Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rosemary Vonbelle. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Rosemary, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
After my first fire design got unveiled during my friends art show and later got on local news I get to hear from young women how my performance inspired them in different ways.
Women of color told me how uplifting it was to feel represented on stage. Young college students expressed how watching a fire skirt made them feel like they could go after their own dreams that once seemed impossible!
My original mission was just to make people laugh and while that still is my bigger reason why I perform has evolved.
My mission is to inspire others to ignite their own dreams.
My missions may sounds simple and trite but to those who are touched by it, it’s anything but.
Rosemary, 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?
Since the dawn of time man has been memorized by fire! Now imagine the mystical allure of watching someone wield the element in their hands..and dances with it while singing uplifting party music or sultry jazz songs.
I am a fire performer that specializes in handmade fire costumes and fire tricks that I perform while singing.
My target clients are business like clubs, hotels, resorts, cruise ships, cooperation, and special events. My show will create an unforgettable atmosphere, increase audience engagement, and help add an unforgettable sizzle to any event.
And soon I’ll be able to start taking bookings!
I am proud to say the amount of research, development, testing, along with the different fire performer and safety certifications & licenses that has gone into my show I’ll be able to guarantee safely whether performing inside or outside.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
As a returning college student I am self funding my business best I can!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
If you where to tell me six years ago when I dropped out of college I would be training to be performer someday I wouldn’t have believed you. I was always shy, unsure of myself, and what I wanted my future to look like.
In 2018 I dropped out of UMKC’s Bloch School of Business not because I wasn’t doing well but because I just wasn’t sure just what kind of enterpener I wanted to be.
In business school they teach you that your ” Reason Why” is the foundation of any business. Your “Reason Why” is the heart that keeps things going when things get rough. At that time I wasn’t sure of my “Reason Why” and my heart kept whispering I should take sometime to figure that out first.
I spent years dabbling in every industry while always pursuing different entrepreneurial ideas hoping to find something that felt right. I was never chasing after money but purpose which as one may imagine isn’t something that can be taught. Only discovered by traveling the uncertain road to self-discovery.
I trained as a seamstress, started an organic makeup company and did a pop-event at Made In KC, modeled in Tech-N9ne videos, and worked every job under the sun trying to find the job that best spoke to me. Some would say I was lost and they wouldn’t be wrong. I felt lost and scared I was a failure.
I never lost hope that someday I would find “My Reason Why”.
Then one day when I stopped beating myself up for my life not going perfect and accepted who I was it was then I found myself then my purpose.
My friend ,Socorro Rayes, who illustrated a logo for me for The Regnier Venture Creation Challenge at UMKC while I was a sophomore reached out to meet with her. She was commissioned to paint one of the KC Heart Sculptures and wanted to show me her work. I threw on a funky pair of DIY Fairy shoes I just finished making and heading down to meet her.
After she saw my shows she offered that I make some art pieces to display in her art show and encouraged me to think as far outside the box as I could get. Not going to lie my idea for my first fire skirt design started as a personal challenge and a bit of a joke.
I just wanted to let go and let myself have some fun for once! So I did just that and translated that feel good energy into my design.
Socorro would’t let me back out and said I would be the opener for her show..and this moment forever changed my life. The day of the show I was so nervous but when I looked out at the audience and saw my community of people looking back with encouraging looks, I realized this wasn’t just my moment. But ours. I had found my “Reason Why”.
I swallowed my fear and pride, took the microphone and said: ” This piece represents the fiery passions that lives withing the heart of every artist.” Then my skirt was lit on fire.
Months later my first fire design got on local news during the Tivonia fashion show and I get to hear from the audience the different ways my art inspires them. The most touching comment came from a young women who was a freshman in college who said I made her feel scared to pursue her own dream to move out of state and become a nurse. I think back to how lost and scared I felt at the time of my life and proud that I was able to play the part in her story where she got a sign to do something scary.
This what I want my legacy as an entrepreneur will be.
Now that I found my “Reason Why” I am back in college for the first time in 6 years slowing building up a business and myself from the ground up. I want to make people laugh, believe in magic, and maybe just maybe get them to believe in themselves.
Contact Info:
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/wgU7mxVyqK4
- Other: I have an email only as my social media is going under a big renovation to prepare for my launch.
The link provided under the “YouTube” section is my very rough draft of a demo video!
Email: [email protected]Link to Action 41 News:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MeerY8F1ZA&pp=ygUrdGl2b25hIHdvcmxkIGRlc2lnbmVyIHNob3dzIG9mZiB0cnVlIGNvbG9ycw%3D%3D
Image Credits
Photos and videos taken by: Mylisha Hurt, Nathalie Chow-Yuen, Ashley Thatcher, and Ian Yocum.