DIAMONDS ON THE FLOOR

Good tidings on this last day of 2007, Friends and Love ones!

Haitian– American singer Wyclef Jean warms our hearts this New Year’s with this recent answer to an interviewer’s question: blah --> How did your life change when you moved to Brooklyn [from Haiti]?

It was like day and night. The small village I was raised in didn’t have electricity -- no light, no nothing. My parents came and got me when I was 9, and I can still remember what it was like to see those headlights.

Landing at JFK for the first time, can you imagine?

I looked out the window and couldn’t see nothing but lights. They were so glaring that I said to my brother, “Man, we’ve arrived in the city of diamonds. This place is so rich, it’s nothing but diamonds on the floor!” It can be easy to forget, Readers. Lots of things are there to distract us. The stress of the job hunt. The bustle of the holidays. The demands of your current job.

But for many immigrants, and for all of us fortunate enough to be born here, this is the land with diamonds on the floor.

Don’t let yourself forget that we are the best educated, healthiest, best fed and best traveled generation in history. And the opportunities that we have when it comes to work really are unprecedented: to chose our own job, to pursue our own career, to pursue our own happiness.

That’s really tremendously different than the way our ancestors lived, and even far removed from the experience of most of our fellow human beings on the planet today.

So, even if you’re going through a tough time this year end, and especially if you’re not, please take a moment to celebrate the extraordinary good fortune we all have to be here in the here and now.

Because celebrating our successes -- spiking the ball in the end zone, high–fiving after the home run, raising our arms in victory at the finish line -- is something we don’t do enough in business and our careers here in America. And celebrating is important because it reminds us of what has enabled us to get to where we are today.

John D. Rockefeller was the world’s richest man in his day and undoubtedly had much to celebrate. But what was actually his “most joyful holiday of the year?”

You can find out in this clipping from the September 27, 1922 New York Times (click on the image to see a larger version):



Yes, John D. Rockefeller’s “most joyful holiday of the year” was the day he got his first job as a lowly clerk in a produce warehouse, and he celebrated that day for the rest of his life.

So, in this new year remember "LUCK, is when OPPORTUNITY meets PREPARATION!!!" Continue to make the most of every opportunity for it is your time to be living proof of your exhausted efforts of preparation.

May God bless you and keep you. . .

Love LADYBUG. . .

HIP-HOP: Artist Statement (LADYBUG)

A slow, thumping bass fills the air delivering such an impact that one chest becomes the accent drum . . .a sea of bobbing heads . . .a mc spitting thought provoking rhymes to a crowd of starving students, hungry for KNOWLEDGE! Do the math! This is Hip-hop . . . a cultural movement that has surpassed its 1970’s beat boxing beginnings in the streets of New York City reaching supernatural heights in ’88 with Tribe Called Quest, KRS-one, and Rakim. I believe hip-hop is a lifestyle defined by elements of the art, music, fashion, written, and social awareness.

In order to become a successful urban designer one must understand the hip-hop lifestyle. It is through this understanding of style that will deliver the tools necessary to appeal to the urban customer/clientele. I believe that I have what it takes to become the next urban fashion designer because I am passionate and committed to the hip-hop lifestyle. It is my belief, seeing is the gateway to our souls and tapping in that powerful gateway allows us to make dreams reality. In which case it is my goal to “Plan my work, and Work my Plan!” I am creative and discipline, flexible with a clear vision refined by my down to earth personality. When I walk in a room people can feel my passion. Look into my eyes and you will see my passion. When I speak it is my mission to reveal my pre-destined passion to the World. I don’t believe in the negative energies of this world that come in the forms of bad luck, coincidence, or chance. For luck, is when “OPPORTUNITY meets PREPARATION.”

This is an opportunity of a life-time, to reveal to the world my dedicated preparation and passion to become a fashion designer. My ongoing commitment to personal and professional excellence, and my tremendous ability to translate my thoughts and visions into works of art. I am eager to hear a response from all of my supporters/clientele because through this opportunity it is my goal to be an example of my preparation.

STAY TUNED. . .

Shantelle M. Brumfield
AKA "LADYBUG"

XXL Magazine: JAN/FEB 2008 [REMY MA]

NATIONAL SOCIETY OF SOUL: PRESS


AROUND THE WAY GIRL SOUL
DESIGN YEAR: 2007
COLLECTION: LIMITED EDITION
ARTIST: REMY MA
PRESS SOURCE: XXL Magazine, http://www.aroundtheworldgirls.net
ISSUE: JAN/FEB 2008
COLOR: Burnt Orange, Carrot, Raspberry, Copper
SIZE SCALE: 4” (Medium)
FABRIC CONTENT: 100% Wool, Cashmere,
Silk, Vermeil Gold Door Knock Earring

MY LIFE

My names is Shantelle M. Brumfield (aka LADYBUG)

My childhood ambition was to change the world one act of random kindness at a time.

My fondest memories are those sent went my family during the holidays. . .while playing dress up in my aunt’s size 11 model savvy pumps.

My soundtrack is HAPPINESS delivered through music and laughter.

My retreat is artist expression.

My wildest dream is to unlock the secrets of the universe in order to free individuals of POVERTY worldwide.

My proudest moments are when I put smiles on my love ones faces.

My biggest challenge is figuring out a way repay my parents for the sacrifices made during my upbringing.

My perfect day is shared with surrounded by friends and family sharing moments indulging in life’s blessings.

My first job during summer at University of California, Davis I was a teen counselor for a children’s athletic camp.

My indulgences are enjoying vegetarian cuisine internationally inspired and treating my closet to a timeless must have fashion essential.

My last purchase was a pair of metallic green cowgirl boots.

My favorite movie is the one I am living and dreaming daily.

My inspiration is the power of imagination.

My life is about planning my work and working my plan.

My business is being a WINNER, striving until results are ACHIEVED.


-"LADYBUG"

DESIGNER'S BIO

Shantelle M. Brumfield is a businesswoman, who happens to be a fashionista with the heart of an artist, mind of a scientist, and soul of a God fearing woman.

Born February 17, 1983 in Vallejo, California to parents Gary and Blancho Brumfield. The youngest and only girl of three, including two older brothers Rashaud K. Brumfield and Lawrence Michael Lewis known to family as Mike. Raised up in a small town, she had a very rich upbringing laying a foundation strong amongst family, religion, and education. As a girl, Shantelle was very active in church, social activities, sports, and culinary delight. She trained as a dancer in the areas of tap, jazz, modern folk, ballet and later hip-hop. In her parents home the walls and shelves are full of their children’s academic and athletic achievements. Shantelle’s passion for fashion is a complete combinations of influences by her personal experiences, ranging from the ROOTS of old Hollywood fashion exemplified by her grandmothers and older ladies of the church; the SPIRITS of fashion illustrated by her mother, aunts and ballet customs of various centuries; and the LIFE of fashion that she personally created using all other influences a template.

This rising fashionista, formerly a research scientist at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Maryland, began making head-way into the fashion industry with her first line of apparel “RASTU”: Rocking Attire Signature To U. This collection was featured in a fashion show for Howard University Homecoming in October 2003. RASTU encompassed the art of crochet with cross-stitch embroidery, and the use of bright colors. This collection gave birth to National Society of Soul in August 2005, which has been featured in a 2007 issue of XXL magazine.

In July 2006, Shantelle became a fashion design/product development intern for Sports Zone, a local athletic apparel and footwear company in Washington, DC. She assisted the Senior Product Planning director in creating and/or approving new fashion design ideas created by in-house designers, and annual product analysis. That experience allowed her hone her fashion design skills as well as learn the business side of the fashion industry including, profit analysis, product analysis, and marketing. With her new attributes, Shantelle developed and polished National Society of Soul from a skillful craft into a lifestyle.

Shantelle AKA LADYBUG is a highly driven individual with one goal: “To come into contact with people, and bring them happiness and prosperity”. In Hispanic culture, ladybugs are said to bring good luck and prosperity when they land on a person; and, this LADYBUG has landed on the fashion industry. Her expedition began in the Virgin Islands in the country of CUBA, where her maternal ancestry can be traced. Her paternal ancestry tracing from Germany to Jamaica, also played a major role in her artistic development. In 2001, Shantelle relocated from California to Washington D.C. She completed a double Bachelor’s of Science degree at Howard University with a concentration in Biology/Chemistry, where her love for fashion was nurtured and matured. During her time at Howard University, she was afforded many opportunities to travel and study abroad. She traveled to various places including Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Anguilla, St. Marten and Spain, but it was her excursion to Oaxaca, Mexico that really made an impact on her life. She was heavily influenced by the natives’ views on using nature’s HUES to express herself. It was in Oaxaca that Shantelle’s future plans in fashion were established and her passions morphed into an ever-existing dream.

Shantelle believes she must use all the gifts implanted in her life by God to bring harvest into the lives of others around her; and that, “Everyday, you should reach a new height”. She illustrates her philosophy by combining her passion for life and fashion to advocate happiness and prosperity as a lifestyle, and not a luxurious attainment. Fashion is her business, and she believes, “…any and everywhere is an opportunity for a thought to take form into a creation of a master piece”.


Stay Tuned…

National Society of Soul

Introduction

INTRODUCING…

National Society of Soul
"Illustrating the Importance of Life through Fashion"

National Society of Soul is a premier fashion design company that emphasizes the importance of life through the use of fashion, written and social awareness.
The heart of National Society of Soul lines in its core essentials of integrating Crocheted, Cross-Stitch Embroidery, and Sewed finished embellishments into every design. Our company delivers elements of vintage fashion infused with a sophisticated modern chic lifestyle. National Society of Soul’s fashion-forward design innovations appeal to the business professional, recent graduate, and socially driven individual.
National Society of Soul was created by owner and designer Shantelle M. Brumfield. Shantelle is a rising fashionista that has developed her family’s traditional past time into an exclusive, upscale line of apparel and accessories.
In our designs you will find various elements that illustrate this timeless collection of National Society of Soul.

STAY TUNED. . .