We recently connected with Robin Barnes and have shared our conversation below.

Robin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

The idea for BRIMI didn’t come from market research or a business trend. It came from a deep emotional awareness.

I’ve always been sensitive to how young girls see themselves, how early comparison starts, how quickly confidence can shrink, and how much pressure children absorb from the world around them. I began thinking about identity long before BRIMI existed as an organization. I kept asking myself: What would change if children were taught to see their value from the inside out?

The name BRIMI (Beauty Resides In My Image), came to me in a way that felt inspired and aligned. I didn’t want to focus on outer beauty or appearance. I wanted to speak to identity at its core. I wanted children, especially young girls at the time, to understand that their worth isn’t determined by trends, popularity, or how others perceive them.

That was the starting point.

As I reflected more, I realized that many programs address behavior, academics, or achievement, but fewer create space for children to understand their emotions and build self-worth in a way that feels natural and relatable. I wasn’t trying to compete with what already existed. I wanted to offer something rooted in storytelling, conversation, and identity.

Years later, when the names Skyy and Brimielle resurfaced, names that had stayed with me for a long time, it felt like the vision was taking shape. When my mother said she would try writing stories about them, I saw how storytelling could become the vehicle for this message. The books made the idea tangible.

What excited me most wasn’t the thought of publishing books. It was the possibility that through stories, children could begin recognizing their emotions, understanding themselves, and seeing their inner beauty reflected back to them.

I knew this was worthwhile because the need was real. Children are growing up in a world that moves fast and speaks loudly. They need tools that help them slow down, reflect, and build confidence from within.

BRIMI wasn’t built to follow a trend. It was built from a belief, that when a child understands who they are at a deeper level, it shapes everything else.

And that belief has never left me.

Robin, 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?

I’m the Founder and Creative Director of the BRIMI Foundation, an organization rooted in identity, emotional awareness, and storytelling. BRIMI stands for Beauty Resides In My Image, and the message behind it began long before it became a formal nonprofit. I was deeply aware of how early children, especially girls, begin to question their worth. I wanted to create something that would speak to identity from the inside out, not based on appearance or outside validation, but on understanding who you are at your core.

Over time, that desire evolved into a broader mission: helping children develop emotional awareness and confidence through storytelling. Through the Skyy and Brimielle children’s book series, written by my mother, who began authoring these stories at 75, we provide stories that introduce kindness, empathy, and life lessons in a relatable way. My role as Creative Director is to shape the vision around those stories and develop programs that allow them to be used intentionally within youth communities.

We are currently preparing for a pilot phase to introduce these books into local communities as an entry point for conversations around emotional awareness, identity, and self-worth. The problem we are addressing isn’t always loud, but it’s real: many children are growing up without tools to understand their emotions or develop confidence from within. There are academic programs and behavioral systems, but fewer accessible resources that approach identity through storytelling in a way that feels natural and non-judgmental.

What sets BRIMI apart is that this isn’t built on trends, it’s built on belief. The stories are heartfelt and multigenerational, and the mission has evolved organically. We are intentional about building slowly and responsibly, starting with a pilot rather than rushing growth.

What I’m most proud of is the collaboration behind the work, seeing my mother step into authorship at 75 and watching something that began as a message in my heart become tangible stories that can now serve children. I want people to know that BRIMI is not just about books. It’s about creating a space where children can recognize their emotions, build confidence, and grow in identity in a way that feels accessible and real.

We are building something thoughtful, step by step, because when you shape how a child sees themselves, you shape the trajectory of their life.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

One of the most defining seasons of resilience for me came during and after the pandemic.

Like many organizations, everything slowed down. There was silence. Events stopped. Community engagement paused. And I found myself sitting with a vision that felt unclear in that moment. BRIMI had started as an emotionally based nonprofit, focused on identity, self-worth, and inner beauty, but without a tangible entry point, I wrestled with how the community would truly understand what we were trying to do.

There were moments when I questioned the direction. Was the message too abstract? Would people connect to something rooted in emotional awareness? How do you build momentum around something that isn’t immediately visible or transactional? At the same time, we were largely self-funding the work. Year after year, continuing to invest personally in something that had not yet fully taken shape publicly requires a different kind of strength. There were no guarantees. No big sponsorships. Just belief.

But resilience often grows in quiet seasons.

In 2020, as the world slowed down, something unexpected happened. My mother began writing the Skyy and Brimielle stories. What started as a conversation turned into something tangible. The stories gave BRIMI a new form. They became the bridge between emotional awareness and something children could physically hold. Looking back, that season of uncertainty was actually a season of refinement. I had to sit with the vision long enough for it to evolve. I had to remain steady even when I couldn’t fully see the next step. And I had to trust that if this was truly a calling, the direction would become clear.

Resilience for me has meant continuing to build, even when growth felt slow. Continuing to invest, even when resources were limited. Continuing to believe, even when the path wasn’t fully visible. Now, as we prepare for a pilot phase and step back into community engagement, I can see how necessary that season was. It strengthened my leadership, clarified our mission, and deepened my commitment. Resilience isn’t loud. Sometimes it’s simply choosing not to walk away when you know something has been placed on your heart.

And that choice has defined this journey for me.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

BRIMI was built through a combination of personal investment, family support, and early community generosity.

In the beginning, there wasn’t a large fundraising campaign or major outside capital. There was a vision and the willingness to invest in it. I contributed personally to cover the foundational steps; legal filings, development, early materials, and my family supported the vision in meaningful ways. Their belief in what BRIMI stood for helped move it from idea to action. We also received donations along the way from individuals who resonated with the mission. Those contributions, whether large or small, mattered deeply. Each one represented trust and alignment with what we were building.

At the same time, visibility was something I had to grow into as a founder. In the early years, we didn’t always have the exposure needed to expand fundraising at the level we could have. I take ownership of that. Building a mission-driven organization requires not just heart and structure, but also strategic outreach and storytelling. That’s something I’ve learned and continue to refine. Because funding was intentional and measured, we built slowly. That pace required discipline and resilience, but it also allowed us to be thoughtful. We weren’t rushing growth; we were strengthening the foundation.

Now, as we move into a pilot phase and increase community engagement, funding conversations are evolving as well. But in the beginning, it was belief, personal investment, family support, and early donors that made it possible to take those first steps.

And I’m grateful for every person who saw the vision early and chose to stand behind it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mybrimiinc.org
• Instagram: @skyybrimielle