We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Yolanda Graves a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Yolanda, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

So in 2013, while I was in my business entrepreneurship class, I started doodling while taking notes and the original logo was made. A cloud with the letters ATC inside and a halo above the cloud. Absolutely no idea what made me draw that, I now know that was a download. Fast forward a few years later 2016 or 2017, I was cleaning out my room and getting rid of old textbooks, notebooks, etc. from school and somehow I found that doodle and took a picture on my phone. At this point, it still was a doodle and had no meaning but I liked it and wanted to do something with it. In 2018, I found the picture again while deleting photos and trying to make space in my phone, and while looking at the picture that was when “Above the Clouds” hit me to represent the ATC in the cloud. Now I’m like I got a name what can I do with this?

I’ve always loved fashion and one of my goals was to start a clothing brand and that’s what I decided to do with the doodle. I started planning my brand out still without meaning or what Above the Clouds would represent. I had my idea so I started telling the people closest to me what I wanted to do and when I explained the story of the doodle and its being drawn 5 years prior they were excited to see what would come from it. My brother Chris loved my vision so much that he decided he was going to be my manager on the spot.

In June of 2018, I lost my brother Chris unexpectedly, and later that year in October, my cousin Jaylen who was more like a brother than a cousin. This is when “Above the Clouds” began to make sense. I started writing about what ATC meant and wanted to share it with others that could relate. In 2019, I started writing ideas for the brand and presented them to my mom and she was on board, the bizarre story clicked for her as well and made the story of the doodle even more significant.

This time my mom told me this is going to be big you need to trademark that. But first I needed my doodle digitized into a logo, after several tries I knew it was the one when I saw it. I showed my mom what was created and she got emotional, that was my confirmation. In October 2019, I lost my Grandmother, and on April 30th of 2020, I lost my best friend, my mother. The brand at this point was clear as day and I had to act on it. After my mom died I threw myself into the brand, it’s what kept me sane and quite frankly, alive.

I don’t know what I would have done without having it to put all my emotions and energy into. In 2021, I launched my brand officially on April 30th a year after my mom passed, I wanted something to celebrate rather than just mourn on that day.

ATC was made to honor those I have lost and represents staying above any negative influence or situation by overcoming it and not letting life’s tragedies or misfortunes bring you down, the crown above the cloud represents that those lost are now royalty living Above the Clouds.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Yolanda Graves, I grew up in Greensboro, NC, and attended North Carolina A&T State University where I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in media production and a Master’s degree in Business Administration; where my love for fashion expanded. Being at an HBCU is like walking around at fashion week, the styles and cultures become a melting pot. It was there I started to pay more attention to different styles and created my own. Greensboro is not a fashion-forward city so to get pieces I wanted to wear I had to shop out of town or online which created the desire for my own clothing brand. I wanted to create the things that were in my mind but couldn’t find in stores.

My brand currently offers apparel and accessories. My clothing brand is unique because of the meaning behind it and can be interpreted in many different ways. I think my story is what sets me apart, I do what I do from the love and passion I have for it. Wearing my logo on my chest gives me a sense of pride and helps me honor the people I’ve lost and anyone else can too when they wear Above the Clouds. We have all lost or will lose someone so it makes my brand that more relatable.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

I buy my products as blanks in bulk and create the final product in-house myself. I have different vendors for all the different things I make down to the different types of clothes to patches to tags and everything in between. I had no idea how to manufacture products when I first started out,

I researched different methods of making clothes and youtube was my best friend when it came to actually execute making them. I went through a few vendors for my blanks before deciding which one the quality I wanted as well as the price point I needed to stay in to make a profit.

The biggest lesson I have learned along the way is to practice several times before production, especially with a new design or product. and to use practice products before the real things. I’ve wasted plenty of inventory trying out different methods instead of trying it out on something cheaper to get the method down-packed.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I don’t have a single story in my journey that illustrates my resilience, my brand is my resilience story. Dealing with that much grief and still getting up to face the day is resilience in my eyes. I’ve seen people who didn’t bounce back from one loss so the fact that I was able to build a brand through mine I would say is my resilience story.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.atcthebrand.com
• Instagram: @atcthebrand
• Facebook: @atcthebrand
• Twitter: @atcthebrand

Image Credits
@dd_ann.h Demetria Hockaday @Jgravesphotography Jae Graves