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

Hi Destiny, as a parent, what do you feel is the most meaningful thing you’ve done for them?
As parent of of a 1 year old daughter, I know the most important thing I have done in this motherhood journey was take control over my personal mental health. As parents we cannot parent on an unhealed heart. That is how generational curses continue and/or are birthed. Being an entrepreneur alongside motherhood can be overwhelming sometimes, so I have conscious about checking myself. Doing this not only directly impacts how I take care of daughter but it teaches her how to take care of herself in the future.

What should our readers know about your business?

While working on developing new accessories for our previous marketplace, I found it very hard to develop my artistic concept into a tangible product without having to acquire high minimum order quantities or a lack of personalization in customer service from providers. I was very fond of patches and enamel pins and decided to read more into how I could bring the product production in house. Through more thorough research of my possibilities, I found that embroidery was something I could not only do at home, but could DIY the process without a lot of startup funds. So from the money made from doing Uber and Shipt, I bought my first one-needle embroidery machine and got to work! As I posted my work on social media, I started receiving testing orders from family and friends and the word started to spread. As I practiced and perfected, so was A House Called Hue the embroidery company born.

A House Called Hue creates high-quality custom embroidered patches and apparel to help elevate small businesses branding and product offerings. Our position in the customized apparel industry is important because we offer these services to businesses who cannot afford to access them overseas, totally currently over 200 companies. With our high-quality product and low minimums, we give businesses the avenue to start, or scale their products or marketing materials without having to break the bank. Our quality makes us the best in our class along with our mission of promoting the companies we make products for, with their permission, of course, to continue the circulation of small business, mostly black and minority, in the community, thus making our process full circle.

The most recent challenge I have encountered in my business was unexpectedly having my first child. During Quarter 4 in 2019, I went into early labor in November and was blessed with a beautiful daughter. If being a black pregnant woman in America wasn’t scary enough, my daughter was premature and we had both had to stay at the hospital for a week while I recovered from extremely high blood pressure, placing a huge damper on my business going into 2020. Being a black business woman owner, this unexpected change takes a toll on customer retention, service and the ability to bounce back after maternity leave which carried over longer than expected and I could not reopen until March of 2020. I had to refund over $1k in sales and shut down, to not only still send out pending orders but recover from unprepared loss of income. What helped me overcome and position myself into the most rewarding Quarter 1 of 2020 was my innate ability to multitask. Being a female business owner and now mom, I developed new production schedules and strategies that allowed me to not only recover financially but set myself up to scale this year with my daughter and husband in tow. In the first 3 quarters of 2020 I was able to not only quadruple my revenue from last year but also add on machinery to increase productivity.

My grandfather inspired my business. I grew up watching my grandfather hustle and working with the family businesses; from parking cars, to selling and making Easter baskets to selling T-shirts and this is something that everyone in my family helped do while growing up. So it was in my bones to be an entrepreneur, except my goal was just to do it successfully as my permanent 9 to 5. I live with the mantra, Faith without works is dead. This personal motto, revised from James 2: 14-26 from the King James Bible, inspires me because I choose to move on faith but always place action behind my faith. I want to make myself available and ready for all blessings that are for me and my family.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Favorite spots in the city is Ponce City Market, definitely to check out The Village Market Retail and Bar Vegan.

If we are in the mood for walking then we head to the belt line by Krog Street Market and grab food and a beer and walk down to either Tap Room and Hawkers or the other direct towards Ponce City Market to past the parks and pop up shops.

Last but not least we can head to Little Five for shopping and end on Peters Street or Edgewood for drinks. 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 dedicate my shoutout to my friend Tribe! Shanti, Stesha, Amber, Imani and Olivia to name a few.

Website: www.ahousecalledhue.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/ahousecalledhue

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a-house-called-hue

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ahousecalledhue

Image Credits
Jeans – @mskaimichelle

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.