We had the good fortune of connecting with Gabrielle Clarke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gabrielle, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I was thinking it would be a great way to make some money on the side as a college student.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art, is fashion. I create Africa-inspired vegan leather bags and Africa-inspired swimwear and apparel.

What sets me apart from others, is my use of vegan leather in combination with African prints and rasta colors on my bags. Another thing that sets me apart is my unique style and way of marketing my brands.

I am proud of the fact that I have been consistent ever since starting my brand. I’m proud to know that my brand is constantly evolving and that people are loving what I create.

I am most excited about what the future holds. I have visions of traveling to promote my brand and I know my designs will be well received by people in the African diaspora.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that in order to succeed, you have to make mistakes. Through mistakes, you’ll learn valuable lessons that you can apply in the future to become better. Like Jay-z said, “A loss ain’t a loss, it’s a lesson.”

I got where I am today by loving what I do. It’ wasn’t easy. It became hard at times and I’ve been tempted to give up or get a job on the side but I never gave in to that temptation. I overcame those difficulties by learning more about myself and running a business. Reading books, listening to podcasts and watching interviews have been a huge help for me. I’ve overcome a lot simply by tuning into the wisdom of many successful entrepreneurs who have failed before. The most important way that I overcame it all, was through loving my craft and believing in my potential.

I want the world to know that my brand was born out of sheer necessity and curiosity. I started out by making my own clothes and bags. I loved fashion but couldn’t afford to buy the clothes and bags I wanted so I made them for myself. I made it into a business because I was curious to see how far I could really go.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Ocho Rios so if they’d like a really aesthetic restaurant to go to, I’d say Miss T’s Kitchen. If they’re feeling like having a garden picnic I’d say go to Turtle River Park. For an amazing river, I’d suggest Blue Hole. It’s so beautiful! For a cool beach, I’d recommend White River.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to give a shoutout to my first fashion designing mentor. He attended and graduated from Garmex Heart Academy and taught me a lot about sewing swimsuits and clothing. He taught me lots of techniques that I could also apply to making bags. This was when I really started taking my business seriously. I also wanna shout out my dad for getting me my first industrial sewing machine years ago so that I could take my sewing to the next level. Books that have been really helpful for me include “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill and “The 7 Spiritual Laws of Success” by Deepak Chopra.

Website: sewquaint.com

Instagram: instagram.com/sewquaint

Youtube: youtube.com/sewquaint

Other: My lifestyle Youtube channel: youtube.com/gabbysade

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