I started Mocha Design Studio back in 2016. At the time I was living in a dingy apartment in San Diego, fresh out of the corporate world and eager to create opportunities for myself. I’d just quit working a marketing job at a small non-profit (which at the time was pretty much my only lifeline) because they were planning on hiring someone (to take a portion of my workload) and pay them nearly 2x what they were paying me. It was such a huge blow that I quit within 24 hours of the announcement and never looked back.
I bottled up all of the frustration and launched a bunch of e-commerce stores trying to prove to myself that I could be successful all on my own. Mocha Design Studio, an extension of my original Melanin Magic brand, was my very first store. I took the couple of dollars I had left, took a deep breath and launched apparel products from my original line. I had sales the next day. And by the end of the month, I’d earned more than my last 2 paychecks.
And ever since then, it’s been one hell of a ride. Being a serial entrepreneur and managing multiple businesses often meant that Mocha Design Studio didn’t get as much love as it could have. And even with everything going on, 3 years later Mocha Design Studio is still going strong. Here’s a short recap of the past few years:
We’ve experienced and seen so much and I’m eternally grateful for all the support, opportunities and recognition we’ve seen over the years. I’m so excited for the future of this brand and to see where the coming years take us. Happy Anniversary @MochaDesignStudio
Celebrating melanin, black women and black culture through apparel.
