Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Darlynn Marks of Baton Rouge, La

We recently had the chance to connect with Darlynn Marks and have shared our conversation below.

Darlynn, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
My recent moment that made me laugh or feel proud, was working on an art exhibition with my summer school students. I’ve spent this summer collaborating with Big Buddy mentorship program of Baton Rouge, Louisiana as an art content provider, teaching summer sewing classes and kids jewelry making. My students were given an opportunity to show and sell their jewelry and artwork, at a youth exhibition held by the Arts council of Baton Rouge. I felt really proud watching my students sell their bracelets and talk about their sewing collaboration project.

The bracelet sets for three of my students will be used as accessories for a dance company that is competing nationally this fall.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Darlynn Marks. I am a seamstress serving the north Baton Rouge area for the last 13 years. I specialize in plus size clothing, custom jewelry, and alterations. Sewlynn Jewelry and designs is currently in a pivot. We are stepping away from custom clothing to focus more on accessories and outerwear. We are also focusing more on up cycling and clothing sustainability. We are achieving this goal by up cycling pre loved African print garments into new and exclusive outerwear, accessories, and even kitchen apparel.

Thanks to our collaboration with Bohemian Cove Of BR, we have a quarterly series of wire wrap jewelry making classes. Twice a month you can come down to Bohemian Cove Of BR one of our four lessons that we teach about basic wire wrapping, and the metaphysical uses of copper and manifestation practices.

I just released my summer earring line on Etsy. This earring line was inspired by moon phases and our connection to nature. I am currently working on a cloak and cape line that will be debuting on Etsy in August.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
My earliest memory of feeling powerful was in the sixth grade. It was Black History Month, my elementary school had a program to celebrate the end of February. This elderly lady got on stage and was talking about her accomplishments. At the end she looked out at this crowd of children that I was in and she told us that we could be whoever we wanted it to be. I knew that I wanted to make beautiful things to sell them to the public. When I told my mom what I wanted to be when I grew up, she was sure to remind me that artists do starve. I’m happy that I was sitting in the cafeteria on that day to hear from a stranger something that I already knew inside who I wanted to be when I grew up. It took me a while to get where I am, but I took this lady’s voice with me in every industry I worked in until I found my space in life.

I found my power behind the sewing machine and have been welding it ever since

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fear of failure is what has held me back for most of my life. It took years for me to understand that at your lowest point the only place that you can go up. Failure is not a setback. It is an opportunity for learning and a stepstool.

I had to learn that failure is learning. Now when I fail at something or I receive no as an answer, I take that opportunity to adapt or pivot in my situation. If you were already on the floor, you’re at your lowest.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
Sewing is a dead art. The ability to construct something with needle and thread or a sewing machine needs to be as prominent in households now as it was in early 1900s. Fashion and textile sustainability is necessary for our environment. We all need to put more care into our clothes so that they can last longer. Over consumerism is harming our environment and causing more pollution in the fashion industry, than in any other industry. We need to be aware and adjust our consumerism in order to ultimately help save the planet. The United States has a lot of clothing and textile waste that we send to other countries and we make it their problem. I think that recycling, up cycling, and learning how to sew would help combat these issues.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope my story tells people that you can cultivate the life you want. I spent a lot of my time helping and serving others and in return I have received gratitude and purpose. Even in my business, I have made opportunity to help people in their lowest moment even if it means just making their clothes fit in order to help them feel pretty for the night. I have used my time and talents to create a life that nurtured my children and allowed me to chase my dreams. I was just a little girl who wanted to make something pretty and my talent allowed me to make a beautiful life for myself. I created my dream job and made space for myself and people like me.

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Highlighter Series
What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?

Coffee? Workouts? Hitting the snooze button 14 times? Everyone has their morning ritual and we

Highlighter Series
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?

Our deepest wounds often shape us as much as our greatest joys. The pain we

Highlighter Series
Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?

Culture, economic circumstances, family traditions, local customs and more can often influence us more than