We recently connected with Damaris Colon and have shared our conversation below.
Damaris, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
It may sound cliche but, “my mom”. Growing up I watched as my mother worked 3 jobs to support the two of us. We would get up in the morning, she would drop me off to school while she worked her 9-5. She would then pick me up from after care, take me home, and leave again to work her night job from 6-10. On the weekends she worked yet another job. Working hard really wasn’t a choice for me, it’s all I know and all I’ve learned.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Our brand is called London Rock. The name is derived from my two eldest children’s names, London James and Rocklyn Starr. It started when I took their drawings and published them into coloring books. From there we took characters from their books and manufactured them into plushies, stickers, shoe charms and more. We hosted events with other kids where we colored pages from the books, enjoyed hot cocoa and snacks, and had emotionally thought provoking conversations.
During 2022 I was working on a candle collaboration with Moore Candles Please. I knew I wanted black candle jars. Those jars sat on the floor for months and months. Until one day I just picked up the jars and started painting “London Rock” all over them in white. To promo the candle collection I bought myself a black sweatshirt and handpainted “London Rock” all over it to match the candle jars. The feedback I got was really great. I never intended for people to begin contacting me asking for my sweatshirts.
Since then I’ve gone a little crazy and just started hand painting their name on everything.
This year we are working on a wholesale catalog with the goal of selling our merchandise to likeminded boutiques.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think the most impatctful skill has been listening to my inner voice. Every idea that pops into my head I honor it and bring it into the physical world. Sometimes I try the idea and I’m like well that didn’t turn out the way I thought. Other times I try it and I’m like yeah I did that! I fully believe that God gave you the idea(s) for a reason and it’s our duty to bring it to life.
Another quality is to be able to seek knowledge. Sometimes God will give you ideas that you have absolutely no prior knowledge on. I had no prior knowledge of publishing a book, finding quality blank merchandise, or the best paint and paint brushes to use but any question I had about the process I researched. I joined Facebook groups on the topics, watched how to videos, and attended tradeshows.
Lastly, is perserverance. In this day and age everyone wants instant gratification and instant success and if they fail they’re ready to give up. Instead of getting hung up on the really big goals I try to rejoice in the small wins. Did I make my sales goal last year? No! But were my sales up 521% from the previous year? Yes! That’s enough motivation for me to keep going right there.
What has helped me in developing these skills is not getting caught up in what everyone else is doing. It’s knowing myself and my brand enough to know what we will do, what we won’t do, and where we may need to grow and learn in.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Absolutely! I believe we are a great brand with a great story to tell and we are always looking for opportunities to spread our story and ultimately meet new customers. Currently we are looking to collaborate with Fashion Micro Influencers for brand ambassador opportunities as well as stores and boutiques interested in purchasing wholesale. Anyone interested in these opportunities can email me directly at londonrockart@gmail.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.london-rock.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/londonrockart
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LondonRockArt/
Image Credits
London Rock
