Meet Ebony Adell

We recently connected with Ebony Adell and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ebony, so happy to have you on the platform and I think our readers are in for a treat because you’ve got such an interesting story and so much insight and wisdom. So, let’s start with a topic that is relevant to everyone, regardless of industry etc. What do you do for self-care and how has it impacted you?

Hands down yoga and meditation are an integral part of my physical and metaphysical being; centered in my personal and professional life.I’ve been practicing since 2002 when I founded the brand but I didn’t get certified in Bhakti Yoga until 2021. Now I have certifications in Prenatal Yoga, 7 Chakras Yoga and Sound Therapy. I exist within the mission of the brand, that’s what makes it authentic. I pray and meditate daily, sometimes for 5 minutes sometimes for 30 minutes and I do at least 10 minutes of yoga daily. On my yoga days I try to get in 45 minutes to an hour.

My brother and I had a gym until the pandemic hit so that was when I really dove deep into my practice. Once the world shut down I moved my classes to zoom but I prefer taking my practice to nature. The beach, desert, in the water where you can really maximize your breathwork and get really grounded. Whenever I travel out of town for a show I always include a yoga or chakra activation pop-up to balance the trip and keep everything cohesive.

 

The yoga is incorporated into the brand through the tantric principles; built into the supply chain, sustainable processes, sourcing, fabric made from recycled plastic bottles, eco-nylon, recycle/repurpose of fabric and supplies, free lifetime repair and adding yoga into the fashion shows to demonstrate the TSX Design House Sustainable lifestyle and activate the chakras of the customers that are on the same frequencies. And activating the chakras through the activities, art and clothes. We want to bring you into the vibrational reality that we know.

The chakras enable me to constantly and infinitely evolve just as the brand evolves because they too are infinite. I mean there are 121 identified and my collections are still way down in the 6th dimension .I do this because I really believe that once you set that intention and immerse yourself in your purpose you manifest the vibrational reality that you want and deserve. It’s a powerful revelation which allowed me to gain real clarity for what the future looked like. After Taraji P Henson came out and made that statement about money and worth, and then recently Jay Z. came out with his statement about continuing to show up even when there’s no recognition; there was a confirmation that we are all really having the same struggle regardless of where we are in the journey. Those moments are like a chin check. I understand that I did “this” by stepping out on faith in my vision; trusting God and the Universe. There were many days and months when nothing moved and I didn’t make a dollar but a check always comes in the mail or a residual from something hits my account to keep me pushing forward and showing up.

My Tantric yoga practice has evolved into a circular brand with sustainable fashion, yoga, art and a series of books. I love yoga so much I wrote a book about chakra activation. The collections, visual mantras (artwork) and protest art has been featured at The Biennale De Venezia(2022), Art Basel(2022/2023), Dubai, Spain, Germany, New York, Switzerland, London Fashion Week and International Digital Fashion Week ss23/ss24 with FNL Network, LA Fashion Week with Def Jam and The Model Experience 2022/2023. NAME Magazine, digital covers for Elle, Mademoiselle, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, and more .

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I have 3 children ages 26(Phailynn), 15(Eboan) and 8(Ebele). I always include them in the fashion show and creative processes to give them all some real world experience and exposure. I come from a very creative and successful family grounded in entrepreneurism. My 9-5 is a Catholic school art teacher grades k4-8. My dad is a veteran, self taught artist that can dibble and dabble in all genres; painting, drawing, carpentry, sculpture, music, dance and anything else you can think of. My mom is a self taught artist(she can draw and paint), interior designer and writer; and was the first black female Assistant Director of the DPW of Milwaukee County as well so she had the corporate leadership swag. The list goes on, my cousin is an opera singer, my other cousin an actor and my grandparents on my mom’s side were both entrepreneurs. My great grandfather on my mother’s side was a slave turned sharecropper, my great grandmother was 100% Native American Mississippi Choctaw Nation(a farmer). My grandfather was a veteran, owned a successful security company, and my grandmother owned a bar and was the first person of color in the United States to be a member of the Schlitz Malt Liquor Stein Club. She had to pass for white to initially obtain the membership

My sustainable luxury brand TSX Design House was established in 2002. I had been working online as a chathost teaching tantra and yoga. One of my clients was struggling to connect with the concept and asked me to create a visualization of what a chakra is. A visual mantra. This was my first official painting of perfectly balanced chakras. That picture not only put it into a form they could see and touch, it put them into perspective for me.

I’ve always been different and kind of in my own lane; never really afraid to take a risk or push the envelope. With the success of the painting I dove deeper into my tantric yoga practice and that’s when the t-shirts depicted the strongest chakras of the client. Then it became a full wardrobe that expanded into a whole brand centered around tantra and chakras while also using sustainability to counter socio environmental oppression as a founding principle called Tantric Sex Design House.

There are brands that just have a catchy name or concept or a cool celebrity face. Yoga inspired me to create a brand that is actionable, functionable, transformational and has a lasting impact on the collective global community. I took all my money and went to Mount Mary University, Got a Bachelor of Arts in Apparel product Development and later I received a certification in Luxury Brand Development. and continued to build the brand. I gained the credentials, technical knowledge base, solidified the creative blueprint and sustainability became the niche and cohesive value that tied it all together. Promoting wellness and a sustainable consciousness is our mission and purpose. Providing products that are GOTS certified , using GOTS certified resources. We strive to continue to provide our products at 3 price points to make them available to all regardless of income; that vibrate on the same frequency. We have to be the change; a substantial number of people making small lifestyle changes but long term commitments to preserve the environment becomes transformative.

The biggest turning points in my career were: being featured on PBS, London Fashion Week, the art exhibitions in Europe, specifically The Biennale de Venezia/Art Basel/Dubai and interviews. I was making the trend reports for my ss22 season but then I got the email for International Digital Fashion Week. The pandemic had ruined my Paris debut but I was so happy that London was willing to receive me for the season. Filming my own shows for FNL Network and International Digital Fashion Week; an international audience in the same showcase as Gucci or Tommy Hilfiger changed the game, it was like a natural progression that I work every day to continue.. I had already established a production company(Godhead Productions) because I was filming yoga content and had written a series for my book SxEyecon. I planned on filming it myself after working with the camera. Season 5 and 7 put the brand on another level. TV, London, online networks with millions of online impressions pours into my global impact as an artist, amplifying our vibrations. People in the world that vibrate on the same frequency is what will add to the brand.

2024 looks like this:

SxEyecon will be re-released with all 3 parts in one book, The Holistic Makeover Series: Part 2 with an accompanying class on Udemy and I have a new Sci-Fi project in the works I’ve been working on for about 2 years. Biennale de Venezia , Art Basel, Swiss Art Expo, exhibitions in Dubai, Germany, Spain, New York and possibly LA. A new 2 part collection, half for FNL Network ss25 and half for my launch in Dubai for a total of 30+ looks and new launches on our online stores. We’re working to connect with our customers and will be selling in person at Parallax Art Fair Los Angeles in Spring and we’re excited to announce we’ll have a pop up shop at The 11th Annual Puerto Rican Festival of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin August 18, 2024 with Yussef Morales. We got an offer to open a boutique in Paris but financially we’re not there yet.

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?

1. Lifelong learning helped me to develop a long vision. Whether it’s a college degree, Google certification, Coursera, Udemy or volunteer experience you always need to stay on top of the ins and outs of your niche. I went to college with the brand in mind so I used every assignment to help build the concept. Gaining a balance of creative and technical design skills partnered with working knowledge of semiotics and imagery. You can’t be afraid to learn something new or go back to something old that works. I sit on panels, mentor other sustainable businesses and participate in think tanks to constantly keep my mind working on new ways to advance the mission on a grand scale.

2. Mastering the pivot and giving myself the permission to evolve. Evolution is what keeps us ahead of the trends. The pandemic brought that into crystal clear perspective. I was booked for Paris but the world shut down for 2 years, I had no income at 1 time, there wasn’t anything moving. Then I really started paying attention to the term “essential jobs” and going hard on the mental health perspective of yoga and sustainability. How could I make sure there were “essential” elements within the brand that were beneficial to the Covid efforts and still grow during a down time like that? I had to respect the position we were all in at the time, on lockdown. I had to pivot from a gym to online, another book, flip from selling at markets to refining online stores and websites and in person fashion shows to refining my virtual fashion show concepts. I also chose to create a sculpture that killed Covid on contact that has been featured in London, Dubai and all around the world. And stay at TTG, trained to go. You never have to get ready if you stay ready because the level up that comes with that evolution is going to be fast.

3. Staying authentic to myself and the brand identity has kept the brand fresh throughout the years. I’ve never been scared to stand on the idea of chakras no matter how far-fetched all of this seems to some people. Participating in a sustainable lifestyle is a protest against socio environmental oppression within itself. But we make sure to interweave protest imagery and symbolism in every collection. This last season we featured our Ruby Bridges inspired pieces in protest against the banning of books and we are working with an evolving print we created of the underground railroad freedom quilt slave map in protest of the erasure of black history. Our artwork currently in Dubai is a wall size art to wear painting featuring the 13 th chakra “The Universal Mother ” and in support of black lives matter as a protest against social injustice. Right now it’s risky to be “woke” as the white supremacists like to say BUT I’m just not afraid to be that one to put it out there. You can’t be too scared to stand on your purpose, like ten toes down and stay loyal to your family and your faith. It’s all about my role as an artist and yogi ; as a revolutionary.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

1.Sustainable Investors/sponsors/philanthropists 2. Marketing Partners/social media managers
3. other sustainable entrepreneurs
4. locations to shoot shows
5. locations to shoot content for yoga or short films
6. art investors or artists reps
7. musicians for music for yoga
8. gallery curators
9.yogis for events
10. PR
11. celebrities looking for clothes for events etc., handbags or jewelry
12. sustainable fabric or factory suppliers
13. student looking for virtual internship with a sustainable luxury fashion company
14. podcasters/publications/media/network
15. Models of all ethnicities, cultures and genders

you can email me at tantricsxdesignhouse@gmail.com

Contact Info:

Image Credits
photographers- Ebony Adell Dyl4Real models- Ebony Adell, Phailynn Marshall, Eboan Adell, Ricquelle Badger, Markesha Hollins, Yolanda Harrington Cody Malone

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