Conversations with the Inspiring Carmen Jones

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carmen Jones.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Carmen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m a former bratty military kid, so we moved around a bit when I was younger. I was born in Germany and was raised in Alabama, Missouri, Virginia, and Georgia. We first moved here in 2000, but I’ve left and come back a few times including an internship in Texas after graduating college and securing my first big girl job in Oklahoma as an in-house graphic designer. I moved back home to Georgia about five years ago because although I was very grateful for the opportunity in OKC, the city was just not for me. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with Atlanta because I never felt like I fit in, but it’s full of so much fun and interesting things to do. I really missed the diversity and culture. I was a pretty happy kid despite being bullied to the point that I started skipping school in junior high but I always found joy in art. I was always creating something: playing with legos, writing, dancing, painting, sketching fashion designs, sculpting with clay and even coding my Myspace and Blackplanet pages. Not too long after I moved back to Atlanta in 2014, I got the idea to start selling thrifted clothing. I began thrifting in college because well, like most of us, I was broke but I still wanted to look cute and I enjoyed thrifting with friends and finding unique vintage pieces. It got to the point that regularly, people would ask me ‘Where did you get that?’, that I figured why not start selling the fun stuff I found on my thrift trips! And here we are today, almost three years in with Secondhand Shawty, selling vintage finds online on Etsy and Depop and I do occasional pop-ups around the city throughout the year.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
You would think that everything would be smooth, especially growing up in an upper-middle-class family with both of my parents and not having to worry about not having a roof over my head or when my next meal would be, but it’s never easy. Being picked on every single day really tarnished my self-esteem. I went from a feisty and outspoken little girl to a shy, hunched over adolescent. That lack of self-confidence can really affect your entire life. I carried that weight of not feeling like I was good enough until college and it wasn’t until then that I really tried to ‘find’ myself. I cut my hair so that I could grow it out naturally with no more perms or chemicals, I experimented with piercings and tattoos, and I started dressing the way I wanted. And at that point, whether people liked me or not, I was starting to like myself and that is the most important. The older you get, the easier it is to be yourself and not to care what people think about you.

My first couple of years back in Atlanta were tough. I struggled to reconnect with old friends, I was in and out of toxic relationships, lost two cars, went back to school, dropped out of school, bounced around from job to job including working as a secretary and full-time Uber and Lyft driver. I felt like my life was a mess and I had no direction. I applied to hundreds of jobs within the design field and when I didn’t hear back from practically any of them, I fell into a very depressive state for months. Again, like that little girl, my lack of confidence had me questioning my ability and purpose. With all that said, I currently have a job in my field as a production artist and that steady paycheck helps me to continue to build my Secondhand Shawty brand!

Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
Professionally, I’m a freelance graphic designer and in-house production artist, but I do just about any and everything creatively! If given the challenge, I can probably do it, except make-up, I can’t seem to get a full grasp on that. Growing up, I was really into painting and collage and I was really good at working with clay and ceramics. I’m currently getting back into painting and teaching myself how to sew! I’ve always loved fashion and I’m kind of into cosplay, so sewing will definitely give me a leg up on all of that.

I am most proud of my consistency and determination. With Secondhand Shawty, I work on it every hour of every single day, whether it be editing and posting photos, updating listings, or shooting my model. It’s always on my mind and I’m always on my phone working on it. So, if you’re out with me and I’m on my phone, I’m not texting somebody else and ignoring you, I’m probably just posting to my Instagram business account.

Who do you look up to? How have they inspired you?
Number one would definitely have to be my mom. She is one of the smartest people I know. She tells me stories about her growing up and how she basically had to figure out a lot on her own like how to get to college, how to do taxes, etc. I mentioned before that I was a military brat, but I didn’t specify that both of my parents were in the army; that’s how they met. She’s been to Iraq on deployment, has gone through a divorce, raised two amazing kids, and she remains very optimistic and strong. She’s now a writer, runner, and vegan-ish (she still wears leather and fur ha). I hope to live as full of life like she has.

My model for my shop, Brianna, inspires me. I’ve got about 10 years on her, but I’ve learned so much from her this past year or so. I’ve always wanted a little sister, and I found her.

I’m also a huge fan of Issa Rae. Reading her story was like looking in a mirror growing up as an awkward Black girl. I truly believe that if she can embrace that and grow and flourish like she has, so can I.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.etsy.com/shop/secondhandshawty, www.depop.com/secondhandshawty
• Email: secondhandshawty@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/secondhandshawty
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/secondhandshawty

Image Credit:
Chance Brown @createbychance

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