The Dare Dreamer Movement by Julene Fleurmond

This TED Talk from a few months back featuring designer Jessi Arrington is so creative and quirky. Jessi is a self-proclaimed “color-loving…outfit-obsessed Brooklyn designer” who is determined to feed her love for passion only by shopping secondhand at flea markets and thrift stores. She also photographs and blogs a different “colorful, crazy outfit for every single occasion.” I love her care-free take on fashion to express herself, and how she doesn’t take her outfits or herself too seriously (which she shows in one of her tips: “Embrace your inner child. Sometimes people tell me that I look like I’m playing dress-up, or that I remind them of their seven year-old. I like to smile and say, ‘Thank you.’)

Visit Jessica’s blog to learn more about her take on the TED talk and her passion for fashion, used and unique.

” Jessi Arrington packed nothing for TED but 7 pairs of undies, buying the rest of her clothes in thrift stores around LA. It’s a meditation on conscious consumption — wrapped in a rainbow of color and creativity.”

From Jessi’s TED Talk
“…Confidence is key. If you think you look good in something, you almost certainly do. And if you don’t think you look good in something, you’re also probably right. I grew up with a mom who taught me this day-in and day-out. But it wasn’t until I turned 30 that I really got what this meant. And I’m going to break it down for you for just a second. If you believe you’re a beautiful person inside and out, there is no look that you can’t pull off. So there is no excuse for any of us here in this audience. We should be able to rock anything we want to rock.

“…Developing your own unique personal style is a really great way to tell the world something about you without having to say a word. It’s been proven to me time and time again as people have walked up to me this week simply because of what I’m wearing. And we’ve had great conversations…”

“So obviously this is not all going to fit back in my tiny suitcase. So before I go home to Brooklyn, I’m going to donate everything back. Because the lesson I’m trying to learn myself this week is that it’s okay to let go. I don’t need to get emotionally attached to these things, because around the corner, there is always going to be another crazy, colorful, shiny outfit just waiting for me, if I put a little love in my heart and look.” – Jessi Arrington

More About Jessi

Jessi Arrington is a founder and owner of WORKSHOP, a designer firm in Brooklyn. Her favorite color is rainbow and her default answer is YES. She’s taught Design Fundamentals at Touro College and given guest lectures at NYU; she’s a board member of AIGA/NY. Before co-founding WORKSHOP, she carried out branding for Brooklyn Brewery, Tomato Records and Lion Brand Yarn under the direction of Milton Glaser. She makes a hobby of wearing nothing new (except undies).
She blogs at LuckySoAndSo.com about design, consumption and color.

Today I added the story behind my creative clothing line Envibrance Dream Apparel to the store and wanted to share it here as well.

The first phase of the Envibrance line is designed and dedicated to young people, in combination with my youth motivational speaking services. Later I will be launching a special Dreamfleur Line especially for women, as well as expanding the line for men. Read more about the story behind the line below.

I’m also partnering with my friend and mentor, motivational coach and speaker Evelina Solis (pictured above), founder of the inspirational speaking company Sol2Soul to spread the message of the line. Watch Evelina and youth motivational speakers Gabe Salazar and Patrick Perez introduce the line below:

The Story

Julene, the founder of Envibrance Dream Apparel was inspired to begin the company after a series of events:



– Ever since she was a child Julene has enjoyed painting, drawing, and other arts and crafts and attempts to use her abilities as gifts to others. She started her design and media company Envibrance Studios in 2002 as a teen, minored in art in college and wanted to find a way to create original art to share with others…



– She had always liked cute and feminine t-shirts, but often could not find any with messages she liked or with un-cluttered, pretty graphics that could be dressed up with cute layering and accessories or dressed down for casual occasions. (Of course we also offer T-shirts for guys too!:)



– When visiting her mother’s homeland of Haiti after the earthquake she was shocked at the standards of living there and wanted to give back in some way through product sales (a portion of Envibrance Dream Apparel sales will go towards charitable causes, including helping people in Haiti). She also saw some of her cousins in Haiti wearing second-hand brand-name t-shirts with scary images of skulls and decided to create positive t-shirts for youth to wear instead (this is an upcoming project of Envibrance Dream Creations, stay tuned).



– While working with youth as a motivational speaker, Julene often saw teens and tweens wearing shirts with negative messages. She began creating her own positive shirts to sell and wear at events, and to donate to special youth events and organizations (such as the shirts pictured above).



– There are so many t-shirts out there already but very few merge positive messages with bold, artistic graphics – there’s a first time for everything;)

I hope you’ll support the Envibrance movement by purchasing a T-shirt from my shop by clicking here. You can get one for yourself, or maybe a young person in your life.

Today I’m working on a wedding website for a client and reminiscing on one of my favorite old school N’Sync songs “This I Promise You” (which is one of the signature songs of the couple. True love is forever and beautiful:)

While searching for that video on Youtube I came across another one of my favorite songs from the ’90s – when some music was actually moving and had substance:)

One of my inspirations in life and business is Marshawn Evans, who you may remember from a past season of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice. Marshawn is a former Miss America beauty queen, sports & entertainment lawyer, speaker and author who is devoted to helping others succeed, brand their businesses effectively and reach their full potential. She’s the founder of ME Unlimited, a consulting firm focusing on “reinvention, women’s empowerment, diversity, leadership and peak performance strategies.”

Marshawn is so open with helpful information and encouragement for entrepreneurs, especially for women who want to take their business to the next level. I love how she infused her faith into the past tele-seminars on focus and purpose that I have been able to take part in. Previously on my site Dream in Soul I posted about an interview she did on Christian women in business and how they can better balance their roles in life (click here for that post).

Here’s a recent video where Marshawn speaks on “How to Build Your Life God’s Way”:

This month Marshawn is kicking off a new program called The ME University Inner Circle Mentoring Mastermind. When I read about the program and how she is offering to instill her knowledge into other women to help them succeed, at an affordable price, I was drawn to apply to learn more from her (as she has been a “mentor-from-afar” to me in previous years as I learned from her other programs). To find out more about the Mentoring Mastermind visit http://meuniversitylive.com/innercircle and also visit her website http://marshawnevans.com to learn more and be inspired by her business and ministry.

Watch Marshawn talk about the Mastermind program below:

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This summer I’ve made a pledge to myself to live more freely…

To be more calm, less hurried, more comfortable and less worried…

To share my heart and passions and engage with others more boldly…

To breathe more deeply and smile more widely….

To dance more (even if awkwardly-off beat) and sing more (even when others are cringing;)

Freer to let the uniqueness (and weirdness:) in me shine through…

To be more creative and even child-like in pursuing my art and work,
To allow messiness yet be patient enough to pursue striking excellence…

To dream bigger, deeper dreams that only God can fulfill…

Resting more and more in the fact that my identity is found in Him and not in opinions…

Won’t you pledge to yourself to be more freely you, to share yourself, love and encouragement more openly with those in your life?

Happy Independence Day!:)