Meet Yumi Lee | Creative Director | Streetwear Brand Owner

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

Hi Yumi, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I developed a love for fashion as a high school student after discovering Jenn Im, aka clothesencounters on Youtube. She inspired me to develop my personal style and I was introduced to the world of fashion from there. As senior year rolled around and the time to start thinking seriously about what we wanted to pursue in college set in, I kind of just made up my mind on a whim that I wanted to be a fashion marketing manager although I knew nothing about marketing. I just thought it would be cool to learn about consumer insights and how to appeal to people, so I declared marketing as my major once I entered college.

During my first semester, I learned that UGA had a fashion merchandising program and I decided that I wanted to be more specific and concentrated in my studies (this I would later learn though probably limited me more than it helped me), so I switched my major. As I dove into my studies, I didn’t have a specific career goal I was working towards. All I knew was that I wanted to do something in fashion, and with it being such a broad realm, my plan was to just try out different things and see what resonated with me.

I landed my first internship in visual merchandising at a boutique in my junior year. After graduating, I began a role at Nordstrom in the same field and moved out to Nashville in August 2019. Visual merchandising, however, wasn’t what I expected it to be and I didn’t find meaning and fulfillment in it. There were so many other areas in the fashion industry that I was eager to explore, but I had trouble receiving opportunities. I didn’t realize the fashion industry was so competitive and I quickly became discouraged. I also felt like the odd one out because I still didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do while it seemed that everyone around me already had everything figured out. On top of that, a love for mental health and helping people grew as I found myself truly being fulfilled by those and not with what I was doing in fashion so far – this was the start of my quarter-life crisis. On one hand, I had this love for fashion, and on the other, an even deeper love for helping others, especially those who are hurting and struggling. These two things seemed to be on two opposite ends of the spectrum and I had trouble reconciling them. All I knew was that whatever I would end up doing in life, I wanted it to involve both of these things; I just didn’t know what it would look like.

Am I even meant to do something in fashion? Did I just waste four years of college for nothing? Should I go back to school and study to become a therapist? What is my calling? Will I ever find it? These questions flooded my mind and I began feeling very lost, restless, and behind in life. I just wanted to find my passion and purpose.

During this time, I started getting into graphic t-shirts and especially liked ones with little messages and phrasing on them. I also liked how a graphic itself can express a message and the idea that graphic clothing serves a different impact compared to clothing without any graphic design; it’s a deeper form of self-expression. I stumbled upon a sweatshirt that had “empathy” written on it that became very popular and it intrigued me that there were brands that expressed these ideas that I myself, was always passionate about, through their products and that it resonated with people.

In January 2020, during a visit back home to Georgia, I attended a church service. During the sermon, which wasn’t related to anything career or calling-related, I had a random thought to start a clothing line with graphic tees and such. It’s an extreme example, but the thought that crossed my mind was this: we cross paths with countless individuals every day and one of these people could be someone who decided that day would be his or her last. What if this person just needed one sign of hope? Imagine if they came across your shirt or hoodie that had a message that spoke right to them and it was their sign to keep going. I had a strong desire to help people like this, people who just needed encouragement and love, but it can be an emotionally taxing process. As I pondered on this idea, I realized this would be a more efficient and accessible way to help others and bring the light I desired to bring into the world. Clothing was the perfect vehicle for this because it’s not invasive and it takes only a few seconds to read someone’s shirt and be positively impacted by it. It also wouldn’t be only me who would be helping others. I knew there was a market for this as well because there were a few emerging brands that centered on similar ideas of mental health and empathy.

Excitement began to well up in me as I was starting to feel a true passion for this idea, but it was all quickly quenched as reality began to hit me. If I wanted to start a business, I would need a lot of money, which I didn’t have at the time. Now, most people wouldn’t let something like this stop them if they were truly passionate about something, but in my case, I didn’t know it was my passion or dream. I just thought it was a mere idea in my head that held no weight and I allowed my just budding seed of a dream to begin to die. I decided I wasn’t even going to try because to start a business, you need a lot of money. “I didn’t have any”. End of story.

But where there’s a will, there’s a way.

My will just wasn’t strong enough and I allowed my limiting mindset to take over as I took no action on this idea for over a year. Still stuck in my crisis, the same old story, in fear that I would never find my passion or calling, still searching for my dream. Little did I know, that my calling was already looking for me and it had found me; I just didn’t know how to answer because I didn’t recognize it. The idea of starting this brand never left my heart. After a number of conversations and a few prayers, in the spring of 2021, I decided to take a leap of faith and answer this calling without having any money or any idea on how to start a clothing brand. This time though, I didn’t let that stop me.

What should our readers know about your business?
Take a moment to reflect.

What do you place your value in? Is it your looks? Your accomplishments? Your career? Your popularity? Your relationships?

Upon reflection, did you find that you base your worth on such things? Do you ever struggle with comparison, self-doubt, self-hatred, self-judgment or insecurity? Whether knowingly or unknowingly, all of us experience or at least know someone who faces these things and for many of us, it holds us back from truly living an abundant life.

Your worth isn’t dependent on what you do, what you look like, where you come from or what your experiences have been. It’s not based on what others think of you or do to you. Your worth is found in who you are and who you are is a beautiful, precious creation of God. You’re made in His very image, with great intention and you’re unconditionally, infinitely loved. We all possess this innate worth and along with it, we also possess an innate desire for significance, love, belonging and connection.

Why we experience much of the pain and suffering we do today is because we fail to recognize the worth in ourselves and in those we encounter. We fail to recognize that each of us is worthy to be seen, heard and known. We fail to see that deep down, we’re more alike than we are different. When we don’t recognize our intrinsic value, we’re harsh towards ourselves and others, our self-esteem is unstable and we see through a distorted lens. A cycle of pain and suffering results.

This is the story of our brand: we were created with the inherent desire for love that coexists with the inherent fear and universal pain we experience when it’s not received. This pain can be alleviated if we knew and lived from this one truth – we all have inherent worth. INHRNT’s mission is to help individuals recognize the inherent worth in themselves and in each person they cross paths with, discovering the beautiful connectedness that lies within our humanity. As this is realized, we believe loneliness, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, negative thoughts and much more of the afflictions we face today will lessen as we become more confident, understanding, vulnerable, compassionate and more deeply connected with ourselves and ultimately, with each other.

We will accomplish this mission by creating high-quality, intentional, thoughtful products, content and experiences that will speak to your soul and encourage connection. Our clothing and content are meant to empower, provoke reflection and uplift people. Our belief that each person is worthy to be seen, loved and known will drive everything that we do. What makes us different from other brands is our heart behind it. We’re more than just a clothing brand; we’re a movement.

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?
I’d definitely take my friend to the beltline, spend some time at Piedmont park on a beautiful day and check out Ponce City Market. We’d visit all of the shopping, dining and entertainment districts like West Midtown, Little Five Points and Inman Park. There’s no shortage of great food in the city so we’d probably pick a spot in one of the food halls or somewhere nearby. The plethora of restaurants makes it hard to narrow down my favorites because there are just too many good spots, but have no doubt I’d only take them to places that meet my high food critic standards. *insert nervous laughing emoji* Atlanta’s coffee shop offering, on the other hand, is less overwhelming to narrow down. We’d get our caffeine fix at Dancing Goats, Chrome Yellow or East Pole. I’d also try to attend a local market, which Georgia Vintage Goods puts on some great ones!

For nightlife, one of my favorite spots is MJQ, an underground club where people actually dance like nobody’s watching. You can bet we’re also going to go to a concert for some even more dancing. One of my favorite things about Atlanta is the rich music scene; there’s a little something for everyone. My personal favorite is electronic music and I go to a show a couple of times a month. If I had to choose a favorite venue it would be the Eastern and my favorite event curator is DEF, who puts on one-of-a-kind, underground electronic music events.

I’m always on the lookout for new places to visit and things to do in the city and love sharing these experiences with others, so rest assured if you ever have me as your tour guide, you’re going to have a great time 🙂

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?
Although I’ve had a number of supporters, love and help throughout this journey, there are two people, in particular, I would like to acknowledge.

First, I would like to acknowledge God. He’s the one who gave me the vision for this brand and helped me carry it out. He’s the one who didn’t give up on calling me to this even when I denied it, whether out of fear or ignorance. The fact that I was able to accomplish launching this brand is a testament in itself because I’m a bit notorious for starting hobbies or projects and giving up halfway. It’s truly by His grace that I am able to be at this point.

He provided everything I needed. I thought I needed to have everything figured out in the beginning to start, but He showed me that all that was needed was my “yes” and a step of faith. I just needed to start with the first thing that I knew and things would begin to fall into place. The name, the mission, the vision and the brandmark are all divinely inspired. He also showed me that everything I went through in life would be for a purpose. The times when I struggled with feeling alone, unseen, unloved and unworthy were so that I could make sure that nobody else would have to go through life feeling the way I have and sometimes still do. If it weren’t for all of those trials, I wouldn’t be the person I am today and this brand wouldn’t exist.

He also showed me that while my intention is to express these ideals to the world, for others to know they are worthy, seen, and loved, to not give up and to believe in themselves, He was expressing these very sentiments to ME and making sure that I believed them as I went through this journey of creating the brand. It’s just crazy how God put all the pieces together. I’ve struggled with a lot of doubts in this journey and still do at times, but I have faith that God’s hand is on this brand and that He’s going to take it further than I could ever dream or imagine.

The other person who has made the biggest impact on my story is my best friend, Mary Han. She was the first person that I shared my ideas about the brand with. She encouraged me to just begin ideating, brainstorming and elaborating more on them. It’s something so simple and it seems like common sense, but I truly don’t think it would have happened unless someone else nudged me. After I shared some of my fleshed-out ideas, she really encouraged me in the fact that this was unique and that there was something in this. She simply encouraged me with the mindset that there’s no harm in trying and seeing where it goes.

As time went on, it became clear that this was something bigger than what we both initially thought. It wasn’t just something I was going to try out and hope worked, it was something that I was determined to make work. She began to see the divine vision for the brand, my commitment towards it and God’s hand on it. She quickly became my number one supporter, believing in it as much as I did, and sometimes even more. She helped out in a number of practical ways that I am immensely grateful for, but I am most grateful for her faith and belief in this brand and in me. This brand wouldn’t be here today without her and I am so thankful to have her right by my side during this journey as well as life itself.

Website: https://inhrnt.shop/

Instagram: business – https://www.instagram.com/inhrntworldwide/ personal – https://www.instagram.com/eelimuy/

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@inhrnt