Claima Stories with Bimma

Nate shares story about working with Virgil Abloh.

 About Claima Stories with Bimma:

 Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, and James Whitner. Listen and Subscribe now.

 Subscribe: 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claimastories/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/claimastories

Elise Swopes, an iPhone artist that has worked with brands like American Express, Pandora, and Adobe. One of Elise’s biggest inspirations is her father, who despite ups and downs taught his daughter to walk to the beat of her own drum, even if that meant getting into a bit of trouble while in school.

 As a child of the internet, she was hustling myspace layouts for cheeseburgers. This led to her becoming enthralled with digital creativity, finding love in sharing her art and the tools with others. 

 It was 2010 when Elise found herself pulled to this little app called Instagram, where it instantly felt familiar. Shooting stuff on her broken iPhone 4. She found another space for sharing her digital artwork.

 About Claima Stories with Bimma:

 Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, and James Whitner. Listen and Subscribe now.

 Subscribe: 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claimastories/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/claimastories

Following her rap career with the Treated Crew, Elise Swopes shares a story about finding community on Instagram.

About Claima Stories with Bimma:

Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, and James Whitner. Listen and Subscribe now. 

Subscribe: 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claimastories/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/claimastories

Growing up in Philly, She would’ve never imagined her love of making trinkets and clothes  with her mom would lead to over 10 years as children’s clothing designer to packing up her life and moving back home to follow her passion. 

She shares how the guidance of her high school art teachers fed her big city dreams of moving to New York, and going to design school, her journey from from getting a peak behind the curtain at Rocawear at the peak of their success, to landing a job at American Eagle’s 77 kids as a designer.  

BUT Shannon felt a pull home that would change her trajectory forever.  After cultivating a 10 year career as a designer, she decided to pack up, move back home with her parents, and her love of ceramics would inspire her to  expand YOWIE. With a fun and uniquely personal approach to e-commerce Shannon saw an opening to take her promising online shop, to brick and mortar. 

About Claima Stories with Bimma: 

Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, and James Whitner. Listen and Subscribe now.

Subscribe: 

• Instagram:
  • https://www.instagram.com/claimastories/
• Twitter:
  • https://www.twitter.com/claimastories

After returning home to Philly and rebuilding her network, Shannon started to leverage social media to invite people to her new shop Yowie.

Shannon Maldonado is the founder of Yowie, a home and life shop focused on curating small collections from friends, independent artists, and designers.

About Claima Stories with Bimma:

Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, and James Whitner. Listen and Subscribe now.

Subscribe: 

• Instagram:
  • https://www.instagram.com/claimastories/
• Twitter:
  • https://www.twitter.com/Claimastories

Instead of following her family’s wishes and going to law school, Melody Ehsani decided to pack up and head to China where she would design her first collection of heels, not sneakers, as some of you may have thought, basically run as a one-woman creative shop and pivot into jewelry design that put her in position to work with legends like Saul Williams and Erykah Badu. 

Although you’d think that Melody would lean into the glitz and glamour that comes with that, she returned home to open up shop and bring some much-needed feminine energy to Fairfax, where her shop would become the center of education and social justice. 

Today, Melody is known for her incredible projects with Reebok, Jordan, and Footlocker.

 About Claima Stories with Bimma:

 Former Nike Marketer, Bimma Williams interviews leading and emerging BIPOC creatives about how they were able to break into the notoriously guarded creative and sneaker industries. From these stories, listeners will learn how to claim their dream careers. Featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, and James Whitner. Listen and Subscribe now.

Subscribe: 

• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/claima-stories-with-bimma/id1495113118
• Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/claimastories/

After dropping out of law school, Melody Ehsani shares a story about learning sneaker design and how she immediately felt innately connected to it. Over the years, she’s leveraged this passion to collaborate with brands like Reebok, Jordan, and Footlocker. 

What’s your narrative? A thought provoking poem written and performed by Amiri Rose. Through inspiring stories from BIPOC creatives, come learn how to claim your dream career. Season 2 of Claima Stories with Bimma returns on March 2nd featuring Melody Ehsani, Jeff Staple, James Whitner, and many more. 

On today’s show, how Nuwoe Goteh went from escaping the civil war in Liberia and being surrounded by the crack epidemic in Brooklyn to managing the social media content plans that elevate the stories of NBA and WNBA All Stars for the biggest athletic and outdoor company in the world. 

Thanks so much for listening to the show this week. Find out more about Nuwoe and get access to all of our episodes on our website at claimastories.com and while you’re there please give us a review. 

If you’d like to connect, follow us on Instagram @claimastories.

Host: Bimma Williams
Executive Producer: BJ Frogozo
Producer: Adrian Anaya
Thank You: Oilang Maui &  Kate Williams