We were lucky to catch up with Wesley Kelly recently and have shared our conversation below.

Wesley , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

So how Brand Faith Ruby came about was very unexpected and random. It was at a time in my life where I was a manager at foot locker still on commission in one of the biggest volume doors in the company; Cherry Hill Mall and I was able to treat myself to nice things but I was so into fashion and following trends that it started to feel as though I was working just for materialistic things to feel accepted to some extent. So my significant other at the time asked me “why don’t you start your own brand? Everybody anlready like how you dress you know how to sell and it just so happened that in 2013 I attempted to start a t shirt line but it didn’t go well. So in that moment I thought about it I had my little sister Faith with me and I asked her if she wanted to take the risk, she said yeah and the rest was history. I knew this time around what it would take and the sacrifices that had to be made but I was willing to do so because of the meaning behind the brand. Ruby is my grandmother who passed away in 2010, my little sisters name is Faith Ruby, so I tied together two of the most important woman names in my life and that’s how I came up with the brand name. Since 2018 I’ve become a self taught fashion designer & stylist learning everything about how to sew and customize clothing from YouTube university and asking questions from peers in the field that I’ve connected with at events. Im naturally a creative being able to draw and just visualize but just the appreciation I have for art helped me grasp the concepts and skills needed to tackle this new endeavor head on. Ofcourse, over time my skills have gotten better and better but it’s still the beginning it’s still so much more work to do and sacrifices to be made. Being able to express myself through fashion something I’ve always loved is still crazy to think about.

Wesley , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got into fashion young I was always into the new sneakers not much clothing until I got to high school. The crazy part about this story is I never grew up sewing or customizing clothing. I picked up the skill because I started my brand in 2018 around a time where I felt everybody was trying to do it but it wasn’t quality. So I did my research and figured if I do embroidery, learn how to hand sew plus use a sewing machine I’ll separate myself from all these other brands floating around at the same time allowing me to be as creative as I wanted in a way that made me feel the most comfortable and that was through fashion. Brand faith Ruby is an everyday urban streetwear company producing styles from scratch, fully customized as well as wholesale concept garments that we release on our website. This brand provides affordable great quality pieces that we produce in house (for now) that are fully functional and made for unisex wear. Also selling custom pieces was major since everybody always wants something nobody else has or if a client has an idea that you have the skills to bring to life while incorporating the brand.

How did you build your audience on social media?

So we are in the era of social media you can literally go viral overnight. As me being a person that just wants to work I had to figure out a way to be seen also, so I started to take pictures which graduated to videos. Now these social media platforms came up with “reels”, short films I categorize them as. We all get dressed everyday so I figure why not record my process to display how to wear my pieces at the same time advertising my business and services while documenting my process. That helped tremendously in growing my social media following and just overall presence in fashion because I consistently post. Consistency is key if you are going to do it give your all and live with the results, so far that mindset has been working. You never know who you are motivating or inspiring to just start something even if it’s not along the lines of fashion. That was always my main goal to motivate and inspire others while doing something I genuinely love to do.

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

Being an entrepreneur is the toughest decision a person can make because you’re starting at nothing but an idea. The time, the money, the dedication, the consistency etc. is what people don’t understand getting into entrepreneurship which is why most fail. I almost fell into that category because I was inconsistent and unmotivated because I thought the money was going to come and I didn’t have to work as hard since I knew a lot of people and I had a sense of entitlement as if everyone had to support me because they knew me. Reality check ! Strangers will support and push you before your closest friends will, understanding you have to put the ground work in even when you aren’t getting the praise and recognition you feel you deserve. Overcoming my own personal feelings and not mixing it with business was important. You only get out of it what you put in cutting corners will only hinder you speaking from personal experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.faithrubynyc.com
• Instagram: Www.instagram.com/brand_faith_ruby
• Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/brand_faith_ruby
• Other: www.TikTok.com/brandfaithruby

Image Credits
Zay Poole- moonlite studios