Power Up with ArtOfficial Intelligence

"Just as imagination is the key to art, ArtOfficial Intelligence is the key to filling the void in the mundane, infusing creativity in the unexciting, and representing people in a fashion unseen before. We believe that image is everything, so our brand embodies just that. Our mission is to provide you with energy for your innovation and the power for your imagination." ~ AOI Mission Statement

A few weeks back I h

ad the pleasure to atten

d the launch party for an up-and-coming clothing line called ArtOfficial Intelligence in

Washington, DC

. Afterward, the founders were cool enough to give me an exclu

sive interview regarding the debut if

their company. Here's what they had to say...

NL: What is the mission of your company?

The Mission is to “Power Your Imagination….”

Through our threads we hope to inspire others to look at their lives f

orm an alternate angle. Our designs are tailored to inspire people to be creative, use their imagination, and to strive to be original not because it makes them better than others

, but because it makes them better FOR others and themselves. Like Andre 3000 so eloquently stated…”we just trying to put a little paint where it ain’t”.

NL: How did you come up with the designs for the female apparel given that you are 4 guys?!

The design ideas usually start with a brainstorming session…from there we write down all of the ideas and then go through and pick a handful that we really like…after that the design team does as many mockups between the brainstorming and our next scheduled meeting. The real magic comes from our design surveys though. For the Greek inspired clothing, we solicit responses from members of the organizations that the shirts were inspired by. For the actual line, we solicit a number of women from what we believe to be our target demographic to complete our design surveys.

NL: How did the four of you meet and when was the concept of AOI born?

Well, all of us went to North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, NC. But I‘ll give you my perspective on how we started. In 2008 I (Derrick Beasley) organized

a few of my Frat Brothers one of them being Boone (Donald Boone) to make a shirt to cele

brate our school’s homecoming and our chapter of our Fraternity (Beta Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.)…The shirt read “BE. Is Classic”. There were only about 6 of us that actually bought and wore the shirt, but that Saturday morning of homecoming, everyone wanted to know where they could get one and why they were not told. From there I knew it would at least be something that I would do the next year. Meanwhile Boone and Matt (Matthew Green) had had previous conversations about somehow making paraphernalia for Black Greek Lettered Organizations cool and more fashionable. Therein lies the foundation for the original discussions about forming a official company.

Boone brought into the fold his brother Dor (Dorian Boone) who contributes a wealth of calm and maturity as well as creativity to our group. Late spring 2009 I received a phone call from Boone about the prospect of starting a company. In short I was like “hell yeah!” After several conference calls between the four of us spanning the length of the summer we officially organized in the form of an LLC in September.

This is the short version. There is a much better worded version on our site/blog…shameless plug.

NL: Who is your target demographic?

In short…young, progressive, open minded, professionals. We design for people who aren’t defined by their fashion, but whose fashion is an extension of their lifestyle and beliefs.

NL: Does AOI offer any services in addition to the apparel?

Services?…well, more like opportunities. Through our Power Your Imagination Initiative, we are planning to engage individuals, nonprofits, corporations, etc who approach their focus in a creative way that positively impact lives.

With that being said, we are looking for individuals, organizations, etc who are looking to have the creativity of their brand POWERED by us. There are a few ways that we can do this…through social media outlets, collaborative events in which we can bring our demographic to that of the collaborator and of course OUR CLOTHES! Again this is the abbreviated version. If you look to the “Power Your Imagination” post on our blog there is a detailed explanation of how we plan to provide opportunities.

Right now, we are looking for inspired individuals to help us inspire others…please contact us, we love to build with motivated individuals!

NL: Now that AOI has done its official launch, what can we expect to see from you all in 2010?

2010 is going to be the year of face time for AOI. We plan to do a number of events where we set up shop and interact face to face with our target. More specifically, look to see at least 3-4 major events from AOI with a range from collaborations with nonprofit orgs to Cookouts…Its going to be a good year for us, I can feel it…

NL: Where can we find AOI apparel?

Of course you can find it at www.ArtOfficialShop.com.

~ Naturally Leslie rocking the Storytelling Tee at the AOI Launch Party~

Thanks to the fellas of ArtOfficial Intelligence. I love seeing such positivity, creativity, and a heart for community coming from young people such as these men. Be sure to check them out over on their blog and on their very own channel on You Tube channel.

Braids Update

PLaying around with my hair has been a lot of fun with these braids. I think I've washed/rinsed it like 4 or 5 times in the past two weeks and they still look great.

Last week, I braided the hair in sections with some conditioner and coconut oil and let it dry overnight. I took them down the next day and this is what I ended up with...

Like I said, for the most part I am super pleased with my hair. But I did feel like they were a little sparse for my taste and I wanted there to be more of the individual braids. So, a week from this past Saturday, I took down each braid and split them in half. It took me like 4 hours on Saturday night and a couple of hours on Sunday, including a few breaks. I am much happier with the results now. It is kind of hard to see in the pics but I can tell when I look in the mirror and when I run my hands through them. There is less space and they are much thicker.

These pics are during the morning on last Sunday. I wasn't quite finished but I was beginning to like what I saw. Once I finished, I wet them and applied conditioner and gel to curl the ends.

This Saturday marked the beginning of week three and I don't see myself taking them down anytime soon. I want to try the braid-out again so if I do and it looks different, I'll post the results. The next experiment will be with rollers so we'll see how that turns out. I will be sure to take some pics for you!

Sunday Cuteness: Natural Inspiration

Feel inspired ladies (and gents too!). I enjoy these montage vids of beautiful natural hair. They inspire me and give me ideas for styling. Hope you enjoy your Sunday's Cuteness!

Nourishing Hair Butter- A Review

Hey guys and gals! A few days ago I received a 2 oz sample of Nourishing Hair Butter in the mail. The company is called Nature's Indulgence and was founded by Dionne Murphy.

The ingredients are listed as:

Herbal Infused Water, Aloe Vera Juice, Shea Butter, Virgin Coconut Oil, Aloe Vera Gel, Sweet Almond Oil, Avocado Oil, Olive Oil, Jojoba Oil, Steric Acid, Vegetable Emulsifying Wax, Glycerin, Optiphen, Vitamin E, Essential and Fragrance Oils and Grapefruit Seed Extract.

As you all know, I have my hair in box braids which I got about a week ago. This past weekend I spend some time in VA where it was really cold and dry. I decided this would be a good time to try out the product and see what benefits it could add to my hair.

The night before I left, I washed it and blotted dry. I added my conditioner on top and let my hair dry. After it was dry, I took a good sized dollop, about a quarter, in my hands and emulsified it. I applied it to the length of the braids on one side and added a little extra to the ends. I repeated this all over my head until each section of braids was moisturized.

The first thing I noticed about this product is the smell. It is light and fresh and almost fruity in a way. The texture is light and whipped. It absorbed quickly into my hair and left behind the lovely scent which was present but not overpowering.

Overall, I like this product. It is a nice light moisturizer but probably not enough by itself if you really like heavy creams for your hair. I would use this under an oil probably. I will have to try it again after I take my braids out to see how my hair like it for twists and other loose styles.

Thanks to Dionne for the sample and good luck with your business.

If you'd like to check out her other products, visit her blog and site!