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Meet Emma Mbaba of Reverse in Stone Mountain

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Mbaba.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Emma. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I first took an interest in fashion in 7th grade. My best friend had such a unique style, she showed me the true beauty and artistic nature of fashion. From then on, I was no longer wearing Hollister shirts with the matching jeans LOL. It’s like a whole new world had opened up inside me. I began to use clothes as my medium and styling as my method for my artwork. I loved the idea of wearing a masterpiece; of being inside of my art. It allowed me to form a very personal relationship with fashion.

I remember getting into thrifting in high school and being exposed to a world of endless possibilities. Because I loved clothes so much and didn’t have a lot of spending money, I learned early on how to make something out of nothing. I remember watching countless DIY tutorials on YouTube, learning how to personalize and customize thrifted clothes. It’s like my mind naturally saw the potential in any fabric. This greatly allowed me to explore my creative energy in fashion and opened me up to the world of design.

College was a huge trial period. For sure. I was told by my parents that I should pursue medicine because it would give me financial stability. At the core, though, I knew it was my dream dedicate my life to my arts and making more of a difference in the world.

The first major fashion show I attended was the Young Atlanta show in Summer 2017. This show changed my life because I got to witness what it truly means to be a designer. I was inspired by the creativity of design and how there were so many stories that could be told through different collections. From then on, I knew that ideally I saw myself becoming a designer and there was no stopping it. I bought my first sewing machine, taught myself how to sew in two weeks, and submitted my first designs for my school’s fall fashion show.

This gave me a feeling like no other. Seeing my designs come to life was more than I could imagine. I remember my favorite piece was my denim patchwork jacket because I literally made that piece out of old jeans from middle school and it was amazing to see my creative potential unfold. I knew then that I definitely have the capability to realize my vision.

As I cultivated my brand’s purpose, I searched for something more fulfilling than just creating aesthetics and luxury. When I learned about the damaging effects of the fashion industry, including environmental issues, human rights violations, and long-term health risks, I knew I wanted the purpose of my brand to be to help reverse the damage, restore natural ways of living, and build communities of wellness and sustainability.

Still, I felt like I had put those dreams on hold and I tried to live the path that was set for me by tradition, both parental and societal. I stayed in college and studied everything from biology to fashion merchandising, hoping that I would find a course that made me feel like school was worthwhile. But as I began to reflect, take time to learn myself, and meditate with my spirit, I began to realize how unfitting this path was for me. I knew that my educational experience was selling me short and my environment was limiting to me. I knew that the curriculum offered for my field of study was excessive in its course load while still providing insufficient training for the path I wanted to set for myself.

Becoming self-educated allowed me to learn about the things I needed most and not waste time with university curriculum that was generalized and not tailored to fit the individual student. My classes were offering me such basic knowledge, I had to study what it takes to run a sustainable business on my own terms, in addition to my school workload. I felt like there must be a more efficient way to use my energy. I found myself often using external learning material and teaching myself necessary skills such as sewing, editing and photography. By doing this, I started to see the ways education needs to be reformed to offer more diverse learning systems in order to become more responsive to the individual needs of students. I knew the current education system was not one I wanted to subscribe to anymore and that it was up to me to take accountability of my life. After years of growth and deepening my relationship with myself and with God, I reached a point where I felt the need to remove everything in my life that didn’t make me feel fulfilled in my purpose. In spring 2019, I left school and began my journey of self-education and entrepreneurship. I decided to pursue my business full time and I was dedicated to doing whatever it takes. It felt like what I needed to do and I was determined to manifest my reality and realize my dreams. When I chose my path, I chose to put my faith in myself and God first.

Once I began to fully allow God to order my steps of my path, I began to deepen my passions and explore more of my gifts. In addition to sustainable fashion, I had been making organic skincare and cooking healthy plant-based meals for years. I felt moved to share my lifestyle with the world because of how much it had an impact on my growth as a person. I knew then that I would build an empire that profited 100% on sustainability. The vision I had for REVERSE was to become a model company that offered sustainability for the basic needs. I found that there were very few sustainable options for products that we consume the most, like food, personal care, and clothing. Because of this, I knew that if I could create innovative products in those areas and combine my creativity with organic raw materials, sustainable practices, and ethical production methods, then I would be able to spread the beauty and necessity of sustainability to the world through REVERSE and make a living that truly made a difference.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
SOURCING! OMG, it was so freaking hard. I mean I couldn’t believe just how few sustainable options were on the market, I probably spent a good three months filtering through all the plastics and polyesters, just to find anything green. From organic fabrics, to eco-friendly labels, to sustainable packaging for my skincare products, everything was just so scarce. At times this really limited my creativity. I had to be humble about everything and understand that taking the road less traveled by is always going to come with its fair share of trials, but the fruits of this labor will be so much greater.

Another huge challenge was organizing all of my tasks, roles, and studies. There was so much for me to learn and do. From accounting to modeling to gardening; the list goes on lol. Being able to learn and practice these things on my own terms instead of being under the imposed standards of the university curriculum has greatly helped my self-determination, my mental space, and my spirituality. I’m glad I took the time to learn these skills and so many more because now I feel confident knowing that at any point, I am capable of handling my business on my own if necessary.

Another major challenge has been voicing my truths and fighting for my right to live by my beliefs regardless of parental, societal, or industrial expectations. This was especially difficult within my household. My parents tried to impose certain traditional life paths, like getting a degree, working a 9 to 5, and pursuing my dreams later in life.
This caused a lot of friction in our relationship and I had to remain grounded in the fact that only I know what’s best for me.

I ultimately know what path my spirit calls for and I am guided purely by God. I know that I want to be able to do everything that I possibly can for myself on my own before relying on any external system to provide the resources I need for living and fulfilling my purpose. This path certainly comes with difficulties, but there is nothing that God hasn’t provided me with the tools for and it is definitely worth the freedom and self-fulfillment.

Please tell us about Reverse.
REVERSE is 100% sustainable organization offering sustainability for the basic needs. The company provides these brands centered around sustainable products and services for the food, personal care, and apparel industries:

REup Clothing
a sustainable fashion brand currently offering:
– customs
– thrifted redesigns
– vintage upcycling
– wardrobe revamp sessions

REmake Organics
an organic personal care brand currently offering:
– organic body butters
– organic body scrubs
– organic body oils
– organic soaps

REvive Cuisine
an organic vegan food service company soon offering:
– vegan meal preps
– vegan meal deliveries
– vegan catering

REVERSE represents an opportunity to reverse the damage of capitalism and exploitation of natural resources and people in underprivileged communities. We do this by using organic sourcing, sustainable practices, and promoting ethical consumerism with our products and services. We take pride in our purpose and our integrity. Our mission is to use sustainability to help heal our planet, heal our people, and heal ourselves.

At REVERSE, we operate differently. We choose quality over convenience and integrity over everything. We prioritize sticking true to the principles we stand on. We trade convenience and extra profit for a chance to provide better quality of life for our workers and customers while respecting the Earth and its natural resources. All products under REVERSE are made from recycled, organic, and plant-based raw materials, ensuring that each product is designed to give back to nature and help maintain the natural equilibrium here on Earth. By 2020, we will be fully sourced by growers, artisans, and manufacturers in underprivileged communities, using our resources to help raise unfair wages and improve poor standards of living across the world.

I see REVERSE becoming an example of a hope for a better future, an example that it IS possible to be a conscious consumer, an example that changing the world really does start with us. We all need to wake up and realize that WE are the market. We as consumers, create the demand. As long as we’re buying, they’re selling. The more we buy sustainable, ethically sourced products, the more standard they will become on the market. This will create a whole new reality for the future of our planet. A reality where we can live in balance with nature instead of taking it for granted. A reality where our brothers and sisters working for us are looked after, instead of looked over. I want REVERSE to make everyone stop and think about the way their choices as a consumer affect not only themselves, but people, workers, and growers all over the world! We cannot continue to neglect our responsibility to ourselves, our people, and our planet. A wise woman once said… ‘ To fully exercise one’s accountability is the greatest freedom of all’ …Ok it was me, lol, but it’s straight facts, just think on that 😉

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had to start over, I would have followed my passion from jump. I would have never allowed my parents or anyone else for that matter to dictate the path that was best for me.

I would have listened to myself when I felt I was destined for something greater instead of living complacently inside the system and allowing my time, energy, and resources to be drained from me.

I would have started earlier on to give myself the skills I needed to be self-sufficient.

All these are lessons I learned but I also learned the greatest lesson; that everything happens for a reason. So in actuality, I wouldn’t change a thing 🙂

Pricing:

  • Two piece shirt set | $30
  • Two piece blazer set | $40
  • Midi form fitter dress | $20
  • Biker short cutout jump suit | $40
  • Midi cut out dress | $40
  • Denim patchwork jacket | $60
  • Turtleneck beanie | $30
  • Camo suit | $65
  • REmake Organics Body Butter | $12
  • REmake Organics Body Scrub | $10
  • REmake Organics Body Butter and Scrub Bundle | $20
  • REmake Organics Sample Bundle | $40
  • Vegan meal delivery | $12
  • Vegan weekly meal prep | $50
  • Vegan catering | $100+

Contact Info:

Image Credit:
Gabby Poux, Terique Mick

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