Meet Ayana Ames | Founder & Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ayana Ames and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ayana, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I welcome risk, or rather taking a chance. I do, however, analyze how much risk is involved, the type of risk, and if there will be a benefit in whatever outcome. However, at the end of the day, I have taken an number of leaps of faith and continue to do so. I find that taking a chance in life or in a career is the only way to grow and to get out of a comfort zone.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I own and operate a men’s clothing brand called Am.A-line Collections focusing on versatile and layerable styles. I began the brand’s journey with custom, made-to-measure clothing and officially moved into manufacturing, as well as incorporating, in 2019. Our first collection launched Spring 2020, just at the beginning of COVID. As we all know, 2020 was a great (heavy sarcasm) year. In reality, though, for launching our first collection that spring, it did turn out to be a good year for us; and, I’m proud of how the year ended. There were a lot of challenges, but they taught me how to pivot and stay focused to my purpose. There’s a lot to be proud of, but I’m more excited about what’s to come. I think the brand is starting to hit a stride in what we’re offering, as well as the voice and mission we want everyone to recognize.

I will say that getting to this point thus far has been a lot of ups and downs. Every day is a chance to learn something new and implement what’s been learned. I’ve had the fortune of working for and running a number of companies in a few different industries, which taught me a lot of my business savvy. Thanks to those experiences, I’ve been able to maneuver the challenges I’ve faced in starting, running, and sustaining Am.A-line. In each challenge, the people I have met have brought something to the table to help me overcome my challenge, whether it was a mental or physical one. It truly does pay off to know good people and have people in your corner.

My biggest challenge and the biggest lesson I’ve learned, is once you take the leap of faith, you have to sustain that faith while working and remove all fear from your internal and external environment. Trusting in the process and staying on the path you’re on is the most challenging, especially when you aren’t seeing the return as quickly as you’d like. But knowing that the timing you have is different than what’s meant for you, has really helped me keep things in perspective.

In that vein, by understanding timing also comes understanding and embracing one’s self. That’s what I would like for people to take in about my brand. Our mission is to provide clothing that speaks to our essence and brings about more confident, bold, and comfortable individuals that will impact not only their local communities, but the global community as well.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Being that I’m based in Cincinnati, and not a native, I would take my best friend to quite a few places I find enjoyable around the city. Restaurants I would take them to would include: Leyla Mediterranean, Royce, Sacred Beast, and Pho Lang Thang; Lounges/bars: Somerset, Ghostbaby, and the Hearth Room. My top 5 places to visit and hang out would be: Cincinnati Art Museum, East Fork Lake trails, the Roebling Bridge/Smale Park, Krohn’s Conservatory, and Ault Park.

There are a lot of things, just about every weekend, to do in the city from March until October.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
For my shoutout, I have to thank a number of people for their support, mentorship, and encouragement. But first, I have to thank God for bringing me to where I am today and where I will be next. I have been blessed to meet and have encounters with some amazing people over the last few years that have influenced me and taught me so much.

Shoutout to: Mercedes Gonzalez, Myra Wallace-Walker, Sanserrae Frazier, Brian Taylor, Paula Robinson, my family and friends. Without all of your support, encouragement, feedback, and more I’m not sure where I would be. Thank you.

Website: https://amalinecollections.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/amalinecollections

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/am-a-line-collections

Facebook: https://facebook.com/amalinecollections

Image Credits
All photos shot by me: Ayana M Ames