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

Tela, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I use to sew as a child. I knew one day that I would have my mark in the world with sewing but I didn’t know how to approach it. Whether it would be making accessories, making purses, making men’s apparel or making gowns. I was determined to see which one I was better at. I discovered that I was better at making evening wear for women. Whether it was wedding dresses, prom dresses or a simple cocktail dress it was always the reaction of the person that I was making it for. And from then on I wanted a place where women would come to feel more like themselves. I wanted a place where you can be really fashionable but elegant! Unblemished by Cherice is definitely place where a woman can be a woman. It’s a place where you can express yourself through your clothes. It definitely was hard to create Unblemished by Cherice because times are different. What we offer is the classic, elegant, stylish, sophisticated woman that we’ve known back in the 30s and 40s and 50s. I knew that this will work because everyone is was doing the same thing and I wanted to do something different with my brand. I wanted to take a different approach and create the brand that was still serving class. I’m excited about the endless possibilities of designing the perfect dress or outfit!

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?

My name is Tela Morris and I am an international fashion designer for unblemished by Cherice. I started sewing as a child and was self taught. It takes a lot of discipline and patience to sew. Sewing is always been my release. It’s a form of art! I love the craft. My clients would come in and have the biggest problem with what they want to wear for a certain event and I would design it in a way that they would be so in love with! The looks on their faces when they try it on it’s priceless. What sets me apart from others is that I care. I care about how that garment would look on them. I will put myself in my client shoes as if it was me that was going to sn event how I would want to look. That’s what Unblemished by Cherice is all about. I’m so proud of my accomplishments this past year. By just getting published in 11 different magazines and having my first fashion show in New York Fashion Week at flying solo fashion show rooftop was very much so a highlight of Unblemished by cherice.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Funding was the biggest challenge for starting a business. For me it was doing alterations while working a nine to five just so I can save for the business that I’ve been dreaming of. But it wasn’t enough to get to where I was going. It’s always a start off because once you’ve started you have to use the money that you made with your first client for your second client and so on. You have to keep building. The harder you work the more clients you have to get what you need for the next step. I also have the biggest support system ever with my family, with my clients and just people in general when they hear my story. Not only that but having the right attitude will help you along the way.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

My hustle actually did turn into my career. Because I started with just selling hat and scarf sets, pillows, kids clothing, etc. It was selling so well and fast that I had to look deeper into what I really wanted to do with sewing. The Small orders took off so fast that my hustle made me rethink why I was working at 9:00 to 5:00. So I took a chance I started looking into things that would cover my rent for the month and start thinking about bigger orders instead of the smaller ones.. It taught me how to be more of a businesswoman than a hustler. In 2020 I got a small office for 6 months and I outgrew it. In 2021 I got an office overlooking the city after that and been here for 2 years. In 2022 I’ve been published in 11 magazines and been to New York Fashion Week.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.unblemishedbycherice.com
• Instagram: Unblemished by Cherice
• Facebook: Tela Morris/ Unblemished by Cherice

Image Credits
Kevin Higgins Jacorri Washington Candis Gibbs