pRAISE Clothing

I'm always impressed by women entrepreneurs - their drive, ambition & their struggles to make it. I know so many women like myself who decided to take a risk & go after what they were passionate about. Perhaps it's a God-given gift they've had & never really touched upon until recently & then BAM! Their ideas & creations were realized & seen by the world. My story is very similar in the sense, that I always had passion, drive & talents I never explored. However, today, I'm experiencing the fruit of those talents which I feel are gifts from God. 

With that said, I wanted to share a different type of post & introduce you to a woman who has inspired me with her business & her boldness in her faith. Alma Meza is the founder behind the fashionable t-shirt line called pRAISE.  She believed that fashion lacked support for those who loved God (& wanted to show it). 

She has a great testimony on how she started her clothing line & it's pretty interesting- I'll let her tell you in her own words, so sit back, enjoy & grab a snack.

Below: Here I am sporting a few Alma's T-shirts from pRAISE clothing - love them! You can get 10% off your purchase, just insert the CODE: MADEBYGRL
at checkout! Good until April 30th.
 

My name is Alma Meza and I am 27 years old from Los Angeles, California. I recently re-entered the fashion world after having gone through some pretty nasty things that ultimately made me despise the fashion industry. I was forced to depart from the clothing company I built for 6 years with a partner who later betrayed me in late 2011. I was pretty lost in regards to a career path. During this time, so many other things in my life were crumbling- one of the most significant events was the death of my nephew, Sebastian. 

It seemed like it was all happening at once. I was overwhelmed, but felt God tugging at me and so I wholeheartedly turned to Him.  God revealed to me that I couldn't continue to coast through life with a casual,  superficial relationship with Him. I took a little over a year to be still, as The Lord encourages us to do. I maintained a corporate job that was stable financially, but spiritually draining. 

I started to feel that nonprofit work or speech pathology might be my next move and I began to take baby steps toward exploring each. Around this time, I started having dreams and visions about designing again, only this time the garments were showcasing either scriptures or faith related graphics. God was gently nudging me to come back to fashion, only this time with renewed purpose. That is how the idea for pRAISE was conceived. This was a result of diligent prayer and increased intimacy with God. The more I contemplated on this, the more I was being flooded by ideas and designs. I loved it all, but I was simultaneously starting to be crippled by fear. How will this be received? How can I do this all by myself this time around? Do I really want to return to this shady industry? 

All of these questions took over my thoughts for weeks until I finally realized this may very well be my calling. I decided that these concerns and doubts are silly compared to what God is able to do in and through me. I started to proceed with more conviction. 

Once I completed my designs for a collection, I was very emotional. Excited, in awe, and humbled best describes what I felt. Meanwhile, I was still working full time for a company that was starting to lose its ethical foundation. It took so much time away from my day and I was miserable there. In October of 2012, I built up the courage to step out on faith and resign from my position. I broke down in tears and utter fear. How will I support myself without income?
  
I prayed for provision and decided no matter what, I had to see this through. On January 12th, 2013, I launched pRAISE- All glory to God. My brand encompasses many of the values that are near and dear to my heart- using eco-friendly material, helping impoverished children around the world by donating a portion of the proceeds to Compassion International, and spreading God's love through fashion. This endeavor has been nothing short of incredible thus far. I've been blessed to connect with so many beautiful believers that have even thanked me for introducing this type of brand to an industry that is exceedingly being filled with dark imagery and immorality. I never imagined doing anything remotely close to pRAISE. I am publicly promoting my faith through fashion. 

I still become a bit intimidated at the thought alone, but I am reminded that I can do all things through Christ. God's ways are not our ways. I know that He is orchestrating beautiful things for my life. He took me out of darkness and blessed me with pRAISE. I am looking forward to His promises and not being jaded by yesterday's heartaches. I'm blessed and honored to be designing for His glory. When you place God FIRST in your life, there's no need to look back because you are looking forward, looking to the Alpha and Omega...and trusting in the ultimate Navigator. So here I am, allowing God to use me as I realize this Divinely-inspired dream.

Do you have a gift that you feel you need to act on??

 
 

-top 3 images by jen ramos