Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Imari Free. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Imari thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Question not found

I do sometimes wish right after graduating college in 2017 that I would have started the idea of my business. Having a degree in Fashion Design can be a gift and a curse especially being a creative person, sometimes we hold ourselves back from our full potential! It took me almost 3 years after graduating to sit down and think “okay when are you going to stop playing and use your design skills?” So back in 2019, I juggled with the thought of what I ACTUALLY wanted to do with my brand all while developing my skills as being in management in retail. I had the name already which was inspired by my late grandmother but I still didn’t know what to do with it! I knew i loved Hand Embroidery a lot and also I also wanted my brand to really mean something, not just a trend! I’ve always inspired to have that brand where its a lifestyle, but I do feel like I took the easy route with jumping into making graphic tees in my opinion I mean I literally can make an outfit from scratch (real designers understand) but during that time I was juggling in and out of jobs and felt I didn’t have time to create another collection after graduating which I do regret sometimes but I strongly believe in when the timing is right every thing will fall in place! Just Breathe has had some ups and downs but I told myself to refresh where i left off and add on so where it has started and where it is now, there are still some work that needs to be done!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

For those who don’t know me my real name is Melanie! I get asked often why did I chose to go with a different name on social media and asked what does Imari Free stand for? I got the name Imari from one of my mom’s favorite perfume growing up as a teen. It was written on a burgundy and white box and I thought the font and the way it was spelled was so cute! Free literally is short for Free-Spirit, hence that’s how I am as a person! I’ve always been into the fashion design industry and often went back and forth on what I wanted to do in that world! I fell in love with what’s called Surface Designing, which has anything to do with the manipulation of fabrics and Hand Embroidering is the most coolest thing ever to me! I also do Hand Dyeing, Beading, Cut & Sew, and also dabble into Jewelry making recently! At the moment I took a step back with custom orders besides the products I offer, to really focus on my next project I have coming up!

What I want my followers to take away from my brand is this “Every day, we are constantly battling anxiety/depression, suffering, sickness & loss. But we tend to forget our purpose in life. You are here, alive and well. When life gets tough, just remember to breathe…Just Breathe.” – Imari Free

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Having your work be viewed and receiving positive feedback! I think as creatives we are our biggest critics and we don’t realize that our work is perfect as it is. Just having a few likes via social media doesn’t really discourage me but it does make me question how I can make it more appealing to my market. Word of mouth goes a long way for me and having people in real life praise me for what I do I would not change that for anything!

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

Im still learning on NFTs but I think its a pretty cool way to have your artwork sold digitally. As far as my brand, Im known for my Hand Embroidery skills. However, I recently just teamed with a new Cryptocurrency called Dodo Token who also has NFTs. We have teamed up to create custom embroidered t-shirt with an NFT purchase! If you have Twitter definitely check them out and stay tuned for our collaboration!

Their twitter handle: @Dodobacktoliife

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jstbreathe316.com
• Instagram: @jstbreathe316
• Facebook: Just Breathe

Image Credits
All photos were taken by me on my iphone!