News — Blended Designs
Q&A With Blended Designs’ Casey Kelley
Via. N'DIGO
From engineering to marketing to professionally dancing alongside the likes of Missy Elliott and Will Smith, businesswoman and entrepreneur Casey Kelley has seemingly done it all and shows no signs of slowing down.
The New Orleans native saw a major void in the fashion industry when her 10-year-old son asked for a back-to-school backpack with an image that looked like him on it. After searching high and low to no avail, Casey tuned into the age-old adage that necessity is the mother of invention and along with her husband Harvey developed Blended Designs.
In an era where African-American designers are still struggling for mainstream appeal, Blended Designs offers an alternative in the accessories department, using African-American inspired artwork, images, and messages to empower and educate a new generation.
Featured in or on The View, Forbes, NPR and ABC News, among other outlets, Kelley continues to empower her children and those of many others with her rise-above-attitude, making Blended Designs one of the most popular resources for school gear specifically designed for people of color.
In 2018, Kelley was awarded a FedEx small business grant, and continues to grow her company to impact the world. Hollywood favorites including Oscar-winner Regina King, Blac-kish star Anthony Anderson, America’s Next Top Model star Miss J, and the incomparable Vivica A. Fox have all been spotted with and supporting Blended Designs bags.
To read the full interview click here.
Casey Kelley Speaks at the African-American Small Business Forum
Wednesday, February 6th, Blended Designs Founder and CEO, Casey Kelley spoke on a panel at the Jacksonville Business Journal African-American Small Business Forum.
The panel also included moderator Jeff Shuford, Contributor of Black Enterprise Magazine, Johnny Helms, President and CEO of Lumbee Group, Kathey Porter, Director of Small Business and Vendor Diversity at the University of Florida, and Deborah Thompson, Owner of Deborah K. Thompson Consultants.
The keynote was given by Julian Duncan, Chief Marketing Officer for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Business Creates School Merchandise for Minority Kids
Blended Designs' CEO, Casey Kelley, was recently interviewed by Action News Jax.
FedEx Small Business Grant Winner Forum
After over 7,800 entries and more than 665,000 votes cast, Blended Designs was chosen as a winner for the 2018 FedEx Small Business Grant Contest.
Blended Designs Featured in Forbes
Blended Designs was featured in Forbes after attending GBK Production’s luxury lounge, held at the Viceroy L’Ermitage Beverly Hills. Writer Dana Feldman mentioned that actress nominee Regina King bought 100 backpacks for her charity at the event.
Making Friends at the Tom Joyner Family Reunion
Over this past weekend, Blended Designs was a featured booth at the Tom Joyner Family Reunion in Orlando, Florida.
Rockets' James Harden Gives Blended Designs
Blended Designs gifted two backpacks that were filled with school supplies for a giveaway at the J-H Town Weekend Celebrity Basketball Game. The backpacks were spotted with James Edward Harden Jr., professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association.
Blended Designs Grand Opening
We are so exited to announce the grand opening of our first location in Jacksonville, Florida.
Blended Designs on WJXT 'The Morning Show'
Blended Designs founder, Casey Kelley, and her son Carter were featured on WJXT Channel 4. 'The Morning Show' showcased Blended Designs mission and showed Blended Designs backpacks that are filling a void in the market.
Yandy Smith Harlem Bag Drop
Yandy Smith best known for her role on Love & Hip Hop: New York did a bag drop giving out Blended Designs backpacks to kids in Harlem.