A Letter from our Founder

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change

by: Latecia Shantrea (@itsmissmayhem) – CEO and Founder

The view from my office

This may be getting a little personal, but picture above is the view from my office/work space. I think inspiration is fluid. A person can garner inspiration from whatever feeds the soul, and it’s important to recognize when that inspiration hits. The development of Established Mayhem Clothing came about during a particularly rough time. My aunt had passed and I was on my way to visit my parents the day after receiving the news. I needed something to distract me, and I found my distraction. Weeks earlier I’d parted ways with a partner in a previous clothing line that I helped to develop due to contractual issues. The line is still in existence, but I can honestly say that the direction it was headed in was not one that I was ecstatic to be a part of, so the break could not have come at a better time. I started developing the line (Established Mayhem), not knowing what it would turn into; hoping it would manifest into something, but uncertain it would be something that I could pursue with the time constraints before me and the news of my aunt’s passing heavy upon me.

A strange thing happened on the car ride to visit my parents; I was so overcome with inspiration that I pulled over two hours into the drive and started doing sketches at the Starbucks. I was several hours late for my arrival, but I had a full line mapped out and a marketing plan almost fully developed. That’s not the strange thing; the strange thing is that weeks later, my “time constraints” that would have prevented me from fully developing the line unexpectedly removed themselves from my life. I was left with free time, loads of inspiration, and not much else. I am a strong proponent in the belief that “Every thing happens for a reason” , so I took this as a sign that I was supposed to continue developing the line. I pulled my music equipment out of storage, and spent many nights tapping away at the keyboard to my laptop, looking for the right fabrics, designers, freelance writers, website designers…etc. But, it didn’t take me long to find a team ready and willing to follow me in pursuit of a dream. Now, something that started out in the passenger seat of my car, on a particularly dark drive has the potential to give birth to a line that will change lives. I know it has changed mine, and we haven’t even ramped up for what the line or website can become.

All that is to say that this journey started before I even knew it was being set in motion, but for the first time I feel that I ready to take on the challenge without a safety net. Chasing dreams is scary, putting yourself out there is even scarier, but never reaching the potential you have inside of you is perhaps the scariest and most devastating thing one could incur. Today, I challenge you to chase a dream, put yourself out there in a way that you never have before, and see what it brings you. “You have the potential to be great, to squander that would be a shame”