Meet Samantha Ford of Petalz Clothing in South Denver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Ford.

Samantha, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started Petalz Clothing in the spring of 2018. When I first started this brand, I knew I wanted to help people and spread the message of diversity but I wasn’t exactly sure how or what I would do to spread my message and make an impact. I started by getting some basic shirts with roses on them made and selling them to family members. From that point, I moved up to creating a website but still didn’t know exactly what it was I wanted to do. I continued to sell shirts and participate in local events to sell until I was burnt out and decided to set everything aside. After being shut down for about four months, I finally discovered what Petalz is and how I would portray and express my message. I decided to center Petalz Clothing’s core values around community and diversity. With that frame of mind, I decided to give back and set out on a mission to make a positive impact on the community. Through Petalz Clothing, I will be giving back all of the assistance I once received plus so much more. The way this impact has started and is currently growing is through my website and social media accounts, along with the word of community members. Coming from a family who at one point heavily relied on clothing/school supplies drives and also food assistance I know what it’s like to be in need and what it meant to have my communities assistance during those times.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My journey through creating and growing Petalz Cothing has been far from a smooth road. Don’t get me wrong, there has been and will continue to be so much good that comes out of this but there have also been so many obstacles. Some of the struggles I’ve had throughout my journey is aligning with my purpose, not having the confidence to do what I really wanted to do with my brand and also not having an abundance of support at the beginning. With that being said, this is still such a beautiful journey and I would never trade it for anything.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Petalz Clothing is a streetwear/urban fashion clothing brand I launched in spring 2018. Petalz Clothing’s mission is to have a positive community impact and spread the message of diversity and acceptance. We are known for our simple but unique clothing designs and inspiring quotes. Unlike some other clothing companies you may see, Petalz Clothing has a unique way of sharing our message. What we do is every month we “feature” a community member who is helping in the community or is spreading the message of diversity and positivity. When someone is featured by Petalz Clothing they get to model an exclusive item for our website and social media accounts, they sit down for an interview with us to share their story and we also present their bio on our website. This is our unique way of connecting people with influential members of the community and sharing real-life stories. The part about my brand that I am most proud of is the growth. Petalz went from being a cheap rose designed t-shirt website to this evolving brand with a powerful message and a strong line of supporters behind us on our mission.

We just started our first community relief project on April 21st and have received such an overwhelming amount of love and support. With this project, we have decided to take the need for food that has arisen in connection with the recent pandemic and we took action. We began selling this black “together” t-shirt for $20 on our website and are using 100% of the profits to fund our projects. So far we have provided over 650 meals along with hygiene and cleaning items to families all across Colorado. We fed these members of the community by providing food boxes and sack lunch meals. On Saturday, 4/26, myself (Samantha), along with our featured ambassador for the month (local rapper @Jaydubbtharuler), went and dropped off food boxes on the porches of families in need. We have set a goal of providing 1,000 meals in the next month.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was the girl who was very well-liked by others but was generally an introvert. I was always smiling and happy but with that came an abundance of shyness. Surprisingly, growing up, I was never into clothing or fashion. My primary interests were music/instruments, basketball and reading. I think its important to add that I did grow up in a less fortunate household where my family relied heavily on community/state assistance. I believe this plays a big part in the person I have become today. But despite all of that, I grew up so happy and always ready to conquer the world.

Pricing:

• Clothing from $20 up

Contact Info:

• Website: www.petalzclothing.com
• Email: info@petalzclothing.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/petalzclothing
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petalzclothingline/

Image Credit:
Dre Lamar Photography

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