Via. xoNecole

In xoNecole's Our First Year series, we take an in-depth look at love and relationships between couples with an emphasis on what their first year of marriage was like.

Love is patient. Love is kind. And for many of us in relationships, love can be a delicate blend of ups and downs. Such is the case for Harvey and Casey Kelley.

Having known each other since high school, the two were unknowingly living in the same city around the same time and later reconnected via FaceBook. Harvey was a grant program coordinator through the school system and Casey was a consumer product goods professional and later moved from Atlanta to Jacksonville, Florida after she was unfortunately laid off from Coca-Cola. And it was there that they were dealt the hefty task of trying to meld their new huge (think, five girls and two boys kind of huge) family.

And it's arguably that very task that led them and strengthened their bond to build both in love and in their professional lives. Now serving as entrepreneurs to their own business, aptly named Blended Designs, the two have found a way to bring the story of their lives and passion to inspire into the forefront. Serving as a premium backpack and travel bag, Casey tells me that their mission is to elevate, empower, and educate people of color. And in response to the lack of representation of characters of color in the backpack industry, their endeavor thus found a much bigger purpose.

To read the full article click here. 

Via. Bombshell by Bleu

When doing research on character backpacks for her son, she found that of the 670 character backpacks on the market only two percent featured a child or character of color. With her new brand, Blended Designs, Casey Kelley and her husband plan to change that percentage and encourage youth of color to be their best, academic selves. 

“If you’re not seeing positive images of yourself, how do you know that you can be successful?” said Kelley. “Unfortunately with the way the media portrays people of color, what you tend to see in order to be successful is to be in entertainment, in music, or an athlete.”

Blended Designs has created 10 characters that represent what the brand stands for. Kelley explained that in each of their bios, they possess academic qualities such as being a good student, and having goals of graduating college. 

“The overall goal of our company, our mission is to empower young people, and also to create more first generation college students,” stated Kelley. “If you’re a first generation college student, you’re able to break the cycle of poverty and create more [economic] wealth in the community.” 

To read the full article, click here.

Via. TJ Armour 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. 

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. 

Carla Harris, Vice Chairman at Morgan Stanley, Loves Blended Designs

Blended Designs had the absolute pleasure of presenting to Ms. Carla Harris, Vice Chairman at Morgan Stanley, who is known world wide as an entrepreneurial leader and investor in early stage disruptive solutions. Ms. Harris runs the Morgan Stanley early stage investment fund and is always looking for deals across many industries.

Blended Designs founder was introduced to Ms. Harris though Jim Stallings and PS27 Ventures. Ms. Harris loved the backpacks and resinated with the Blended Designs Delta bag, the 'Devastating Divas Duffle Bag' pictured below.