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

Farri, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

A Quick story behind my mission on becoming an entrepreneur/fashion designer would start from middle school on up. Since the beginning of time my goal was never to work for anyone else, I’ve always wanted to be my own boss I just did not know in what field. By the age of 12, I begin middle school & no longer had to wear uniforms to school so I would dress up everyday. Everyday I would come to school dressed up because it was my way of expressing myself. At one point I had teachers telling me “this isn’t a fashion show” however during that time I did not know I would actually be apart of 8 fashion shows & headlining two. This continued throughout high school as well. When it was graduation time I still had no idea what I wanted to do so I decided to go to college however I changed my major 3 different times because none of those career paths fed my soul. I received my first check from college & I decided to buy a sewing machine because I wanted to free style a graphic tee & add Denim however I had no idea how to work the sewing machine & I felt it was to hard so I gave up. Two weeks later I decided to try again & each seam I became better & better from watching YouTube videos. 2018 is when I became a fashion designer, I have not stopped designing since, in the beginning my goal was just to make clothes for myself then I thought “I can turn this into a business” however I had no entrepreneur skills because I had become the first entrepreneur in my family. I did it anyway, I started my business. I had enjoyed making clothes for women & watching their confidence grow. My customers would come in feeling self conscious, scared they wouldn’t look right in their custom clothing & would leave with the biggest smile & in those moments I realized I am actually changing these woman lives. From there on out my mission has been to continue to make clothes to help build women confidence, to let them know, “I see you, you are beautiful, you are loved & you are worthy”. That has caused my business to grow naturally.

Farri, 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?

As a child growing up, I loved fashion I used to watch my mom through our mirror getting dressed & I’ve always admired her sense of fashion so at the age of 12 I started middle school which also meant no more uniforms, it was free dress everyday. Meaning I was able to express myself through clothing, I would dress up everyday, my mom would take me to the mall almost everyday after school as well it was to the point where one of my teachers said to me “this isn’t a fashion show” however at that time I did not know I would be apart of 8 fashion shows later on in life. This continued throughout high school, my senior year I had no idea what I wanted to do once I graduated so the typical thing is obviously go to college so that’s what I did although I changed my major 3 different times because I was not interested, something was missing. I hadn’t found my passion,until one day I wanted to freestyle a graphic T-shirt so I decided to purchase a $100 sewing machine from Walmart. I bought it & let it sit for 2 weeks because I was so intimidated by this machine, one day I tried to use it & it was so hard I quickly gave up. So I said I would become a fashion stylist I mentioned this to a aunt of mine & she responded “you can’t be a fashion stylist without knowing any celebrities” & to be honest I believed her, I was a 18 year old girl living on the east side of Detroit, a freshman in college & I had no access to any celebrities however, I mentioned what she had said to my mother & she reassured me that I can do Anything I put my mind too, with her positive affirmations I went back to the sewing machine watched YouTube videos & begin figuring this foreign machine out. Within a month I had everything down to the T, however I became better & better over time. That year 2018 I opened my first business “Farri’s Closet” I had many hardships in the beginning just like any first time business owner, I hadn’t had much support from my family, which bothered me for years however over time I started receiving support from strangers & eventually my family came around. Within that first year I applied to my very first fashion show, I took 3 of what I thought at the time best pieces I had made however I did not qualify. That was very disappointing for me, it was my first “no” however that no opened the doors for many “yes’s” that same year I was apart of 5 fashion shows that following year my brand headline 2 fashion shows & in 2020 I held my own independent fashion show. After I held my own independent fashion show I moved to Atlanta,Ga to expand my business, for the first 6 months I hadn’t had one customer, I went through every emotion including depression I questioned if I had made the right decision by leaving my hometown,Detroit at the peak of my career. After those 6 months the clients were coming in everyday, I was offered an opportunity to create a custom piece for an magazine, my first magazine cover. I also created my own magazine/look book. That following December one of my custom garments were featured on VH1 “Love & HipHop” I literally had cried because that was my biggest accomplishment, I never knew my work would be on actual TV however that was the beginning of my journey on being a celebrity fashion designer. I continued to sew, making custom garments, a few of my best work went viral. Although I had experienced so many great accomplishments summer 22’ I became bored with my business, I was no longer interested, I even thought about completely stopping designing so I took some time to myself to think of what I really wanted to do next, I knew I did not want to stop designing however I did know I was over it. One day I decided to announce that I was closing my brand “Farri’s Closet” for good however I never posted why or what was going on & a month later I announced my new brand “FarriĆ” I decided to change my business name because I felt as if my old brand reflected a different part of my life, I was no longer that person. I was growing, so my business was a reflection of that growth, I manifested that this new brand would take me much further, I would begin making clothing for red carpets, movies etc. I no longer wanted to be a local brand, I expanded. Within that same month my brand made its first debut on the red carpet for “BET HipHop Awards”. Although I’ve experienced many “no’s” it was just an redirection for a better cause.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Honestly when beginning my business in 2018, I was 18 years old so my first check from college I bought a $100 sewing machine from Walmart. Before I actually begin receiving customers I worked multiple jobs although I never had a check more than $300 from a job,ever! With the little money I was making I would go to the fabric store & purchase fabric. Then I begin making clothes & literally give them away for free, I would have girls that I knew, wear one of my custom garments to take pictures & post on social media to bring more customers in & it worked. I never received a loan nor grant for funding my business everything was from previous small jobs & then from the business. For so long I hadn’t seen any real money come in because I would have a customer & the money would go towards fabric, business cards,logos, business bags, marketing etc. however everything worked out.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Social Media is the best & biggest outlet for new customers, multiple business owners I’ve encountered with over these past few years told me they had to go out in the public & individually talk to potential customers for clientele & word of mouth was a big key factor. I do agree with that statement to a certain degree because Networking can be very beneficial when having a business it creates a safe place knowing someone 1on1 however for my brand social media has made the biggest impact on my journey of being a entrepreneur, I still receive customers from a tiktok I made 8 months ago. Posting, staying consistent, utilizing the marketing teams on social media & creating new content for potential customers can be very beneficial.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @farricdesigns

Image Credits
TV personality Shekinah Jo Super Model Shannon Amanda Hamilton