Meet Cierra Boyd | Sustainable fashion designer

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

Hi Cierra, is there something you believe many others might not?
One piece of conventional advice that I disagree with is that “it’s all about who you know”. I don’t necessarily agree with this because I personally haven’t found success through who I know, most people who enjoy my designs tend to reach out to me. I think it’s about having a talent and putting it on your platform and letting it flourish from there. I think it’s important to meet people through that but, I don’t think that success or failure depends on who you know. At the end of the day it’s going to be all about who knows you.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My name is Cierra Boyd and I am a 25-year-old, self-taught fashion designer born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Growing up, style was always very important to me, so I began my fashion journey in high school working in retail. That lead me to Ohio University to pursue a degree in retail merchandising and fashion product development.

My school didn’t have a design program so I never received any formal design training, but my dad taught me the basics of sewing when I was a kid. When I got older, I taught myself everything I know about fashion design from studying YouTube videos. After graduating in 2017, I was so overwhelmed with the post-grad blues because I had such a hard time finding employment. I desperately needed a creative outlet with purpose to express myself. My dream was to become a fashion designer and own my own clothing line. The only thing that was holding me back was figuring out a name for my business.

Then it hit me, FRISKMEGOOD. I had already been using FMG as my social media tag since starting my Instagram. I got the name from listening to a Rihanna song called “Rockstar 101.” The lyrics say, “Make sure you frisk me good, check my panties and my bra.” When I realized my brand identity had been right under my nose the entire time, that’s when FRISKMEGOOD™ was born.

My mission was to express my personal style while staying true to goal of sustainability. With limited funds and resources, I had no choice but to work with things that already existed to create something new. This challenged me to be more innovative, which helped me create one-of-a-kind pieces that were more valuable because they were unique in themselves.

The biggest lesson that I’ve learned is to never give up and if you work hard at something everyday, eventually you can manifest everything you dreamed of. Follow the signs and embrace the sacrifices that come with it and it will ultimately lead to success.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
In Ohio my favorite thing to do is go camping. One of the best camping sites is at put in bay. They have tons of fun stuff to do like salt caves, parasailing, and a board walk with restaurants and bars. There’s also a dope thrift store scene in Cleveland at flower child vintage, future no future, and value world.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to shout out the Patton college of education at Ohio University which is my alma mater and a special shout out to dean Renee Middleton, who supported me and encouraged me to flourish before I even had my clothing line or a platform. They believed in me and rooted for me before I even knew what path I was going to take. So for that foundation they gave me, I am so appreciative.

Website: https://www.friskmegood.com

Instagram: @friskmegood

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cierra-boyd-65011479

Twitter: @friskmegoodinc_

Facebook: Facebook.com/friskmegood

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCqb9Is46-dHHc4afw3TIXbQ

Image Credits
@pompeeraw @galvinmason @junelsantana