RAVEN DAKOTA Fashion Artist LOVES Shoes!

by Elena Brennan

RAVEN DAKOTA Fashion Artist

Instructor at MADE INSTITUTE

 

 We've invited some of our favorite peeps to take part in our #BusStopLoves Series.

 

Last year, we started a weekly series, where we interviewed our favorite Philadelphians...the fashion designers, actors, collaborators, models, and creative friends who have inspired us greatly and have worked with us to tell our brand story over the past 13 years (soon to be 14). They've each played a BIG part in our storytelling with their unique work and abilities. Each week, we've featured & introduced another one of our favorite folks to you. We’ve had such an overwhelming response to this series, that it is continuing in 2021!
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Raven Dakota is a flower artist, fashion designer, and instructor at Made Institute. The aesthetic of her gender neutral apparel and accessories line Raven Dakota values of eternal love, inner peace, and joy. Most of her ideas are inspired by discovering all the positive elements in life that keep her audience "smiling" and feel their absolute best. She loves to incorporate floral imagery, which encompasses preserving flowers, fabric dyeing, embroidering, beadwork, and other embellishment techniques. Her work aims to elevate audience appeal to something buoyant and tasteful while distilling core messages on making this world a better place. Dakota graduated from Moore College of Art and Design for Textiles & Fashion Design. She is known for her excellent craftsmanship, aesthetics, and her love of color. Raven loves our shoes so much that she modeled our BUS STOP X Tie Dye collection!

@flowersfromravey
 

A fashion artist + flower lover  = something aesthetically pleasing.

1. How long have you lived in Philly?
All my life :))

2. How do you describe yourself in THREE WORDS?
Loving, Eccentric, Creative.

3. How would your best friend describe you in THREE WORDS?
Driven, Positive, Innovative.

4. How did you start your career?
It started with a wild obsession with flowers & its divine symbolic language to life. I began pressing florals as a therapeutic hobby, and soon after I began to incorporate this meditative hand-crafted technique within my fashion clothing and accessories.


5. Who’s your mentor?
I have many mentors!  But, I would say my day-to-day mentor would be Robyn Dombey :)

6. What do you fantasize about?
Falling in love.

7. What keeps you up at night?
Writing affirmations in my journal.


8. How has the pandemic affected you? Physically - not as much, I am still able to keep active and busy. Mentally - a lot, I've been drained and exhausted. It's kind of difficult to focus on my art and fashion work.


9. How has BLM affected you? We are definitely living through unpleasant times, there's a lot of grieving, frustration, and rage in our communities right now. But, through all of it, even after being stressed for weeks, I have been able to tap into a state of a state of calmness that offers strength and resilience. This has helped me to regain my energy and create artwork that truly defines who I am as a young black woman living in a chaotic world.


10: What's one thing most people would be surprised to know about you? I’m a crybaby low-key LOL

BONUS Q: What's your favorite spot in Philly? Green Soul Restaurant.

Raven we love you, and hope our readers have an insight into your uniqueness & amazingness in this series.

 

 


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