Black Paper + Cloth is a community and retail space that evolved from my personal love of fashion, defining a way of dressing that exudes confidence, style and a place of belonging to live beautifully and be beautiful! My vision and purpose for creating Black Paper + Cloth, was not to just build a brand and retail space that curates beautiful clothes, shoes, accessories and objects that belong in one’s wardrobe, collection or home. Rather, a space for me as a creative visionary, artist, designer and educator to connect the stories told through fashion and art as a way of understanding who we are and the world we live in. Illuminating awareness on what it means to live with style.
As a child growing up during the 1970s, I considered myself quite fashionable. I remember how much I loved wearing bell bottom trousers, clogs, tailored dresses, blazers; wearing separates and suits that were well constructed with bold prints, chic plaids and fabrics that defined durability like cotton, corduroy and the infamous polyester. My earliest recollection of defining my style was as a five year old who had a keen sense of what I wanted to wear (of course inspired by a very fashionable mother) and articulated that vision in my requests (and guided selection) for the clothes that would collect in my chifferobe then. I also remember how visits to my grandmother were increasing with greater frequency and how uncomfortable I was with that. Not that I didn’t love going to my grandmother’s house (which I did) but it was usually once every week or two for a few hours. However, it became everyday and all day during school breaks. Especially after the divorce of my mother and father, forcing my mom to go to work and needing my grandmother to babysit my younger sister who was a baby and five year old me. I felt this new shift was quite a disruption to my personal schedule. I was not in my home with my items to keep me engaged as I created my play experiences that would transport me wherever my imagination would take me. I was now at Mother Gussie’s (what she had all of her grandchildren call her) and surrounded by beautiful, but not child-friendly furniture and whatknots, followed by lots of reminders of what I could not do or touch. Perhaps Mother Gussie sensed my boredom, because there was something that she introduced to me that sparked my creativity and engaged my interest…sewing.
My grandmother was a self-taught designer and tailor who left Birmingham, Alabama when she was just 15 years old during the early 1930’s to relocate to New Jersey for a change of environment and better employment options. She worked in a variety of places in New York and New Jersey that would allow a Black single (childless) woman to work at the time. Though the options were often socially prescribed and menial in tasks, my grandmother was still quite particular, not desiring to work in someone’s home as a maid or nanny. She instead worked in factories and hospitals. My most memorable story she would tell me was her employment in a garment factory in New York. She was hired to sew bra cups, yet did not even know how to use the industrial sewing machines. She told me that when she was asked if she’s ever done work like this, her reply was “yes” (though she had not) because she knew how to sew, but needed the job. She was hired on the spot. The foreman then took my grandmother to her place on the production floor, told her what needed to be completed and the quantity, then left. My grandmother, having no experience with an industrial sewing machine, observed what the other women were doing and trained herself. She also shared that sometimes after her work days, she would often find fabric remnants (the pieces that would be discarded) to make clothes, using the machines to sew garments until she saved enough money to purchase her own Pfaff sewing machine. During her time in the garment factories, my grandmother observed how to design, create croquis and construct garments for herself then later for her four daughters.
By the time I entered the world for Mother Gussie to become my grandmother, she had long since left the workforce and started her own tailoring business. She was my first example of entrepreneurship that I recall, aside from my own mother. She would let me select remnants of fabric from her incredibly large collection (including patterns, notions, etc.) to create with. She showed me how to design what I desired, how to sketch out my idea, create the pattern, select the supplies, cut the fabric, thread a needle and hand-sew. It was at that moment, Mother Gussie unlocked something powerful, the power of creativity and the ability to create what did not exist…yet. So what did the five year old me create? Toys! I created puppets, stuffed dolls, and doll clothes. Oh it was AMAZING! It was during those many years of spending time with my grandmother where I learned the most from her about clothing design and building a business from what you enjoy doing; watching how she organized her business, her engagement with clients, her brick-and-mortar store launch and the closing of it, the opportunities she created, yet the challenges of business and the lessons she (and I) learned.
My interest in sewing evolved from creating toys and doll clothes to creating clothes for myself at 12 years of age. Mother Gussie gave me my first sewing machine at 14 as a birthday gift. Oh my, I was in heaven and would endlessly sew mostly all of my clothes. I wore everything I made. I created mood boards, created fashion journals from my favorite fashion magazine (Vogue) and was fashion forecasting before I was even aware of it in the fashion design world. I became the vanguard of how I defined what was fashionable and chic; and was extremely admired for my sense of style. In fact, my early business venture as a teen was doing commissioned work sewing clothes for my then clients. It was quite a lucrative venture…that I hated. I could not stand sewing for others. Primarily because some of my clients were incredibly picky and oftentimes did not want to pay what I charged. Not to mention, the additional time I would have to allot that conflicted with the time I needed to construct my own clothes, run my piano tutoring business, babysitting business while managing my high school and college class schedules. However, I still accepted the work. After all, the additional funds were helpful and my clients were pleased. Though I really loved fashion, sewing from patterns by my favorite designers (thanks to Vogue Patterns), creating my own design originals, having access to wearing exceptionally well made clothes and my early entrepreneurial venture in fashion, I never really envisioned myself doing fashion full-time. I studied to be an educator and not just to become an amazing educator (which I was/am), but one that was incredibly well-dressed. Primarily, due to my observation of the teachers I had encountered and noticed that there was a shortage of well-dressed teachers in this profession. I wanted to change that optic.
As time moved forward I advanced in my chosen profession, while continuing my then clothing business on the side. It would be 30 years later that the seeds planted throughout my fashion entrepreneurial journey would come into manifestation. It was 2016. I resigned in my role as Divisional Director/Dean of Students at an extremely exceptional, high ranked public school in Chicago and moved into educational consulting with a highly recognized non-profit organization. I wasn’t designing, creating or sewing much…not at all really. By this time I was 11 years into my marriage with a then four year old, and life was incredibly busy as my attention was focused on raising an amazing child. Then March 2020. The world stopped. We all were forced to pause, reflect and pivot into a new normal without any real foresight to an end of the COVID-19 pandemic. I was a few months away from my 50th birthday and thinking about my future, remapping what my retirement plan would be (in another 12-15 years of course). Before COVID, I knew I wanted to launch a fashion retail business in the future and listed ways that I should be preparing over the course of years for such. However, when the pandemic hit, it forced me to utilize the opportunity to reconsider my future plans and reconnect in a more meaningful, yet pragmatic way to my love of fashion and how that love can translate into a business in the present moment.
Not at all desiring to go back to my former business model in making clothes for private clients, I began exploring ways of connecting a need and engaging people with a solution to that need, while employing all of my experiences in education, operations, leadership, management, program design, development and strategic planning, while coupling it with creativity, art and fashion into building a business. Hence by combining both my love for education and fashion, Black Paper + Cloth, was born with the basic mission of creating beautiful, engaging spaces and experiences. Experiences that allow individuals to feel good about themselves, included and valued, as they realize their phenomenal potentials while becoming their best selves through style.
I was totally excited and began to journal my ideas. I would write out my vision, change the vision, think of a name…a good one. What did I want to offer? How? To whom? So many ideas filled my brain and with those ideas so many questions and the truthful realization that I did not know at all what I was doing, where to begin and how in this new landscape…Social Media…what I perceived as an ominous and just intimidating industry that I really did not wish to operate or participate in. My mind raced. I was doing a lot of research on building a brand, how to become an “influencer”, about creating an online business, drop-shipping, how to gain “followers”, securing brand deals, affiliate marketing, etc. This landscape was daunting and I was just trying to figure it out and better still, navigate how to use it for my business purposes. There were specific influencers-turned-product developers that I followed and admired for years, enjoying their style, focus and polished delivery, but not necessarily wanting to replicate their platform. Rather, gathering ideas on ways to stand out in an already crowded field of fashion influencers and online clothing retailers. Continually asking myself what would make my brand and business stand out? So I started at ground zero and went to my younger sister, who launched her now successful business 11 years ago, for consultation on this entire process. She was extremely helpful in navigating this new venture, especially in overcoming my apprehensions with social media beyond FaceBook and Instagram.
I started my blog first, blackpaperandcloth.com, just to create an online presence to get myself used to the idea of eventually being “visible” in this space beyond family and friends. The focus was simple, sharing my love of fashion, decor, style suggestions, and lifestyle inspiration. My sister was quite encouraging and proud of my new endeavor. However, she asked me a question that gave me pause, “…How do you plan to monetize this joy project?” My response was simple, “I’m not sure.” She began to help me think through my great idea from the perspective of a business owner in this exciting E-Commerce landscape. What a learning curve this was for me. From learning how to apply for a business license, to creating a business plan, the legal aspects, applying for an LLC, navigating the taxes, etc. The blog became my launching pad into a plan to open my online store and try the dropshipping model. The concept seemed simple and full proof, yet exciting as I researched the platform through which I would open my shop and launch shopblackpaperandcloth.com. I selected Shopify as the platform and this was even more of a huge learning curve, as I was learning in real time the “back office” functions associated with my store, acquiring new skills along the way.
After a year in operating my online store through dropshipping, I discovered that the intent of the dropship model “worked” as my start into this industry, however, resolved that it would not be something I would continue. I really needed to control the quality of what I wanted to sell and spent way too much money on hits and misses to test for quality before selling it to my customer. Hence adjusting my focus into both producing and physically sourcing my products, thereby ensuring the quality of the items I am curating to sell.
Though this business is small, it is progressively growing. Not so much in scale and volume…yet, but in ways that fast growth can cause one to miss small wins and big challenges. It is in welcoming and appreciating this slow growth where I find joy in developing the creative vision, which has tapped into my past career experiences in administrative leadership, management, teaching, career trainer, motivational coach, consultant, product development, project management, operations, customer service/relations, digital content creation, human resources, product sourcing, accounting, legal, networking, event planning, fund-raising and relationship building, while expanding into newer responsibilities and learnings. However, at the heart of it all, creating and being the type of company that I have always envisioned since my youth. A company where the philosophy and the environment centers around style, kindness, being supportive, encouraging; creating and being inclusive spaces of belonging, where my team feels inspired, comfortable, confident, invited; celebrated for their insight, skills, experiences, diverse identities and personalities. A culture of behaviors that I have consistently practiced in both my professional and personal life.
I am really enjoying the operational aspects of my small business, but my heart is in the creative design process. As a Black woman in my early 50’s, where I have had to adjust and re-curate my own personal clothing collection to meet the shifting needs my physical body is requiring (looser fit, more comfortable, breathable natural fabrics), I know I am not alone as I hear from many other women expressing similar needs. Both clients and those in my personal circle of individuals over 45. They want beautiful clothes that are well-fitting (particularly for curvy bodies), comfortable, age-appropriate and at the core stylish. My goal for the next phase of my business is to meet this need by creating a wardrobe essentials line with a minimal aesthetic producing the “perfect” jeans, shirt, knitwear, and jacket in diverse sizes that are chic and embodies an effortless, relaxed style. Currently, I am sourcing jeans from resale and vintage shops and reconstructing them. I am also collecting amazing houseware objects, curating from my personal fashion collection, sewing and knitting items that are being sold in my shop or featured in my videos and reels on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
There have been so many people that I have been inspired by and thankful for their support on this journey. The many individuals who have loved what I created and encouraged me for decades to start a business, including my family, first customers, new customers and frequent customers. However, I wish to share a special acknowledgements and homage to two very important people who have made me who I am today – my grandmother, Mother Gussie and my mom Dorothy Swope. Mother Gussie, left this world some 23 years ago, yet she was an amazing example of faith, risk taking, entrepreneurism and style. My mother is an amazing woman. She is a retired K-8 educator, style icon and serial entrepreneur who has never been afraid of taking risks, setting superior expectations, creating environments centered around faith, kindness and belonging; celebrating successes, leaning in and learning from failures; yet always motivating, encouraging and exuding confidence. She taught my sister and me to be visionaries, to set goals and achieve those goals. Though our mother (now 78) suffered a stroke in April 2020 and is bedridden in a nursing home since, she continues to inspire my sister and me to strive for excellence, to be persistent and create opportunities. Never being hindered, distracted or discouraged by “No’s”, “Can’t do” or limitations imposed by circumstances or by others. Rather, using challenges and obstacles as our motivation, encouragement and propellant that will always lead to newer ideas, direction and other opportunities.
Who is the woman (or women) in your life that motivated you, encouraged you and pushed you to think beyond the boundaries of limitations? Who is that woman that you aspire to be? Take time to envision them, pause, reflect and honor them.
Be inspired. Be empowered. Be fabulous!
Felicia
Felicia Clotworthy Collective 
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