We were lucky to catch up with MelimeL recently and have shared our conversation below.

MelimeL, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

For ten years, from 2013-2022, I created and hosted the Annual Women Empowerment Event in NYC which was a networking and panel format event that took place during Women’s History Month. I had the idea of putting together this event for many years in my early 20s because as I came into my young womanhood after graduating college, working, getting married, and starting a business, I realized that while the Women’s Rights Movement of the 60s and 70s paved the way for a lot of the freedoms women have today, there were still many limitations and obstacles in the way for women and girls, such as equal pay, paid family and maternity leave, access to education or the safety and protection of women and girls on a global scale. As I would network and meet other amazing women, many who were starting businesses as well. I noticed many of us had similar struggles as women in business, the workforce, or relationships. In the late 2000s/early 2010s, I would attend women centered panels, events, and conferences, but many of them lacked diversity and did not reflect women who looked like me. This is when the idea of putting together the event kept brewing in my belly, but it wasn’t until 2012 when I bumped into a woman in nurse scrubs on the way home on the train who struck up a conversation with me about divorcing her husband who didn’t approve of her pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor that I finally put my idea to action. I finally felt empowered enough to give myself the validation to launch this event and make it a reality, and the 1st Annual Women Empowerment Event took place in March 2013! Best decision I ever made and definitely one of the most meaningful passion projects I ever worked on.

I am incredibly proud of the impact the event had for those ten years. It became a tradition that brought people together from all walks of life to share their life journeys in an empowering way; giving women and our allies a safe space to discuss our struggles and feel seen and heard, but also to celebrate our wins, triumphs, and accomplishments as women in a world that still overlooks our incredible power and talents. It also served as a wonderful example of women supporting each other instead of competing or participating in the narrative that women don’t get along. This event proved quite the opposite and I am grateful for the diverse voices from entrepreneurs and professionals who gathered in community in support of women empowerment.

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?

MelimeL is a creative artist and mompreneur. She is CEO and Lead Graphic Designer of MelimeL Digital Art Design and Founder of The sisSTAR Loop, a social marketing platform for women-owned business and professionals.

As a mostly self-taught graphic designer, her career in graphic design emerged out of her love of creativity in its various forms, which she always possessed as a child. For over 15 years, her vast experience in creative design includes working with numerous artists, organizations, entrepreneurs, and high-profile individuals with creative needs, such as Clean Hands For Haiti, Dance to Unite, Spotlight On Recovery Magazine, and Patrick L. Riley. One of her rewarding projects as a graphic designer was working with NYC based catering company, Clean Plate Co. to design product labels for their debut shelf product offerings at Whole Foods Harlem. A lot of her graphic work, including her digital art, is inspired by her love of color and retro/pop/modern art styles.

Aside from designing and building The sisSTAR Loop, MelimeL is a boy mom to two boys who enjoys travel, photography, and is an aspiring DJ. She graduated from New York University with a Bachelor’s degree in Media and Communication Studies in 2006. In 2019, MelimeL launched a digital magazine, The Empowerment Network, with its 9th issue currently in production. Through The sisSTAR Loop and her creative works she hopes to empower others to excel in their personal and professional lives.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative artist is the outlet it provides that not only serves as a way to help others with their creative needs, whether it’s a flyer, logo, social media content, etc, but it also contributes to my mental health. Life can be really hard and challenging and working on something creative, whether it’s graphic design, writing, music, film, dance, etc. is thankfully one of the ways that keeps me going and helps me de-stress. Being a creative artist also allows me to pursue art as an active participant in the making of the art, and it doesn’t matter if I had formal training or not. The beauty of art and its creation is that it stems from imagination, play, curiosity, inspiration, and innovation, and these are things we can all tap into; artists do so for a living out of love, passion, and purpose.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Yes, in 2022 I announced the 10th Annual Women Empowerment Event would be the last event for the foreseeable future. It was an extremely difficult decision to make but ultimately I was called to pivot my creative energies elsewhere (for me it was clearing my bandwidth to pursue DJing and refocus my business plans). It can feel really daunting changing direction from something that many people know you for, expect, or connect your brand with, but it’s also important to know that pivoting is part of life and that it’s OKAY to pivot, even if it feels scary or uncertain to your consciousness as to why. As creatives, entrepreneurs, or professionals, there might be times where your passion for something will always be there, but for one reason or another, you might desire moving in a new direction; whether it’s pausing on a project to focus on something else, starting or closing a business, or switching career paths. The truth is life will let you know when it’s time to pivot, it’s up to you to listen and follow your gut intuition. I believe our intuition is our guide and it nudges us to where we need to go or what we need to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mldigitalart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mldigitalart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MLDigitalArt/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mldigitalart/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mldigitalart
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/mldigitalartvlog
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/sisstarloop/ https://www.instagram.com/annualwee/

Image Credits
For the first photo submitted (headshot in black), please credit photographer, Richard Louissaint