“Don’t ask the struggle what it did to you, ask what it has done for you”
As a art fanatic, 27-years-old, Chicago, IL native Monique Atkins always had the eye and the gift of drawing and painting. But, being a designer was not always what she inspired to do. While in High School, a special guest to her art class from a local artist changed her whole perspective on how far she can really take her talents as an artist. That day, the local artist came into her art class carrying a duffle bag full of clothing that incorporated her artwork. Monique explained this as an Uh-Huh moment because it exposed her to a different approach of showcasing her artwork. She instantly connected with the artist to learn about the proper materials to purchase. This is where Monique first started painting on clothes.
Early on in High School Monique discovered her entrepreneurial gift during a high school project. It stood out to her how quick she was able to flip a box of her mother’s home made cookies from 25 cents a piece into $50. Immediately after, Monique and her twin sister started selling cookies to their peers easily flipping a box a week at 50 cent a cookie into $100. With that newly found entrepreneurial spirit Monique used her talents to then start painting on shoes and clothes. A few years later Deeply Rooted 07 was created.
“Deeply rooted is a metaphor that represents Perseverance and Hardship to overcome struggle through the vanity”
In 2010, Monique officially started her company Deeply Rooted to cope with the tragic death of her mother, whom, passed away from a massive heart attack. Monique explained;
“I had experience painting on clothes and shoes for people in college and people were always putting in special request for my artwork on their clothing so I decided to start my company Deeply Rooted. But, the passing of my mother was the whole driving force to the mission and putting a focus on the brand to overcome the struggle through the vanity”
Deeply Rooted 07 consists of special edition hand made designs that only come out as limited edition and limited in stock items twice a year, a full clothing line of unique eye catching pieces, and the new edition, the kids line co-designed by her niece and nephew name Add-A-Lesson. Which, is their unique spin to defining their children clothing playing on the word adolescent. This line caters to children that wear 2T – Early teen wear. She defined the brand using the words;
“creative because I strive to be unique and not cliché and all the pieces are conversation starters, cultural because the mission is to touch many different people of many different cultural backgrounds, spiritual because no obstacle or struggle can be won without god, and diverse because it is different”
One thing Monique continuously repeated during our conversation was how she strived to stay true to her brand and not follow trends. Monqiue explained;
“no matter what I do I always try not to fall into trends because that will make me cliché. This is why brands like True Reliqion are able to last because no matter what they did they always were able to stick to their lane. If you are going to do something trendy make sure it aligns in what your brand is”
What makes Deeply Rooted stand out from their competitors is that it is more than just a clothing line. Deeply Rooted is an enterprise of different companies that consists of Graphic Design services, Management and entertainment services, the clothing line, and a non-profit company that are all focused on growing and improving individual development of people in society. The enterprise operates with the belief of the slogan “don’t ask the struggle what it did to you, ask what it has done for you”. Their geared towards not only creating clothes to make you look and feel good. Deeply Rooted 07 is about breaking barriers and seeing the light through the struggle. From they’re weekly customer appreciation Facebook announcements, to their unique design collaborations with historical meaning this is one company we highly suggest to go support celebrate their dopiness by spreading their positive vibes. You can checkout their website at www.dr07clothing.com or follow them on Instagram @deeplyrooted07
