We recently connected with Trevor Gabbidon and have shared our conversation below.

Trevor, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

Ive always been a writer throughout my life just off & on, it was something I did for fun or out of boredom after I finished a good book. I would go back and try to recreate the book but in a different way based off how I would have wanted the story to go, but chapter books were so hard to finish. I would always get stuck trying to figure out what to write in each chapter and how I was going to end them. Fast Forward to now, after a weekend of hearing my 5 Year old daughter and niece argue/play with a tablet and not want to do anything without it when they got in their moods, I found myself up late at 1 am one morning thinking about taking my idea of writing a children’s book more seriously. That is when I came up with the idea of my first book titled ” Daughters Grow Up So Fast” (From A Fathers Perspective). When I finished writing the book I knew it was gonna be a book my daughter would love to go back and read when she gets older. My thought process was she would never have to wonder what her daddy thought when she came to mind as she grew up. I knew at her young age she would be ecstatic anytime she picked up the book seeing her face on the cover. I began to read my finished product a lot during the editing stage and when I would send it to friends/family to review it for me and I thought to myself this book probably speaks for a lot of girl dads in the world. I just had a good feeling, overwhelmed with the joy of finally being able to stick to my guns and finish a project..

As for my durag brand ” SilkCiity” I have always been a durag lover. If you seen me around you have seen a durag of some type of color on my head. A durag defines me, its one thing I would wear everyday/anywhere if I could. I feel like durags help express who you are for those that wear them. Everybody loves a good silky I can guarantee. I would try to find a durag that I didn’t see on someones head yet, I liked to be different but silk durags are so popular that was not the case. So many ideas would cross my mind as I thought about what type of designs I could put on a durag. I knew I wanted to bring something different to the scene, something that would catch peoples attention. ” This is what happens when fashion & wave mix together” is something I like to say and what describes my brand.

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?

Hello to all, My name is Trevor Gabbidon I am a nursing student, children’s book author and I have my own Durag/Bonnet Brand named “Silk Ciity” set to release officially this summer 2023. Yes, I guess some would call me a workaholic but honestly I am just doing everything I have a true love for and it feels good. When people think of me I want them to see someone who never gave up, stuck to his goals/dreams and pushed through everything that got in the way no matter what. I first started writing for fun/out of boredom, but as a kid I always enjoyed reading and writing essays so for me its no surprise I am writing books now but to others especially friends and family it may have been a shock because I literally told nobody, nobody had a clue I had a love for writing or even knew I was going to make my own books until it was close to being done. I have a strong love for durags as they became apart of my personality, if you see me you will see a durag as well at some point. A durag can make or break an outfit and for me they always add extra icing on the cake. I am happy I finally stopped talking and just started getting things done, seeing yourself finish a project after so long is an unbeatable feeling. Knowing my daughter is going to grow up one day ( she’s 5 now) and see that her daddy is a college graduate, author, and successful entrepreneur is what makes me proud, I just want to be able to lead by example, often times we were told at young ages what we need to be doing by older adults at this age and that age but some probably never listened because there was no proof to back up those words. I want potential supporters to know that I am here for you! I want people to see me and get motivated, just knowing they can do exactly what I am doing if they out their mind to it. I am working to bring back the fun in reading for kids, I know in a world where technology is beginning to takeover, I will try to level out the playing fields with my fun/interactive books. I will bring some more creativity for everybody who enjoys wearing durags or bonnets.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for me has been going out face to face and talking to my future clients. I learned most people like to know who their money is going to so why not go out there and make a name for yourself. Word of mouth goes a long way especially when you are good to people. I have always been a pretty “real” person so I like to keep things organic meaning I will never force a connection and I will never fake anything toward my clientele. When someones buys my product from me I am always grateful because they did not have to. I always try to keep in touch with my clients whether I know them personally or not, if I see you on social media we will speak and it could have nothing to do with my businesses, I want people to see I am not all about money. Money is great especially when you are making it off of your own ideas, nobody can take that from you, but it feels even better when you hear from others how highly people talk of you when you are not in rooms.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding part is the reactions I get from all that I am doing, til this day nobody had a clue except for a handful of people that I was a writer. So seeing old classmates, family members, teachers, friends and even people I meet through networking purchasing my book it means a lot to me. I love that I surprised a lot people who had no idea,I have never been one to just showcase my personally life so you probably would not even have known I loved writing and have been writing for awhile now if you did not ask, It feels good when I go to these preschools and elementary schools and I have kids telling me they want me to make this type of book next or they wanna be authors when they grow up, it truly makes me smile on the inside and out. I love the look my daughters makes as she shows off my books to anybody she meets, I can tell she is very happy about it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amazon.com/Daughters-Grow-Up-Fast-Perspective/dp/B09XZ2SYVL
• Instagram: Author page -trevor_theauthor Durag page- itssilkciity_
• Facebook: Trevor Gabbidon
• Twitter: Author- Trev_theauthor