We were lucky to catch up with Jasmine Evans-ragsdale recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jasmine , appreciate you joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
Both Kenzie’s Shades and Kenzie’s Events originates from my Angel, my daughter Makenzie. The visions of these names came to life after losing my daughter. Everything happened sooo fast… From going to my last doctor visit to 48 hrs later planning a funeral. I was no way prepared for what I would have to experience. The emotions, the questions, the feeling of emptiness. A few things I found comfort in was sunglasses and being surrounded by my love ones. The sunglasses helped me hide the emotions I really was feeling and the people helped me with their mere presence.
After questioning the man upstairs, he told me to turn my pain and tears into something and I did just that.
My hopes ever since then has been to bring awareness to my community about such a taboo topic. To educate and support.
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?
Meet Jasmine Evans-Ragsdale, wife, mother, owner of Kenzie’s Shades & a prominent event coordinator within the Dfw metroplex. She is a native of Dallas, TX, an alumni of Skyline High School. Being blessed with a full scholarship in Track & Field, Jasmine was able to obtain her B.A. & Masters from Jackson State University. She is also a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.
Currently, she is exploring the possibilities of expanding her sunglass business and in the planning stages for upcoming events. She has always had a strong passion for her community and intentionally bringing individuals together. If she isn’t planning an event of her own, you can always find her collaborating or behind the scenes.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Who remembers the brink of Covid??? If you don’t recall many different rules and guidelines were put in place when it came to gathering people.
Before the lock downs, Kenzie’s Events were set to host The DFW Awards, an event that recognized small business owners. Everything was going good until rules were set in place causing the event to be delayed due to safety concerns guidelines.
At that time, as an event coordinator, I had to come up with a plan B to ensure the event followed city guides lines and procedures of hosting an event, while keeping all that attended safe.
After coming up with a game plan, we turn the event into a virtual event while allowing our presenters, entertainment and vendors to still be present, while social distancing. All winners were honored virtually and socially, and plaques were delivered,
The event was a huge success because of the determination to honor others. Be on the lookout for this event once more!!!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Within the event world, I believe my reputation has been built on supporting others. I’m so big on, in order to get support you have to give it. No way I plan to collaborate with another brand/business/person without supporting them in some form of fashion. Your support can take you a long way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kenziesshades.com
- Instagram: kenzies_shades
- Facebook: Kenzie’s Shades
Image Credits
Image credits go to
Jordan Mahoney of Jama Creative Studio
and
Nick Weaver of South Paw Media