We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Trenika Blevins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Trenika below.

Alright, Trenika thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

My great-grandparents and grandfather were the first entrepreneurs I knew. They each had their own businesses. As a child I grew up around them and their businesses and have very fond memories watching them succeed and learning how to have a strong work ethic for myself. My great-grandparents whose last name was Bragg, had a cafe called the Cozy Nook Inn. They worked hard and all the family members who spent time at the Cafe as we called it learned how to cook or should have (I think some didn’t pay attention). My grandfather, whose last name was Blevins, had an furniture upholstery business. He used to let my brother and me pull tacks out of sofas and chairs and take off the old fabric. We used to sent and watch him sew cording and trim for pillows and put on the new fabric. It was fascinating to watch him give new life to old furniture.

Both my great-grandparents and grandfather’s last name started with ‘B’ and so does mine. Since I am a branch from their family tree, I am part of their ‘Legacy.’ The nature of my business and theirs centered around creativity. I wanted to pay tribute to them for instilling in me the work ethic and the foresight to have a business for myself. This is how the name B Legacy Creations was derived.

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 background and context?

My business started out on a whim. I’ve always had some sort of creative spirit in me as child. For Christmas I used to ask for art kits, bow making kits, spirograph sets, etc. anything that would allow me to create. One day I walked into our local JoAnn’s store and they were demoing the Cricut cutting machine. It was the first time I ever saw it. I was amazed. I researched it but I didn’t want to deal with all the cartridges. I told one of my friends about it and she mentioned the Silhouette. I researched the Silhouette and bought one. Since then, I’ve been making things none stop. I made cups, tumblers, and ornaments.

I already had a sewing machine and serger I played around with at home. Then I about a sewing/embroidery machine combo. That begin journey into embroidering shirts, scarves, and bags. I kept adding machines to create and sell more items. My friend gifted me a heat press when I mentioned I was looking to buy one. This started my t-shirt designs. I mostly did things for family and close friends. I didn’t consider starting a business at this point. It wasn’t until the pandemic that I decided to go full steam ahead into a creative business. I got my business name, license, and logo to turn something I just did on the side for fun into a full business.

Things were going really well until July 2021. I broke my foot and had to have surgery. I moved in with my parents for several months while I was on the mend. I pivoted my business to include digital and print-on-demand items. I started creating digital paper and notebooks/journals. These didn’t require me to use machines or stand. It wasn’t time consuming and it was something unique and different in my area.

Customers should know if they think it, I can create it. If they know what they want or if they don’t, I’ll create something they’ll love and will want to wear again and again.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Last year on the fourth of July, I broke my foot. I had to have surgery and move in with my parents for months to recuperate. I was working on a group order of t-shirts. They were to be ready in August and I started working on them the night before I broke my foot. I realized I would not be able to finish the shirts or create any other items that made up my business. I looked around on Facebook, searched on Google and pivoted to digital and print-on-demand (POD) items. This pivot allowed me to create items without having to worry about moving around and being on my injured foot. I also didn’t have to worry about buying inventory.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

My resilience journey continued with my foot injury. I was off my feet with recuperation and therapy for over six months. I couldn’t do a lot of walking so I could not get back to business as usual. To ensure followers didn’t forget about my business, I would post quotes about creativity every day. I would also post random pictures of my progress such as when I received my knee scooter or when I was in the walking boot and I compared it with a picture of the Reebok pump tennis shoe from the late 80s to early 90s. Being able to laugh about my situation was fun therapy as well. It kept me in good spirits and ensured I continued to work towards getting back to my business and being creative. I continued to be active on my social media accounts because I wanted it to be a reminder that I still had things to accomplish for others to see.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blegacycreations.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blegacycreationsllc
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/blegacycreationsllc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trenikablevins
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/silentobsvr
• Other: My personal website is: www.trenikablevins.com

Image Credits
I took all of the pictures I uploaded. The notebook images I created. After creating the design, I uploaded the images to Printify to get mockups for my website and social media posts.