Conversations with Safiyyah Mills

Today we’d like to introduce you to Safiyyah Mills.

Hi Safiyyah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started Sentimental Moodz in 2018 after a strong desire to reconnect with my art. After spending years helping others with their business goals through freelance organizational management, I set out to create something just for me. My hope is to create meaningful art that you want to give to your family and friends. I want your recipients to treasure these items and reflect on the intentions behind them even after you are gone.

For me, that last part is especially personal. Being the child of a missing mother, it is a yellowing scrapbook filled with cards, writings and other keepsakes that gets me through. It is the reason I have memory boxes filled with greeting cards and letters that I cannot seem to part with.

You see, technology is great, but in the absence of tangible memories, memories often fade. This is where greeting cards are more important than ever. This is why I created Sentimental Moodz, with a mission to offer many styles for many different moodz.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The road has been up and down. Shortly after founding Sentimental Moodz, I had the opportunity to participate in the Sprint Accelerator- The Mentor Network (now T-Mobile), which paired me with a business executive in the Kansas City area to help me navigate the early challenges as a founder.

I then earned my first wholesale vendor account with the Fisk University Bookstore in Nashville, TN. Things were going pretty good as I got into two juried craft/trade shows in 2018 and 2019. In the fall of 2019, I took a break to sell and buy a new home and early 2020 brought covid-19, which brought me to a complete stop.

Up to this point, I was taking the strategy of getting my product in front of consumers via trade shows, etc. My social media presence was not quite there to make an easy transition to exclusively online and it was difficult for me to be creative during quarantine. Enter 2021 and I find myself kind of beginning again. When I began in 2018, there were not as many options for African American greeting cards as there are now. So I decided to start a lifestyle blog to increase traffic to my website and to expand my audience.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a self-taught visual & digital artist and new lifestyle blogger. I have a diverse background, to include organizational management, entrepreneurship, planning, teaching, etc. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Science, a Master’s in Liberal Arts and a Master’s in Business. I founded Sentimental Moodz, a greeting card company in 2018 as a way to reconnect with my artistic self. All the Moodz! is a bi-monthly lifestyle blog that seeks to find art in various places and moods of life. With an emphasis on visual art, DIY, creative projects and entrepreneurial tips.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I don’t necessarily believe in luck. I think it is more about preparation and the law of attraction. When I got my wholesale account with Fisk University, the CFO had received one of my cards from someone else. I happen to be in the same room as her and had samples on me. I followed up with the contact that I was given for at least a month until I finally was able to move forward in the vendor process. The opportunity being presented may be seen as luck, but I had to be prepared and remain persistent in order to bring the opportunity to fruition.

Pricing:

• $4- Greeting Cards
• $30- 11×17 Art Prints
• $35- 12×18 Art Prints

Contact Info:

• Email: contact@sentimentalmoodz.com
• Website: www.sentimentalmoodz.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sentimental_moodz/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sentimentalmoodz/
• Twitter: https://www.pinterest.com/sentimentalmoodz/
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SentimentalMoodz

Image Credits
S. Mills