Throughout the month of June Fly will be highlighting amazing ladies doing fly things in media, fashion, art and design. First up, Gabrielle Smith.
Who: Gabrielle (Gabi) Smith, founder of iamthenublack.com.
You'll dig Gabrielle/iamthenublack.com because:
Iamthenublack.com gives Black-culture another voice that sparkles with a fresh perspective. Through iamthenublack.com Gabi curates a unique collection of positive images, stories and video about and related to young people of African descent. You'll want to keep checking back for the news, fashion, and artists features.
The ladies featured this month are only required to answer one question, but Gabi shares her response to three:
1. What has been most inspiring about working on iamthenublack.com?
I think being approached by creatives, especially ones who are still in college and see thenublack as a platform to showcase their work has been an inspiration to me. Initially thenublack was a personal one month long project, and something I wish had been around when I was a design student. I've had the opportunity to not only feature some amazing people on the site and have also been supported by people who believe in what I do and that for me is something that I know has been important in the success of thenublack.
2. What is a day like running iamthenublack.com?
I work as a Motion Graphic designer so if I'm at work early I'll spend a moment doing research or finding interesting links to portfolios or articles, write them down and create posts when I get home. The great thing about where I work is that my boss is really supportive of the work I do and most of the people in my department really like my blog so whenever they come across something they think I might be interested in they'll send me a link!
3. What would be a dream project for you with iamthenublack.com?
This changes weekly, lol. I'd love to own an art gallery and house the works of some of the artists that have been featured. I'd also really like to take thenublack concept into schools as a way to inspire young people about the importance of art and culture. I was privileged to have parents who encouraged me to pursue a creative career but I know this doesn't always happen and that art isn't always seen as a serious career path in certain cultures. Hopefully I can use the site as a tool to encourage kids and show them that there are people out there who've ended up doing what they love.
Link to a fly lady you think we should know.
Since starting iamthenublack I've come across so many, I could probably have a directory! I think the fly lady I'd choose is Mahelia de Randamie who I actually knew before starting the blog (we connected when Myspace was still big, lol). She works as a community manager for a digital agency in Amsterdam but is also a writer for Vogue Black, world traveller, connector of people and much more. Mahelia is fly because she seeks out opportunities for herself instead of hoping they'll come her way. She also has a killer eye for vintage clothing!
She runs Color Bash which focuses on the versatility and beauty of wax and non-wax prints from various countries in the world that originate from Holland.
We love elements of personal style, check out a collection from Gabi's closet.
Be sure to like iamthenublack on the Facebook fan page here.
