Yellowbrick Highlights Student Entrepreneurs for National LGBT Month

The Yellowbrick student community is a great place to find budding talent. Our diverse community is a solid blend of students looking to find their place in a career that they love and others who are looking to grow their skillset. Yellowbrick programs are designed to give students the foundation they need to start building towards a career they are passionate about.

In honor of LGBT History Month, we are highlighting the websites and businesses of our LGBTQ student community. We’ve created a space to highlight some of the businesses that were founded by students in our courses. The landing page for these brands can be found here and when you click on the select squares, you can visit the pages and engage in their services. These businesses offer everything from t-shirts to hoodies to recording studios to makeup. This landing page was created to amplify the businesses and services in our Yellowbrick community.

Please take the time to visit the page and take a look at what some of these brands have to offer. There is also a main student businesses page and we will be adding to that list as the year progresses. Be sure to check back in from time to time.

Yellowbrick Highlights Student Entrepreneurs for Hispanic Heritage Month

The Yellowbrick student community is a great place to find budding talent. Our diverse community is a solid blend of students looking to find their place in a career that they love and others who are looking to grow their skillset. Yellowbrick programs are designed to give students the foundation they need to start building towards a career they are passionate about.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are highlighting the websites and businesses of our Latinx student community. We’ve created a space to highlight some of the businesses that were founded by students in our courses. The landing page for these brands can be found here and when you click on the select squares, you can visit the pages and engage in their services. These businesses offer everything from t-shirts to hoodies to recording studios to makeup. This landing page was created to amplify the Hispanic/Lainx businesses and services in our Yellowbrick community.
Please take the time to visit the page and take a look at what some of these brands have to offer. There is also a main student businesses page and we will be adding to that list as the year progresses. Be sure to check back in from time to time.

Yellowbrick Highlights Student Entrepreneurs for Black Business Month

Whether it’s designers or entrepreneurs, the Yellowbrick student community is a great place to find budding talent. A lot of our students are already in the game but are taking our courses to level up their skill. They are looking to learn from the teachers and experts featured in Yellowbrick programs to elevate their existing brands and sharpen their skillset. Since August is Black Business Month, we created a place to highlight some of the black-owned businesses that were founded by students in our courses. 

The landing page for these brands can be found here and when you click on the select squares, you can visit the pages and shop. These businesses offer everything from t-shirts to hoodies to coffee to skin care products. This landing page was created  to amplify these black-owned businesses and services to our Yellowbrick community. Please take the time to visit the page and take a look at what some of these brands have to offer. We will be adding to this list as the year progresses so be sure to check back in from time to time. 

“So I Could…” | Billy Petts

Name: Billy Petts
Course: Streetwear Essentials
IG Handle: @InspirationClothing

I enrolled in this program so I could..
Learn from the best and obtain knowledge from an Industry standpoint not just the underground knowledge I’ve obtained the past decade.

Why did you think the course was right for you when you enrolled?
I felt like there could always be more to learn and that even with years of experience, I could learn other methods and processes to start and finish clothing projects. Learning from like minded creators is always a blessing.

What is your biggest takeaway from this program?
To treat my business as Culture and Storytelling. Not Product and Profits. It’s much more than “business.” It’s Passion and the drive to make a difference in our communities.

Has your experience in Streetwear Essentials impacted your career at all yet, and if so, how?
Yes, my whole outlook on fashion has changed yet again. I feel as if I still have a long journey ahead, learning about mood boards, tech packs, and manufacturing in this course took my brand to new endeavors yet to unfold. Following all the creators and influencers from this course on Instagram has increased my learning as well. Seeing how they post, and market after hearing them speak makes sense why they excel in streetwear today.

How did the course prepare you for working in the streetwear industry?
In a good way. The course forces you really to make the building blocks of a clothing brand. Right down to business plan, target market, potential store layouts, pop up shops, you name it. At the end of this course I found myself with an actually written business plan which I never thought I would have or needed. Now I have something professional to continuously build off.

What would you say to a friend about Streetwear Essentials?
Sign up if you wanna save 10 years of learning on your own.

Keeping Creative With Alife’s Rob Cristofaro

Exclusive Conversation: Keeping Creative During Quarantine w/ Rob Cristofaro

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When the world was first introduced to the concept of a “stay-at-home” quarantine order, we had no idea what to expect. We were given a potential timeline to the end but that has changed many times. In the interim, creatives like Alife co-founder Rob Cristofaro are navigating the calm through the storm. Keeping creative and motivated during these times is a major key because his business is dependent on creativity.

We recently sat down with Rob on a Zoom chat to discuss a few things including how he stays creative and what he suggests others do to stay creative during these uncertain times. Rob is also an Industry Expert in the Streetwear Essentials course, which gives students an inside look at what it’s like to have a career in the streetwear industry. He talks about the importance of learning from other people’s experiences and how it can help craft a path for your journey in the streetwear industry. If you missed the full length conversation, no worries. You can drop your email in the “Register Now” box above and get the link.

Michelle Lopez Talks “Making The Pivot” | Webinar Recap

Exclusive Conversation: Making the Pivot w/ Michelle Lopez

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Streetwear Essentials student Michelle Lopez is not new to the industry. As co-founder of the children’s streetwear brand The Mini Classy, she has a good idea of how the industry works. Earlier this year, Michelle decided to take her business skills to the next level and apply to be a student in the Streetwear Essentials course. After getting accepted and enrolling, she was on the road to releasing new Mini Classy gear and making some moves. A few months later, the pandemic hit and Michelle was forced to make some changes. 

While she was trying to figure how she was going to pivot into her next thing, she came up with a pretty dope idea. She talks about what she did in the live webinar we hosted, Making the Pivot on 6/14. If you want to hear more about what she did, her experience with the streetwear course and what she’s going to do next, leave your email in the box above. Once you register, we will send you the full link to the talk. Until then, you can check out some of her stuff on both The Mini Classy and MaskOn MaskOff

Now Open! The Noah Noodle Shop | Osaka, Japan

In the midst of global chaos, great things are still happening. Many brands had no idea that by the end of Q1, the world would be at a pandemic standstill. While some projects came to a screeching halt, Noah kept pushing to make the magic happen. On Saturday, June 27th, The Noah Noodle Shop opened its doors, hoping to encourage its global community that with faith and perseverance, we can overcome anything.

The creative vision for The Noodle Shop was executed by an A1 team led by Noah’s own Estelle Bailey-Babenzien, who happens to be a course contributor in the Streetwear Essentials course. Her design skill for creating the perfect aesthetic for an epic customer experience is one of a kind. The tradition of the Noodle Shop building speaks for itself and the design beautifully reflects that. The Noodle Shop was a traditional family house that functioned as a family-owned and run noodle shop for over a century. And while serving food and selling clothes doesn’t seem ideal, Noah reserved the tradition and made it happen.

In the spirit of tradition, Noah Osaka used the image of the Kibori Kuma as a symbol of its opening. The Kibori Kuma is a wood-carved bear which is a representation of the “rural artisanal tradition” in Japan. Farmers used to make these bears during the winter months for income when their business was slower. Many Japanese families have Kibori Kuma in their homes as a symbol of “the balance in nature, and the responsibility each species has for one another”. Adding the imagery of the Kibori Kuma to the opening is another ode to the tradition being displayed here. Families of the team members who worked on this project have these sculptures in their home and immediately identify with its significance, which is very telling of the Noah brand.

Being a brand is more than selling clothes and running campaigns. Noah is deeply committed to its global community and prides itself on taking its own approach to creating quality products. Instead of following existing guidelines in the fashion/streetwear industry, Noah goes above and beyond to put tradition and human dignity first and foremost. Donating portions of profits to help causes that are important to the brand, speaking on issues they believe in, and helping to amplify the voices of people and organizations important to them are just a few of the ways that make them a “responsible” brand.