A Black Woman Created This
As Strong As The Woman Next To Me
Are you inspired yet? Of course, you should be. These are all quotes from the amazing Kalilah Wright, the creator of Mess In A Bottle. Wright began her career as a Designer and Architect in the city of Baltimore. Having started many small businesses in the past, including a baby furniture company, the desire to send out her message on a larger scale prevailed. She launched her very own T-Shirt Company.
Mess In A Bottle
Mess In A Bottle is an apparel line that displays messages regarding politics, love, inspiration, and life, Wright's life. She creates each message through the lens of a black woman, black creative, and a black immigrant. These messages are real and unapologetic.
"I wanted to create these messages for people to really connect and stand in solidarity with each other." Explains Wright.
The company began when the city of Baltimore, Maryland, was faced with the death of Freddy Gray, a black male who died while in police custody. The conditioned state of going to a 9 to 5 was no longer an option. Wright wanted to start living in her dream. Despite the country still facing similar conditions, she is fortunate to have decided to take that leap of faith and having a successful company because of it.
As a small business owner, Wright was also hit by 2020. With everything experiencing delays, customers questioned companies and their customer service.
WRIGHT: We're experiencing where the post office is now receiving an influx of orders, so people are feeling like we are not either dropping off packages. It's taking maybe 30 plus days for people's things to be received. I think, unfortunately, people are not understanding the impact that this is having on a small business. So though we have been growing and expanding, that also leads to a lot of difficulties within a small business. That's not something easy to combat because now that's our integrity, that's now people saying you did not mail our package or you lost it, and so those things have been really interesting, and it can break a business.
When success comes to those who have worked their way up, friends and family members respond differently. However, Wright explains that she is grateful for the amount of support she receives. Those who have supported her in her previous business ventures are supporting her now. They continue to push her to keep going, but she can also see how others say that it's lonely at the top.
WRIGHT: I don't think that people understand as a founder what I feel and what I might be going through, and how it is to actually run a company. It's just something that is definitely difficult. It's difficult to do, and no matter how much people may think that they understand, there's a lot of pressure in entrepreneurship and just owning and running a company altogether. I know it's not for the faint of heart, but I'm encouraged to keep on going every day, and just anything that I'm experiencing, I am sure that this is just for a moment.
Mess In Target
Mess In A Bottle is currently available in over 1400 Target stores in honor of Black History Month. The collaboration has allowed consumers from all walks of life to purchase the limited collection in their hometown. Congratulations are in order!! Wright continues to inspire, and Coffea asks what keeps her inspired.
WRIGHT: I think the fact that I know that there's a lot of people sitting at their jobs just trying to figure out within next move is. I remember being there. And honestly, I think being an example and depending on how my business does; I think other people are really looking at and wanting that experience even if they get a fraction of it or a percentage of it. I think that's definitely something that is really commendable. I think that I want to continue to inspire. Even like a young girl at school unsure what she's gonna become, I want her to know she can be an architect, that she can be a fashion designer, she can work on a construction site if she truly wanted to, and I just feel like that's my duty and purpose.
The Wright Message
Mess In A Bottle offers t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, dresses, and bags. THEY DO NOT OFFER CUSTOM MESSAGES. Their empowering messages are presented in a clear container that reads Mess In A Bottle. MESS in a Bottle derives from the 310 BC concept of receiving a MESSage in the ocean.
What MESS aren't you putting up with in 2021?
The big mess I'm not putting up with is disturbing my peace and the disrespect. I'm just not doing it. I think I let a lot of things sort of fester and bother me, but I'm definitely not at a place anymore to let people disturb, bother, and disrupt my peace. I'm protecting my peace this year.
Coffea magazine will continue to support Kalilah Wright because she is a beacon of light. She has created a space for others to be great while feeding the world inspirational messages. And to those battling on how to get started on following your dreams, the message is quite simple.
"If you are going to start, start. The magic happens once you start." – Kalilah Wright