ereiyalj/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KznhQ7JvBV8

Image Credits
The Real Pic Plug