Meet Brenda DuBois | Fashion Designer

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

Hi Brenda, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
My favorite affirmation at the moment, and for the past three years, would have to be “everything will go smoothly as long as my interest comes first”. I’ve applied this mainly to the way I value time and situations that present themselves to me. Coming out of high school, I decided that as long as I got my degree I didn’t care about high grades or friends. Initially I thought this was the reason my life became so much more enjoyable; when in reality everything was enjoyable because I put what I wanted first, then made time for everything else; made myself THE priority and all time, as a whole, my free time. When I applied for college, I made sure I applied to the school and major I wanted, no other options mattered in the end. As a result, I was in a comfortable environment and got courses I actually enjoyed. School work used to be overwhelming for me. It seemed as though there was only one way things are done; with art based courses I could really sit down and put my all into my work, and receive positive feedback. Often I’d find myself finishing assignments weeks before they were due. My professors encouraged my absence from class until the next assignment would be given, which gave me more leisure time.

This affirmation also helped me in putting myself out to the public as a multi-creative. Before putting my interest first, I didn’t have time to focus on actual outfits to wear. I knew I had a love for fashion but I had not previously shown it; therefore, I made sure when I left my room I looked the way I wanted to be seen, never less. I started getting lots of compliments on my looks, and of course compliments are nice, but even better, I was now getting clients to do hair for and asked to participate in fashion events and commissions. With this steady priority of myself, I was able to branch out and join different organizations on campus and make room for new friends. By the end of freshman year alone, I was in a completely new spirit making a steady 4.0 GPA (even though in high school I struggled to maintain a 3.5 GPA), became part of the Graphic Design and Event Planning heads in my orgs, making money doing what I love, and making valued friendships. And despite the pandemic, I’m still able to maintain constant achievements for myself. Each time I remember to follow my affirmation, I’m able to push through tough spots, down times, and anything else thrown at me.

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.
As a creative I cant be placed into one box. I love to do fashion, physical art mediums, digital art, video editing, vlogging, music, etc. I think that’s the most frustrating yet beautiful thing about me. When someone asks me “what is it you do”, I cant choose one aspect of me but I also cant keep you all day to explain them all. My biggest challenge in life was overcoming the idea that I could only do one thing. Just about everyone that was around me seemed okay with the idea of doing one thing forever. But logically, people don’t like just one thing in life. And some might be able to overlook that, but I cant and wont. This does make it hard to keep track of everything and find a balancing point, but I don’t consider things I enjoy to be challenging in a negative aspect; I find it exciting trying to squeeze the things I love to do into a schedule, I don’t enjoy inactivity, so scrambling from time to time is comforting. I’ve, as a result, learned that taking a m.i.a from social medias doesn’t equal inactivity, but revisions are necessary and appreciated in the end, and still count as work. Having that said I think that’s what I would like people to understand about my brand and story; I’ve always had an over active mind and things will always be changing for the better with my brand and things I involve myself in, expect changes from me to be exciting each time they occur.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have an obsession with bubble tea, so the first thing on the list would be Boba! Anyone with taste wouldn’t refuse it. In all honesty I’m a homebody I don’t go out too often but if I were to go out I love arcade like scenes, therefore our next stops would be places like Dave and Busters or Main Event. We could also go to some active places like Skyzone, laser tag or indoor rock climbing. Or, we could go to some interactive museums. Assuming we’d be driving to all of these spots music is a must! The playlist has to have artist like SZA, J Cole, Colde, Syd; all music categories allowed (except country sorry, but just no..), no exceptions. Everyone has to sing, I don’t write the rules. I have a competitive nature, so inevitably at some point in the trip we’d be involved in serval completive games: Badminton, cards, video games, volleyball, basketball, etc. We’d eat out a few times, but I believe meals made with friends are more enjoyable; so there’d me multiple store runs to raid the shelves. Every night would end with us making cringe, but fun, TikToks and having movie marathons. Departure would be sad but there’s always the next time meet up!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
– I’d like to dedicate this to my family and chosen family, they’ve always encouraged me to focus on me, and although it took some time to get there, I appreciate them planting that idea of self preservation and priority into my mind until I was actually ready to take the time to apply it.

Website: https://www.instagram.com/bdubzcommunity/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ba.dub/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/badubzz

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8GEYmpowPdEpKvZWP-Prvw

Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@badubzz Depop: https://www.depop.com/badubzz/

Image Credits
all images by B DuBzz (@ba.dub on instagram)