Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lakeisha Ashley. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Lakeisha , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
I started BLVCMRKT during a time, where looking back, it was probably the worse time to start to a business! I had no financial literacy, no savings, I had only $20 at end of the month & no idea what I was doing or how I was going to do it. Mentally, emotionally, spiritually I was STRUGGLING & everything in my life was chaotic. It was the first time in my life that I actually noticed the chaos, up until that point that’s all I perceived life to be. My business really became a by-product of my own healing journey. So my hope is that my Legacy is a reflection of what it looks like to love yourself, trust yourself, what it looks like to really talk to God about what you want & what you want to make out of this life, what it looks like to bet on yourself. The vision is always bigger than the person executing it. Our unique gifts are called ‘gifts’ because we’re supposed to give it away, share it with the world so people can SEE the possibilities. I want my legacy to be that even when the rest of the world said no, I still said yes to me. I wish that type of freedom for everyone.
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?
I Started BLVCMRKT in 2018 after leaving my post collegiate career in marketing. I had no experience in the fashion industry, I graduated college with a major in Communications and a minor in Ethnic Studies. The Vintage theme was really tied more to my own experience growing up in a single mother and single dad household. When BLVCMRKT first launched, we were an all black vintage clothing boutique. I would travel across the country from LA & San Francisco to Chicago, New York and Philly to grab inventory. At the time, Denver didn’t have the style or quality I was looking for, so my main source of inventory came from outside of the state. After two years in business the pandemic hit. Obviously at that time the direction I was headed with my business was put to a halt. I couldn’t travel for inventory, which meant I needed to pivot. The pandemic was really more of a blessing than a burden in retrospect. I had a TON of down time that came with the pandemic, and it gave me real time to SIT and reflect on what the vision of BLVCMRKT looked like long term. It took me a good 9-10 months to finally start executing some of the new ideas I had.
I started to reflect on feedback I had been hearing from customers over the past two years. I did some research so I could understand the current market and the rise of vintage and sustainable clothing becoming a fast alternative and eco-friendly option to the pollution of the fashion industry. I Knew there were a few key factors that were important to me as a business woman, the first being a generational mindset — what would my business mean for generations to come? what impact and what practices could I instill now that would last and impact those who come after me in a positive way. The second was inclusivity, a lot of feedback that I received was ” I love your stuff but there’s nothing in my size.” As a growing and developing woman myself, I knew the feeling of not being a “certain size” anymore and when someone saw my brand that was the last feeling I would want them to walk away with. So I expanded my products to include a sustainable model that included unisex and inclusive sizes — our first launch was our DEEP REVERENCE collection. Lastly, I wanted BLVCMRKT to tell a story, so much of my own personal and spiritual development came from starting a business in the first place. My Business gave me a creative outlet when things in my life were chaotic and felt suffocating at times. The inner personal work that was required in order to level up for my business has been the best by-product of this whole journey. Not only do I want BLVCMRKT to tell a story, I want BLVCMRKT to hear other people’s stories, I want BLVCMRKT to be a brand that represents community in a way that is authentic, and to represent my own journey.
I am proud of the progress we’ve made this far, I started BLVCMRKT with maybe $800 dollars I saved up from working at a cafe. It’s been the one consistent thing in my life that’s brought me a lot of fulfillment. I’m a creator by nature, so seeing this thought turn into something real, is still kinda crazy. There’s been so many up and down’s but once you get used to the turbulence of it all it really becomes this journey of learning.
I’m proud that people are really connecting with the brand. That our brand has BOMB quality and still fly and still unique. I’m proud of my experiences because its the reason I am here. The hard days, the days I wanted to quit, the days I couldn’t get out of bed, the days I cried from joy of accomplishing something, the excitement of new products and launches and events. I’m proud of it all.
I’m learning a lot about business right now as we prepare for our relaunch in store and online in June. I cannot WAIT to take everything I’m absorbing & continue to give this brand 1000% of my soul, because the return on the sacrifice is always tenfold.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is not to doubt myself. Especially when opportunities present themselves. I’ve had to learn to tell myself “if you weren’t ready you wouldn’t be here.” I also had to rewire my thinking about what it meant “to be ready”. In my opinion there’s no such thing as really being “ready” in this unpredictable experience called Life. Even when you think you’re ready life comes out with its fishing pole and dollar bill saying “you gotta be quicker than that”. I trust that anything that comes my way I can handle because anything that has come my way that I thought would take me out never prospered. Growing up and being an adult is hard at times and other times it’s freeing and it’s beautiful, I had to unlearn that hard wasn’t the only option in the pursuit of growth. I had to unlearn that there wasn’t just one way of thinking, or one way of seeing the world. I had to unlearn that trauma was an identity, that I am more than my mistakes, I am a mixture of it all.
I look back at everything I’ve accomplished while my back was up against the wall, I started a business while going through heart break and grief, I sustained a business while taking on the role of Full-time Aunty. My business had the opportunity to be inside of a black owned store in the heart of Rino DURING the pandemic. There’s so much backstory that contributes to the journey of unlearning. it’s been a process for the last 3.5 years and there’s not just one story that accounts for it all and I could never count it up to just one. It’s been more of a compound effect, where all the tiny small movements amounted to something much larger. I’m still learning and unlearning and growing and hope I never stop, cause “anything that’s not growing is dead.”
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I feel like I’m constantly pivoting in life and business haha ha. I would say my most recent pivot has been a pivot in career. I was offered an opportunity to go full-time with a company focused on wealth equity. The opportunity really came out of left field, and my primary focus has always been BLVCMRKT so I never considered a full time gig anywhere else. However, being the crazy Virgo I am, I took the opportunity. The biggest pivot for me was more internal than anything else. Jumping into a new field and going through the ups and downs of a learning curve. Internally I began to question my ability to manage everything going on around me and I had to figure out a new way to manage my time. I knew that I was capable, and I knew that “If I wasn’t ready, I wouldn’t be here”. So I focused on ways to ensure I could show up for myself and the commitments I committed to. I signed up for a habit tracking app with my Best Friend that focused on the things that allowed me to show up as my best and authentic self such as mediating, working out, journaling, weekly planning, budget planning, self care days and time with my niece and nephew. I also do my best to eat clean and put nourishing things into my body which has helped with sleep and energy throughout the day. I’ve come to realize that my main focus when it comes to pivoting in life, business or career is to ensure that I’m taking care of myself first before anything else.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.blvcmrkt.com
- Instagram: @blvcmrkt
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BLVCMRKT
- Twitter: @blvcmrkt
- Other: sign up for our newsletter here: https://www.blvcmrkt.com
Image Credits
Dean Greene @DGphotgraphies — www.dgphotographies.com Melanie Taylor @abillion__ Haley Pierson @halesno Anna Zarrella @az.boldfit Benjamintheartist @zoidham