We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah Esmahan Hamady and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah Esmahan, as a parent, what have you done for you children that you feel has had the most significant impact?
Our son has been surrounded with people from different backgrounds some of whom have lived with us and become family members. This has been beneficial as he does not regard our home and everything in it as being ours and only ours. It has opened his heart and now he feels very comfortable with people from all sorts of origins. Also, as a person who has grown up with plenty of privilege, he does not feel better than people who have less money or education, etc. He has intimately experienced the value of peop[e independent of these incidentals.

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.
It took me a long time to reconcile my academic interests with my artistic ones and also to overcome the social/emotional conditioning I had internalized. Each artist, each person, can learn how to marry the facets of themselves into a pursuit that best satisfies their true gifts/interests. It’s always possible. It just might take a heck of a lot longer than you could ever imagine. I got a PhD in philosophy during which time I all but buried my artistic instincts alive. When I graduated I broke clear out of academia and started DJing and making clothes in NYC. I was looking for truth, freedom, authenticity and happiness. I finally found it in the funk – the boundless and joyful creative spirit of African American funk music/musicians. So now I had nailed down my inspiration but, like many artists/people, I was still saddled with a lot of ego and insecurity which muddled my mind and led me to pursue deceptive, unfulfilling goals. At that time I had established my brand, HOUSE de LUX, with a store on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and was dressing celebrities. Still, I was pretending to be someone I wasn’t. I ended up shutting down the store and the business.. Some unmanageably difficult life experiences followed that and at, my husband’s behest, I began to pray and to get to know God. My life began to be restored and I understood that happiness is incompatible with a life focused on oneself. With more humility and with the goal to bless others while I do what I was born to do, I slowly recommenced HOUSE de LUX. 50% of the profit from the business benefits the Angel Gabriel Ophanage that my husband and his brother founded in their native Kinshasa, Congo.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Big shoutout to my husband, siblings and friends who have supported and encouraged me to persevere with this endeavor. To Leslie, Chiara, Alex, Merrin, Hassania, Sabrina, Kacy, Melanie, Kate, Dev, Wilson, Hon, and everyone else who fed me perspectives that ran counter to the negative voices running in my head.

Website: www.housedelux.com

Instagram: @housedeluxcollection

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/housedeluxcollection/

Image Credits
Photos by Chiara Mecozzi (@chimatik)

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