We recently connected with Von Childs and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Von, thanks for joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

When I decided to want to become a leader in my field, the word ‘revolution’ always came into mind. I grew up studying about my family’s history and being very in tune to learn about the black diaspora and the figures that made a change throughout our history. ‘Revolution’ always tends to pop up whenever I would read quotes or historical points about these events that took place. By the time I attended college, my main goal that I would tell my peers and professors is that I just want to be able to start a revolution, no matter what that would look like for me as a creator. At some point, it was time for me to create a company for my work in the fashion/art industry and I stayed up all night trying to figure out the best name to describe my purpose. I called my friend, Shawn Michael, who is no longer here with us but will forever be in my heart, to help me with a name. After sitting on it for a few months, I finally came up with the name ‘ArtREV’ which means ‘art revolution’ for short. I capitalize ‘REV’ because I wanted people to realize with this creative firm, my purpose is to build my legacy based on creating a revolution for my work and expressing my direction towards the importance of black creators being notice in spaces we don’t normally get the chance to be in. 10 years later, I feel I have accomplished that and if it wasn’t for Shawn, I wouldn’t have ArtREV & Co as the name of one of my proudest accomplishments in my career. I own it to him because he sat on the phone with me and stood by me to make sure I had the perfect name for this establishment.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

ArtREV & Co was established in late 2013 during my timing in Fashion school. I started to do a lot of work in the industry and I needed to house my work immediately while I was shopping around my resume and portfolio. During the process of creating a business plan for the creative agency, I notice that it was difficult for me to prove to a lot of industry professionals that I had the passion and dedication to work in environments that I barely see my own people in. Once I established the creative firm, I realize that I wanted this company to serve a purpose by focusing on the black diaspora of the creative arts, rather if that was in fashion, art, music, or entertainment.

Even though I was known for fashion styling at the time, I would get introduced into other roles that I never imagine myself being in. For example, I started getting into creative direction while working on projects in New York City and Atlanta. Those projects would lead me to becoming an art coordinator, curator and meeting different creatives to conduct activities such as set design, project management, imagine consulting, event coordinating and marketing, just to name a few. I even tapped into the music industry while gaining music clients to style them for performances and press releases for their upcoming album projects and I would be asked to style for their music videos and get paid sitting in the recording studio to critique their songwriting and sound as many would respect my judgement.

While owning this company for the first five years, I taught myself how to directly market myself by attending networking events, emailing specific people that I wanted to work with, continuing to build my portfolio and learn how to negotiate business. It was a challenge but I am thankful that I understood the components between being a creator and being an entrepreneur.

Today, ArtREV & Co provides services such as creative directing, wardrobe styling, curating, marketing, brand management, media press, photography, graphic design, project management, artistry management, art installation, set design and so much more. I get a chance to introduce my audience to upcoming creators in the fashion, art, music, entertainment or cultural fields and interview them while I still carry knowledge of journalism from working in the publication business at an early age.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

The co-Founder and business partner is my best friend of 10+ years, Sunni Ankh, as known as the Executive Curator for ArtREV & Co. Sunni and I just always share the same inspiration of artistry and he understood the direction of my company. We work so well with each other that in 2017. I decided to have him join the ArtREV & Co family. Since then, we both have produce projects for the company and still looking forward to doing the same this upcoming year.

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

I usually would gain a new client after either attending an event or be referred by a former client. I love that people would vouch for me after I’d worked with them. It felt really good inside to know that there were people waiting to work with me. I learn that if you not only present professional work and pay attention to details but your personality is your biggest seller, especially when owning your business. Being yourself can get you further in your career. That’s pretty much the organic approach I take when growing clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.artrevco.com
• Instagram: @vonmarkies
• Twitter: @vonmarkies

Image Credits
Photos credited by Reaux Woods of Reaux Woods Photography & Antoinne Duane Jones