Today we’d like to introduce you to LeAndra Dove.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
When I was in the third grade, I knew I wanted to be a fashion designer or an ice skater. Lol honestly, I would have been happy either way but at the end of the day, the former won and everything I did was to achieve my goal of becoming a designer. The first dress I designed was based on a Georgia O’Keeffe painting. At the time, we were studying her floral paintings and use of color in my art class.
I went on to study fine arts and technical arts throughout my academic career. I graduated high school with a fine arts distinction and went on to attend The International Academy Of Design and Technology were I was achieved my BFA in fashion design and fashion merchandising.
I have been blessed enough to have a very supportive family so when I graduated school, my parents purchased all of my initial equipment and fabric and I opened my Etsy store Lorenza James by Elle (Etsy is a Free handmade goods e-commerce website). I will say this, while I was very creative and talented I did not have a clear vision and did not have the business know-how to adequately grow my business which left me frustrated I lost interest and focused on ladder climbing at work, at the time I worked in a home goods retail store.
Eventually, I made it back to fashion and in 2016, I produced a ten look collection that was mostly black and in my opinion had some gems but didn’t show real direction or clear understanding of fabrication. That collection walk down the runway at Maui Bigelow’s Phat Girl Fresh Presents Lifestyled Honors. Even though I am critical of my first collection, it was a great springboard because I made some great connections.
In 2017, I produced a capsule collection called “Just Because” for a local black-owned boutique in Fayetteville, Ga. This was a great pairing because the owner believed in me was patient and taught me a lot about business. She also allowed me to host a holiday pop up shop event where I featured local retail vendors. (I was good at events I guess it was a hidden talent)
My number one goal after my pop up shop was to build notoriety and I did so by participating in fashion shows, working with bloggers, and building relationships with media.
Over the last few years, I have continued to add to my repertoire I released two more collections “Energy” and “Jane” that included between 8 and 10 looks. With no financial backing and little to no sales, I wasn’t able to sustain this business module and I had to scale back in 2019, I temporarily stopped production of LJED.
At the time, I was devastated and considered giving up but instead of walking away, I took time to restructure LJED and build different avenues to express my creativity this led me to expanded beyond fashion. I became a blogger (elledove.com) and a crafting diyer which came out of a need to radically change my living environment.
To date, I now have Life Style brand Elle Dove Blog, Craft&Craft with Elle, Sew with Elle, and my baby Lorenza James by Elle Dove.
Wow, look at what a few years and God can do.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
LOL Oh my goodness, no it hasn’t!!!! There are so many but the main one is financial capital because it ties into so much. One example is the first time I took my brand to another state in hopes of expansion and reaching a new audience. I took part in a fashion show called “Essence of Curves”. It was during Essence fest but not associated because of this it brought in a large crowd but not enough of the right crowd such as media, boutique owners, buyers, bloggers, etc. Those were the type of individuals I wanted to get my brand in front of so I could continue to grow. I met a lot of models and some business moguls but this event landed me 2,500$ in debt with a less than 5% return.
As a small business owner, that loss hurt and I wasn’t able to produce another collection until the following year or put more money into my marketing which is the main purpose of a fashion show for a designer.
Moments in time like that led me to the restructuring of my clothing brand and how it is produced and led me to develop my personal brand which was far less expensive.
Please tell us about Lorenza James by Elle Dove.
I am the owner of ElleDove&Co which has the several subsidiaries Elle Dove Blog, Craft&Craft with Elle, Sew with Elle, and Lorenza James by Elle Dove. I am known for my plus size clothing brand LJED which was my first business and is my passion. LJED focuses on comfort and style and quality fabrics. All of our garments are made in house or are contracted out to other black owned businesses when applicable. We release capsule collections once a month with a signature tee all in limited quantity to support individuality. Even though I have had some difficult moments I am extremely proud of my development as a company. The one thing that everyone will tell you about me is how my optimistic energetic disposition is warm and that leaves a lasting impression.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Yes!!! Many of them of course are with my family and my favorite, unfortunately is my sister and I irritating my mother repeating the alien cockroach from Men in Black saying “I put my hands…. on my head…. like this”. This is the scene at the end of the movie when Will Smith told the alien, in a humans decaying skin that he was wearing like a costume, he was under arrest and to put his hands on his head.
My sister and I would mimic this over and over until our mom threatened to pop us. Lol.
Pricing:
- Virtual Craft&Craft is $12 for the ticket and bundels range in price. Information is always on the website.
- Virtural Sewing classes start at $35
- LJED prices start at $35
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elledove.com
- Email: lorenzajamesbyelledove@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elle.dove/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LorenzaJamesByElleDove , https://www.facebook.com/ElleDoveBlog
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/designer_elledove/
Image Credit:
Kaje View Photography, Nick
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