The following interview was done for Canvas Rebel Magazine.
Hi Selorm, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?
I learned that success in anything begins with how we see ourselves. I grew up with poor self esteem because I accepted ideas like “I’m not good enough” and “I’m unworthy”. Initially, I misunderstood my Christian upbringing because growing up I felt that it was impossible to “be Christ like”, I always felt judged by God for not measuring up. I was also very angry inside. Despite growing up in a very loving home with “the greatest” mother anyone could ask for, I couldn’t see my place in what seemed like a world and a religion that didn’t love or understand me. Plus my relationship with my father was a sore spot for me.
So I learned how to hide behind being fashionable. I felt really cool when I had on expensive brands, brands that in reality I couldn’t afford. It seemed to be the only time people noticed me. I felt accepted. I embodied the idea that the clothes “make the man.“ Despite these feelings I always felt that there was more to life than being accepted by others. This feeling juxtaposed with a general sense of misery led me down a rabbit hole of studying different religions and spiritual practices. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I found a theme in everything I was studying…Love. Love was the binding thread in every religion/spiritual idea I came across. I saw more in common between religions than I saw differences. I realized God ultimately is Love. Ideas like “anything is possible” and “I am loved no matter what I do or don’t do” had such profound effects on my self esteem once I started to believe them. I didn’t realize it as it was happening. I was becoming a whole new person once I began to explore and accept my connection with God as a creation of the Divine.
My father loved clothing, I think I got my love for it from him. So I decided to start a clothing brand based around making hidden (esoteric) knowledge mainstream. I felt it was time to share what helped and is still helping me overcome my “demons”. Also, I thought it would bring my father and I closer. However, he got sick, was hospitalized, and died a month before I launched the brand. It was a very crushing blow to say the least, but it was all the more reason to carry on with my mission to remind not only myself but others to stay positive. His death only inspired me to inspire others. Esoteric Opulence is my way of doing so. My mission is to help boost people’s self esteem by reminding them of their spiritual identity.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Hi! My name is Selorm and I’m the founder of Esoteric Opulence. Art and clothing have been two things I grew up being infatuated with. From early on I spent hours drawing pictures of Spider-Man and other comic book characters for fun. I spent the first 12 years of life exploring my artistic side. All I did was draw.
As far as clothing, I grew up in a very fashionable household. My father could’ve opened up his own boutique with the clothes in his closet alone. He wore a lot of expensive brands. Then there was my older brother and sister. I always remember them being the best dressed people in any room we were in. I wanted that. My mother wasn’t the biggest fashionista but when it was time to go out she knew how to step out in style! As the youngest, I wanted to follow in those footsteps.
My mother is the one who introduced me to the idea of God. Like I said, she wasn’t as caught up in how she looked, she understood balance way more than my father did. My Christian upbringing, though very confusing at times, was the foundation for my exploration of different religions and spiritual practices like meditation. Esoteric Opulence was born when I got the inspiration to merge my love for art, clothing, and God into one thing. I wanted to share ideas that weren’t necessarily found in the mainstream, ideas that were esoteric in nature.
We make high end graphic t-shirts, hats and hoodies with bold bright graphics to highlight different spiritual ideas. It is very easy to forget who you are and become negative; especially when life is not going your way. It’s easy to forget that things can get better and it’s easy to forget past situations where things worked out. It’s easy to forget, period! This is a light hearted and stylish way of getting you to remember who you are.
I’m most proud of my brands mission. As much as I love clothing and art, the core message is what fuels everything. I’ve spent years of my life very focused on being negative. As a result I’ve failed at a lot of things I’ve tried which in turn fed my poor sense of self. The ideas I put into my brand have really helped me. I want people to know that as much I want to give them luxury clothing, I want to give them
something that can potentially change their lives for the better.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
Esoteric Opulence uses a mailing list as our main way of staying in touch with our customers. Brand loyalty is fostered through this mailing list as well. We use it as a means of communicating with our customers. It’s not just about giving discounts away and driving sales, but it’s about adding real value to our customers lives. For example, we started with sending out affirmations at the beginning of each week to help people start their week off with the right mindset. We also include our customers in the creative process by doing surveys to understand what they want us to drop next. We really care and want to hear back from our customers. It’s about creating a real connection.
Any advice for managing a team?
My advice for managing a team is to treat the people on your team the way you want to be treated. Also, as a leader be willing to get your hands dirty with your team. A true leader is also a servant of others. Be willing to add to the project and allow space for the expertise of others to shine.
