BTW: Linda Mendible//Fashion, Interiors, Design

Hello! Welcome to Be The Woman Blog series! I have an amazing line up of fabulous women to be featured Here on the Blog. I thought that a few of you would like to know a little more about me, the writer behind this blog ♥. I asked my baby sis to ask me a few questions. So here goes!

Name: Linda Mendible
a.k.a.:
Mi Reina from the hubbs. Ms. Linda, from acquaintances  (I have no idea why people would call me Ms. Linda?) Lin-Lin from my family especially my sister Bren-Bren 😛
Age: 29
Age at heart: 18 (A mature 18, it’s just how I feel)
Kids: 1

Current title/Company/Blog: Linda Mendible (here 😀)

Year you launched your Blog:
2014 (but I’ve been blogging for far longer, I just re-branded)

Do you feel you have a great connection with your followers and customers?

Sometimes I do. I’m always asking questions and making sure that I’m giving back what my clients, readers and friends would like me to share. It’s a give & take, I truly enjoy developing relationships, its part of the perks of growing a business and blogging really.

How do you select the materials you use?

I don’t. Seriously, almost all the materials that I have used for my own unique collections have been given to me, either by acquaintances that just happen to see my work and have a bolt of fabric laying around, to my crafting group: Empty Spools and clients!

I’m awed and touched by the support I have been given, it’s truly a blessing! It’s difficult and many times challenging to make things that I believe look beautiful. I get handed remnants scraps, etc. and it can be difficult to develop something cohesive or have enough fabric for, let’s say a dress, pants, pillows, bag etc.

When I work with clients, that’s when I get to source items and materials that I believe best fit what my clients are looking for and that I just absolutely love. I’m honored that my clients truly love my work and sometimes when I meet with them they would still carry a bag or a wallet which touches my heart unbelievably!! I get blessed that people actually love my work!

How did you feel when Redress Raleigh challenged you to create haute couture clothes and accessories out of re-purposed and up-cycled materials?

I actually applied to enter Redress Raleigh to do a full fashion and clothing collection, and at first I was turned down. I made a few samples of the proposed collection but I was just all over the place!

I love networking and I went to one of Redress’s Events which Mor (one of the ladies of Redress) had mentioned to me that I should apply again! I knew there was no guarantee, but I was already in the works to try to apply again, but it really just gave me confidence to go for it, you know?!

I didn’t make a full clothing collection, I focused my energies to make a cohesive collection of bags and accessories because at the time I was pregnant. I was extremely tired and I try to manage my time as wisely as I can, and you know what? It was a hit!

What would you say is one thing you do that refreshes you?

Prayer, talking with God. It always refreshes me.

What are your plans for the future?

I hope to have a well rounded brand. From Fashion to Interiors. Fabric is my medium and it’s universal!

What was your first ‘I’m a Grown Up’ experience?

To be honest, while I was pregnant and when I became a mom.

Take us through your day. How does a normal day for, Linda Mendible look like and how do you usually end it?

6/7am – I wake up when the baby wakes up, I do a short prayer and head over to spend quiet time in the room feeding my baby boy. We then go to the living room where I put him in his play area. I make my self a good ol’ cup of joe, put on some praise or worship music and then 15min later I’m cooking my lil guy his breakfast.
7am/8am – I put on the WORD and start feeding my baby boy. I play with him in his play area, we chase each other around. It’s too adorable!
9/10am – I’m cooking Lunch and Dinner.
11:30/1pm – I feed baby boy his lunch and put him down for a nap. Then it’s emails, scheduling blog posts, looking at my schedule, organizing, reading other blogs and then between 2 or 4pm he’s awake for a snack and we play again, this time outside of the play area. If I have deadlines I would bring my comp to the kitchen while he’s unloading pots and pans.
5:30ish – We  welcome daddy home and I then go to my home studio while daddy plays with him, feeds him dinner, takes our lil guy a bath and prepares him for bedtime. My hubby is amazing!
7:30pm – The lil guy is off to bed, he’s the cutest.
8pm – I spend time with the hubby we’re usually cleaning and getting ready for the next day.
10pm – I’m in my home studio, trying to finish up what ever I can before sleep catches me.

What has been a highlight?

When I went to Charlotte, NC to work with The T.Z. Studio. We did a mini video clip of my proposed Spring 2015 Fashion Collection to Debut this November the 22nd!

If you’re local come to the show and say hi! They’re currently selling tickets at: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/ascension-2014-tickets-12884737597  and VIP get’s Swag bags! I love me some swag.

Working on the garments and just seeing the results really put my efforts into perspective. It’s hard when you know God has given you talent but people have yet to see it and you can get discouraged. So for anyone out there that’s just starting off don’t give up. It’s hard at first and you maybe turned down, but if you truly have passion God will open the right doors, there just maybe somethings He’s working out first within you.

What has been a lowlight and how did you bounce back?

The first time I turned down a client who I was already in the beginning stages of my custom bag process. They were super excited to work with me and had plans to highlight what I was getting ready to make them. I had to make an executive decision. 1. I was actually not going to make a single dime off of what I was making, not that it’s my motivator but it was a factor especially since I just became a mom and it put more stress on my well being, family and life. At the time I didn’t know how to price for wholesale it was going to be my first “wholesale” client. 2. I just had an accident and my ankle was hurt bad. 3. I was now a mom and time was and is more precious to me then ever before.

I prayed hard for direction and I had this huge weight on my back. It was the first time I was a mom and I didn’t expect what actually came with motherhood. I had to learn quickly how to adjust to this new person I had become.

I made the best decision, for me and my family, that I could which was, I had to decline the project. I put my very best foot forward and I gave them a full refund, a pattern so they may hire someone else to complete the project saving them time and one of my AMAZING bags (seriously this was one of my favorite bags).

I never like for anyone to work with me to feel as though I don’t care, because I truly, with all my heart care and I know how much of a blessing it is for someone to hire me or buy any one of my products. I learned a valuable lesson, one that I will not ever forget and that alone has me bouncing back.

What was the inspiration behind your blog design?

Sleek, professional and something people would like to comeback to.

What do you want readers to get from your blog?

Truly, I want readers to get excited about design and also know that with all that I’ve been through in my past and where I’m currently at that if you follow your heart, God will make a way. I don’t ever believe that God places empty dreams in our hearts. I truly believe that what ever dream anyone has in their hearts, God placed it there. And if God placed it there, then He’s made a way.

What lessons have you learned, through blogging, being a mom,while also pursuing your dreams?

To be myself no matter what. To be honest and to pour my heart everywhere and every chance I get.

What do you tell yourself that keeps you motivated?

God is Real. I remind myself of where He’s taken me out from.

Favorite Lipstick color?

Red, but I love a barbie pink! I know!

Coffee or Tea?

Coffee!

Can you share your testimony?

Jesus saved me. You can actually read my testimony Here: https://lindamendible.com/my-testimony/

I always have it available just in case.

Finish the sentence, Be the woman…be the woman you want to be.

 Photo Credit: Doug Pietrowski

Be The Woman, #BTW – Is a new Feature Blogger & Amazing Women Series here on the Blog! Which I’m so excited about . I love reading about amazing women and God truly placed in my heart to start this series! I hope you enjoy. By the way I asked my lovely baby sister to ask me these interview questions ♥

 

Ciao, XOXO

 

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