I’ve gone back and forth on whether or not I wanted to be a customer-facing founder because I find that female founders are often seen as synonymous with their business— a job that women are often required to do that doesn’t equally apply to men.
HA! That’s a hell of a “hello.”
In conclusion, I found that it was essential that I show my face in some capacity so that women all around the world know that this is a real thing with a real heartbeat. As a child, I knew I wanted to do three things in life: I wanted to write music, write films, and become a fashion designer. As an adult, I never really factored the latter into the equation; maybe it just didn’t make sense with the way my life was already going, or that I (thought I) didn’t have the expertise to even begin, but you know what they say about God’s time..
In the Spring of 2020, I planned my entire life: I was going to release my first EP, my music was going to blow up and I was gonna do a lil’ summer tour. In my plan, I’d be the cool indie music mom who was dressed to the nines and always fly. I was gonna have a baby shower with the most beautifully curated balloons, a baby moon, a maternity shoot that would break the internet (lol), but none of that happened. You know what did? COVID.
Like so many other new moms in that time, I was devastated, and HIGH KEY depressed. My faith and the joy of the life inside of me sustained me, but I had a very difficult time connecting with my purpose for many reasons, one being that for the life of me I could not understand why it was so hard to find things to wear that made me feel like myself.
To be very clear: I consider myself to be a baddie (lol). And yet not one single brand on the market made me feel or look that way in my very pregnant state. All of the messaging was around, my bump, my baby, and if we’re keeping it very real.. it was very, very, eurocentric.
I didn’t see myself or women like me at the forefront. Additionally, I felt like I had to take a backseat to my baby, even though I very much still wanted to maintain my identity. I complained, moaned and groaned, and then, very casually, my husband said, “Just start your own,” and today, I’m happy to say that I did.
What you see today are not just some garments, but a product of love. I did not build this brand by myself but with a village of women who mothered me along the way.
From fittings to manufacturing, to even the hangtags, women across the country held my hand.
When I needed advice, mentoring, and a pregnant body (lol), they made themselves available.
One of the things that I’m most proud of with this collection is the way it fits. Whether you are pregnant or plus size, or neither, it really FITS and looks beautiful on everyone. This sounds like a simple and easy thing to do, but in fashion, we know that all clothes are not created equal.
My goal with M STREET is not to just create a new brand that disrupts the motherhood space, but to also remind women everywhere that there is more than one way to be a mother and that we deserve something for ourselves as we go out and raise the world.
I am so grateful to be able to offer this to everyone. I thank God for this opportunity, and I hope this brand becomes just as special to you as it is to me.
Catch me in the blog, or on instagram.
All my loooooove,
Temi
@heytemioni on IG
@itstemioni on Tiktok (still figuring this thing out lol)