- 22 hours ago
In today’s fast-moving, trend-driven market, the brands that stand out aren’t chasing what’s next—they’re grounded in something deeper. This panel brings together founders and cultural storytellers to explore how heritage, identity, and lived experience shape brands that truly connect. This conversation highlights how culture isn’t just inspiration—it’s infrastructure.
Attendees will walk away with a deeper understanding of how to build brands that feel rooted, resonant, and lasting—while honoring the communities and stories they come from.
Attendees will walk away with a deeper understanding of how to build brands that feel rooted, resonant, and lasting—while honoring the communities and stories they come from.
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FunTranscript
00:02all right everyone I am super excited that we have officially kicked off day number one of
00:08essence and I am excited that you are all here I know that there is a lot going on right
00:13now
00:13there's a lot of activations pulling for your attention but you being right here right now
00:19at the we love us stage I promise you we have something special just for you now if you missed
00:25the last session it was awesome and amazing we learned about the family office mindset issues
00:30of wealth and money as well as we met Enza who's the first millionaire in her family but more
00:37importantly we're going to keep this conversation going and I'm excited because you are here because
00:42you're all about black excellence and culture and what we're going to be talking about next is
00:47culture as currency building brands rooted in story identity and legacy now if you're just joining us
00:55at the we love us stage my name is Quinn Conyers and I'm super excited to facilitate and host this
01:00particular stage now this panel is really exciting for a couple different reasons in today's fast
01:08moving trending driven market the brands that stick out aren't the ones that are chasing the next
01:14they are grounded in something deeper this panel brings together founders and cultural storytellers
01:21to explore how heritage identity and lived experience sharpens brands that truly connect
01:29this conversation highlights how culture is not just inspirational it's infrastructure attendees will
01:37walk away with a deep understanding of how to build brands that are rooted and resonated and lasting
01:43with honoring the communities and stories that they come from here's what you need to understand
01:48building a business or a brand is not just about making money you want to have a cultural connection
01:55and these women have done just that so I want you to know that we have some competition here but
02:02we got
02:02some fabulous panelists who are about to take the stage so when they get on this stage I want you
02:07to
02:07give them love I want you to make sure they know they are warmly welcome but more importantly I want
02:12you to clap
02:13because these women are going to pour into you can you do that for me okay perfect so here to
02:19moderate this
02:20fabulous conversation is the one the only the inspiring and the innovative Miss Irene Biko let's welcome her to the
02:28stage
02:35you all hear me okay and give it up for the pants stand up for a second give a little
02:38twirl see those pants
02:39come on pants the pants gets an honorable mention all right joining Miss Irene we have Javon Kashif come on
02:48Javon and show us them nails sis showing them nails yes thank you joining Irene and Javon we have the
02:57brilliant Brittany Adams of focus and frame eyewear come on Brittany yes
03:07and last but not least we have the powerful Patrice Chappelle of melanin brand skin let's give her some love
03:16all right Miss Irene the stage is yours hello hello everyone thank you for joining us today
03:24these ladies are wonderful ladies but I would like them to take some time to introduce themselves to
03:30all of you who might not know them oh hey I'm first good morning everyone I am Patrice Chappelle I
03:37am the
03:38co-founder and co-ceo of melanin brand skin with my now 15 year old son Bron Eccles we have
03:44natural
03:44safe and effective skincare for black and brown children awesome my name is Brittany Adams I'm the
03:51founder and CEO of focus and frame eyewear where we don't just help you see we help you truly feel
03:57seen
03:59good morning everyone I am Javon Kashif and I just want to make a note I am the creator and
04:05founder
04:06and CEO of abstract snails but if you see my picture over there I'm rocking my bob that was the
04:12big hair
04:12today we're going with the bob so it's still me abstract snails thank you for clarifying so this panel
04:21is really centered around brands that are rooted in culture and identity what does that mean to each of
04:28you who wants to start first I'll start first um when building it with our culture it's really
04:37understanding our experiences I've built that into every part of who focus and frame is like how do we
04:45have products that connect with people truly if we don't understand how they live how their culture
04:50the things that they like and so one of the things with us is we find that a lot of
04:55you know people in
04:56our community feel unseen when they walk in certain spaces and so we feel that glasses really help you
05:02show up and show out and so that is really how we curate our culture experience into the brand and
05:09we
05:09can see it in your glasses okay so at melon brand skin we're all about culture we started this company
05:15for black and brown kids so there was a gap in the market and we filled that gap when my
05:20son was a lot
05:21younger I couldn't find any skincare products for him so we are basically you know in the community
05:26we're serving black and brown children every day and loving what we're doing amazing well for me
05:33it was at the seat I had a seat at the table I primarily service African American women black and
05:41brown women every day doing their nails nails is the number one self-expression it is something that
05:47tells a story about who we are where we work what we do where we're going so for me abstracts
05:54was just a
05:55an extension of what I was experiencing for the last eight years at my nail salon in Washington DC
06:01amazing I got my abstracts on too Javon does my nails so I'm going right after this yes listen right
06:08now
06:10all right so where was there a moment when you kind of realized your lived experience could become the
06:18foundation of your brands yes so I struggled to find skincare products I would walk into stores at
06:24the time like Target Walmart Walgreens and I could not find anything for my son and so he had extremely
06:30dry skin and so starting this company with him we're creating a you know generational wealth and leaving a
06:35legacy behind so I just feel like you know I am that parent that was looking for skincare that was
06:41adequate dermatologist approved vegan leaping bunny cruelty pre-certified and gluten-free amazing that's
06:48right anyone else with me I think that I've always had this really big boisterous personality and then
06:56when I look back at all the glasses that I wore they didn't reflect that they were all boring you
07:01know
07:01and it's just like this is not even how you show up and so when I really think about who
07:06I am and my
07:06self-expression it really helped really me figure out what glasses I wanted to have
07:13so at nail bed and bar which is my nail salon that created abstracts nails I can name time and
07:21time and
07:22time again when someone would come in and they'd be like well I just want French or I just want
07:28red
07:29or I just want white no you are more than that because we come in and we look good I
07:36mean all right
07:36our hair is done our outfit is to the T right clock it but our nails so making them feel
07:43more
07:44expressive and comfortable and expressing that is really my sweet spot I don't mind being your
07:50stylist for your nails so that's my lived experience and that transcends into abstracts directly
07:56no thank you for sharing I think that all of you are so creative in everything that you're doing so
08:01that really comes through with everything that you're doing with your businesses the next question I
08:05have is more so about industries industries kind of move quickly and they follow trends
08:11how do you stay authentic to your vision while trying to follow trends
08:19well trends come and go and they go so fast but trying to stay ahead of the trend means that
08:27I have to
08:27create the trend I have to be the trendsetter so that everyone else in the industry can follow suit
08:34and make no mistake every woman in this room we are trendsetters all we we direct and create the
08:41culture we give the culture direction so your look your nails your hair that is the trend and I just
08:49transform that into nails to make that the full the full look right now we all know that skincare has
08:58become a huge thing for children and so when we started this company back in 2023 it wasn't about that
09:03it was about you know filling a need in the in the market and right now kids are going to
09:09Sephora
09:10Alta buying all the wrong products which is what I was giving my son you know putting on his skin
09:14back
09:14then but now we have a solution so we're not all about the trends we were doing this well before
09:19the
09:19trend started and primarily it was with you know Caucasian kids looking for skincare Alta so we're
09:25filling that gap right now for black and brown thank you for sharing so the next question has to do
09:31with
09:32storytelling which I know all of you are wonderful at so how does storytelling and representation show
09:37up in your products your visuals and or the customer experience maybe Javon you can answer this first
09:44since you know now y'all let Irene pick the worst storyteller to do this first I love to tell
09:53stories
09:54stories but they get very whimsical but storytelling for me I find as a challenge because I take on so
10:02many stories and each collection in abstracts tells its own story and so sometimes that can be a little
10:09confusing because you can be the party girl but you can also be the soft life rich girl which is
10:14a
10:14collection at abstracts so storytelling is a challenge for me I do feel that I need support and clearly
10:21communicating that at times but I let the nails and the artwork speak for itself and to really go off
10:29of that I think that um that storytelling comes from understanding your customers lived experience
10:36right and so the reason like our glasses we can have like different glasses for kind of wherever you are
10:42whatever you're doing so when you're in your corporate bag or you're going to brunch or you're going
10:50in a bun with no makeup on your glasses speak to that and so being able to understand those real
10:57life
10:57experiences helps me communicate and story tell like hey girl I see you and I got a pair of glasses
11:03that's going to fit exactly where you are
11:07so we are telling our own story so I feel like it's really it's easier for us because you know
11:13I'm walking the
11:14journey with other parents that went through the same things that I went through except my son did not
11:18have eczema so when I run into parents all the time that have babies 15 months 12 months six months
11:25with
11:25eczema and up you know they are telling me a story so now I'm adapting that story into our messaging
11:30and
11:30understanding what eczema is you know what may cause it and now we're the solution to the problem so
11:37just you know showing the before and after is part of the storytelling that we tell all the time
11:41yeah that's so important because people want to understand what the products do how they're going to make
11:46them feel and it's nice to see your son here today thank you all right the next question
11:52have there moments where your audience reflected back to you that your brand genuinely resonated with
11:57them all the time like I it never gets old to me I'll be like in the wild and see
12:05people with my
12:06glasses on and I even had one lady was like I said I like your glasses and she was like
12:13oh thank you I
12:14got them from this company and she said I said I got her it's got me I was so excited
12:19and we just got
12:20to hug and embrace and seeing that never gets old and with the glasses it's a prescription so I'm
12:27actually giving you something that you need for your everyday life I'm making your life better in a way
12:32and I just love seeing my customers in their everyday lives when they're doing things that are not
12:38pertaining to talking about my glasses when they're you know cooking dinner or hanging out with their kids
12:43and my glasses a product that I was able to curate really gets to be a part of their lives
12:48in a big
12:49way and that just makes me it gets me emotional every time I think about it honestly so last week
12:54we
12:54actually closed out Ronald Reagan Airport we were in the airport DCA and DC for three months I had a
13:00customer that literally ran up to me this was like last Friday our last day and she was like oh
13:06my god
13:06oh my god she's like this is the brand my daughter uses and her daughter was with her with her
13:11husband
13:11and so that was just so touching to me to be able to meet somebody that I've never met before
13:16that's
13:17our customer that loves our brand that uses the product they gave us a testimonial on the spot on
13:22video that I haven't posted yet so I need to do that but um you know it's just really good
13:26to be able to
13:27meet your people the people that you're serving it just felt so good because they only see me on social
13:32media and I only see them if they're commenting but to meet them in person is just a different level
13:38so for me I utilized the best place that I thought would there would be outside of my salon in
13:47Washington DC to launch our brand our very first expo was Essence Fest 2024 and since then we have had
13:58so much love we use this as a landing spot because we knew that our customer would be here as
14:05you all are
14:05here now but one thing that really really resonated with me was last year we had an opportunity our
14:12brand was featured in TJX so both TJ Maxx and Marshalls up to about 28 stores nationwide um we sold
14:21out
14:21big time and there was someone that purchased them in a TJ Maxx in San Diego she attended Essence Fest
14:29and when she realized that it was a black owned brand she was through the roof so she was she
14:36was in love
14:36with them she had like three sets of the same look because each collection is timeless we only produce
14:42a certain amount of them so once that design is gone that design is gone and so that was just
14:49heartwarming and very special to see that someone all the way from San Diego at Essence Fest found us in
14:56the convention center it was just beyond that's like a full circle moment starting at Essence Fest
15:02launching your brand coming back the next year and having someone actually purchase your products
15:07in a store come to your booth and rave about it because they didn't know it was a black owned
15:11brand
15:11that's that's just um amazing and you're back at Essence Fest again so it's probably meant to be
15:18um the next question what challenges come with building a brand that is deeply personal and purpose
15:25driven
15:29I don't know it might be balancing everything I still work full-time for the federal government
15:34um I think trying to be a mom or not trying to be a mom but trying to be a
15:38mom and you know have a
15:39business and then running my business with my son can be challenging there's monetary financial
15:44challenges when you can't access capital the way the other um you know groups of individuals can
15:50so there's just a lot of challenges um it was a challenge to get here you know I mean there's
15:55just
15:55so many different things I think you know and I mean a challenge in terms of trying to close out
15:59the
15:59airport and then be here the next week so you're always faced with those things but it's about
16:03overcoming them I think one of the biggest challenges is like just the unknown of it all um you know
16:11there's no path for you to follow like you're doing I can't tell you you know now I've had the
16:16pleasure of meeting some folks but prior to this I knew I didn't know anyone who sold prescription
16:22glasses like how do you even do that like how does that even work and so you know that self
16:28-doubt like
16:28how do you even think that you're gonna be able to do something and pull this off like who do
16:33you think
16:33you are you think you're an optometrist like it's all of these you think people talk to you crazy
16:38you talk to you crazy and so being able to just navigate that and keep going um I think the
16:44success is in the the going and going and going and not stopping and so that's kind of one of
16:51the
16:51obstacles but you know if you get over that you're golden for me the challenge was trying to convert
16:59the customer that I've built a relationship with at the nail table and to a press on girly because
17:05they're used to the direct interaction with me I'm creating right on the spot we're thinking of all
17:11the things we got spaceships and we're just going to the moon but trying to translate that into
17:17something that you could just grab and go and put on on the plane or while you have downtime or
17:22if you
17:22broke a nail you can replace it right there so the challenge for me as a business owner is
17:27understanding the different type of customer the customer that will come and sit at my table is
17:33absolutely different from the customer that would come to the booth and purchase my products
17:36so thankfully new voices do we have any entrepreneurs in the crowd
17:43definitely before you leave this space new voices is where you want to be they have all kinds of support
17:49for us so wherever you are in your business it does not matter new voices family will give you guidance
17:56they have access to tools and all the things that you need I'm not joking they're amazing
18:04so what do you think your customers are looking for today when they support culturally rooted brands
18:10like yours I think they're looking for something that's authentic something that has lived a lived
18:17experience like ours something they can't find anywhere else and we're deeply rooted in our community
18:23so we try to go into DC as much as we can Maryland Virginia the DMV and just you know
18:28participate in
18:29different activities and just show up and meet them in person I would echo the same thing authenticity
18:36and especially now with the rise of so much technology people can easily lose their voice but I think
18:45technology is definitely a tool but it has to be curated it has to be customized and so you know
18:52shameless plug I'm going to talk about that in my studio session next tomorrow and so if you want
18:58to learn about that come over but it's about how do you keep your voice in while you're using all
19:04this
19:05technology and I think there's there's still authenticity that can be gained from that and I think people
19:11feel that I want people to feel me and how I am with them in my warm embrace in my
19:17business and so
19:18there's ways to do that but we have to be committed to really finding that voice in all the tools
19:23that we're
19:23regularly using I think for me because I absolutely translate a design that I created into something that's
19:32available to take away is there's no nothing that we produce is out of a catalog or out of the
19:40service menu it's real nail art
19:43created in time and then translated and engineered into a product that can be that can go to masses
19:52thank you for sharing one more question for you today ladies and this is one we're gonna have to think
19:58about
19:58what advice would you give founders who want to build from a place of authenticity but feel pressure to follow
20:06trends
20:11well you have to understand your business everybody there's plenty of us doing the same thing but you
20:20have to understand your business your foundation I know it's cliche to say your why but you have to tap
20:27into that why time and time and time again when someone's trying to pull you to the left and you
20:32know you
20:32should be really going to the right so stay true to thyself understand what your goals are understand
20:40what the end game is you know if you want to be the next large activation like me in this
20:47convention
20:47center know that that is the goal and work towards that goal do not get distracted social media is is
20:55social
20:56media don't go down the rabbit holes in comparison um and feeling unseen everybody is seeing you
21:03they see you they're following you so stay true to thyself yeah i would say to kind of go off
21:12of that is
21:13god made you you for a reason he gave you all the knowledge and the tools and the resources and
21:19the
21:19know-how and so you have to really stand in that and know that that is really all those things
21:26are
21:26going to work together to really push what you have going forward and then on the flip side of that
21:30is
21:30soft skills still matter networking still matters to to go off what jay said earlier like being a part of
21:38essence festival and new voices has been i can't like just amazing for everything i've been able to do
21:45and grow in my business all the people i've met i've met all of them through here being able to
21:50have other founders to bounce ideas off of and to feel like you're not alone um and then just for
21:56opportunities you can't get any opportunities being by yourself secluded so getting out here and letting
22:02people know you exist is a real thing build from the heart there's like 20 seconds left so build from
22:08your heart and always stay true to who you are like the lady said and also follow us on melon
22:12brand skin
22:13on instagram and all social media platforms and why don't these two also give your social media
22:19so everything is focus and frame eyewear.com on instagram facebook everywhere um i do have magnets if
22:27you want a little magnet for your uh fridge i'll give it to you right after this if you're interested
22:32well you can scan my qr code again that is really me with the big hair i'm just bobbing it
22:38out for the
22:38weekend so abstract snails we're also in beauty con if you say that you are here i have something
22:45special for you amazing thank you ladies for sharing thank you amazing brands amazing stories and
22:51amazing founders give it up for these lovely ladies today and give it up for irene she did amazing
22:58amazing yes i got some right now we all love it thank you
23:05all right
23:13i'll tell you three times a year that you gotta be so low
23:18so
23:18so
23:19you
23:19you
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