Meet Chae Gardenhire: Apparel Entrepreneur and Mental Health Therapist

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

Hi Chae, every day, we hear about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Chaespirations, LLC was created during the quarantine of the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020; however, the idea of the apparel line originated in 2018. I have been a writer for many years (writing in the early 2000’s for Rolling Out and Upscale Magazines) and became a Mental Health Therapist helping clients acheive mental wellness for the last 10 years. I have always loved the magic of words and created original quote designs to advocate for YOU through the practice of self-LOVE, self-VALUE, and self-AWARENESS. Chaespirations inspires through WORDS.PHRASES.CONCEPTS. WORDS because they carry Power, PHRASES because they multiply Power, and CONCEPTS because they execute a Powerful Plan. Each quote is thought-provoking and is originally designed to enlighten and uplift!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker where I serve Palliative Care patients and Mental Health clients. I began this career path in 2005 as I became a Social Work graduate student at the University of Georgia in Athens. Upon graduation in 2008, I entered my first job post grad-school as a Hospice Social Worker. Serving hospice patients and families for 10 years in Hospice, I learned how to appreciate life and respect the transition to eternity. As I reflect on my path of obtaining my Bachelor’s degree to earning my Masters in Social Work, it was a journey that I don’t take for granted. I perservered through divorce, becoming a single mother, and navigating a new career thus growing personally and professionally along the way. My purpose and my calling is to inspire change within my clients and society as a whole. As a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and carrying out the Physical and Mental Health component of the sorority’s 5-Point Programmatic Thrust , my desire is to be the catalyst to influence change within my family circle, Sistafriends, and underserved populations.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Some of the favs for me in Atlanta and the metro areas are: Hiking Stone Mountain, Visiting the Botanical Gardens, Shopping at the Mall of Georgia, The Avalon and the Premium Outlets. My other must do’s would be to dine at Mimi’s Cafe for breakfast, a light lunch at Marietta Fish Market and dinner at Ray’s at Killer Creek in Alpharetta. For some local shopping, I love Little Five Points and Ponce City Market. For the summer season, City Winery is a lovely place to catch a concert and music sounds. Atlanta has amazing diversity where you can create fun through nature, music, or sampling various wines at the regal Chateau Elan.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Yaassss! I give credit to my husband, Marvin and our blended family of 5 children. They inspire me to keep moving forward! As I shared my apparel idea with them in the beginning phases, it was constant encouragement and support to share my original designs. My husband and son, Josh even added their spin on a couple of quotes for “The Man Series” and they sport their Chaespirations apparel proudly! I have also received phenomenal support from my mom, sisters, nieces, cousins, 44 Degrees of Delta linesisters, Sorors and Sistafriends. I am truly grateful and appreciative as this has been such a fulfilling passion for me and I have been embraced by so many!

Website: www.chaespirations.com
Instagram: @chaespirations
Linkedin: Chalene Gardenhire, LCSW
Facebook: Chaespirations, LLC

Image Credits
No Image Credits Needed