CURLS & COUTURE (COURTNEY)
Courtney Danielle, otherwise known as Curls & Couture is a natural hair, fashion, beauty, food, and travel blogger. Courtney enjoys using her personal blog and social media to share the things she loves, tips/advice, and to inspire young girls and women to embrace their style and love themselves.
Courtney and I had only been following each other on Instagram for a short period of time before we were able to meet in New York City at Naturally Curly's 2017 Texture on the Runway event. She is so genuine and I admire how dedicated she is to producing quality content! Check out the interview I had with her below to learn about her story and get inspired!
1. Describe your personal brand in 1 word
One word is so hard! I’m going to be a rebel and pick two words: multi-dimensional and inspirational. haha!
2. What made you take the leap into blogging? Give us a little background on where you started!
Blogging was happenstance. While I was transitioning, a family member told me that I wasn’t the “natural hair type” and I was so taken aback and offended by her remarks that I felt inclined to share my story. I knew that there were other women who were experiencing similar opposition and I wanted women, especially young girls, to know there is no template for beauty. Before Curls and Couture was a brand, it was initially just created to share my natural hair journey. To be quite honest, I didn’t know what I was doing or what would come of Curls and Couture. I truly didn’t have any expectations but I received so much encouragement and amazing feedback after creating my Instagram and YouTube pages that I decided to actually pursue blogging and turn it into a brand.
3. What inspired the theme “Curls and Couture”?
Curls and Couture was inspired by my love for natural hair and style. I remember the day I came up with it and decided on the name. I sat with the idea of actually blogging seriously and thought, “If I’m going to do this, I need a name.” I was driving to work early in the morning, brainstorming with my friends and Curls and Couture fit so perfectly.
4. What are the biggest hurdles to building your own brand and how are you getting through them?
My biggest hurdles have definitely been time management and balancing everything outside of building my brand. I am my own boss, I create my own hours, and I determine my own success. However, outside of Curls and Couture, I am applying to professional school, I am the co-founder of Black Girl Fly Magazine, I am in a relationship, and I’m living life, *cue millennial meme* so trying to balance it all has definitely been a consistent struggle; practicing time management and self-care has been a huge help. Knowing when to take a break and regroup keeps me sane and helps get my creative juices flowing even more.
5. What would you say is the single most influential factor in your continuing success?
My audience. When my audience shares how much I have inspired them or when they give me feedback it drives me and motivates me even more.
6. How picky do you tend to be with the companies you choose to work with? How easy is it to maintain good relationships with the ones you like?
I wouldn’t say that I’m picky, but I am cognizant of the companies I collaborate with because it’s important to me that their ideals and products align with mine. It’ important to me that I remain authentic to myself and my brand. I don’t think it’s difficult to maintain relationships with brands as long as it’s organic from the beginning. It’s important for me to cultivate an organic relationship and be respectful and personable when speaking with brands so that there is an opportunity for a long-term working relationship.
7. How often do you collaborate with other influencers and what has been your favorite project so far?
I haven’t collaborated with a lot of influencers until recently, but my favorite project is a toss up between my Fenty Beauty first impressions with @ayeciara and my Halloween collaboration with make-up artist and fellow influencer @christinavega_.
8. Are there any other social media stars you admire or look up to and why?
Yes! I have so many but I love and truly admire Jackie Aina. First of all she’s a black woman in this influencer sphere killing the game. She’s so down to earth, honest, forthcoming and truly herself. I’ve been watching her YouTube channel for a couple of years and watched her grow and mature as an influencer and love all the success she has achieved.
9. What has been the most rewarding part of your self-branding journey and why?
The most rewarding part has definitely been growing and watching myself grow as a person and as a brand. I’ve rebranded twice since I created my first logo but in that time I have matured as an individual thus my content, my content curation, my quality and so much more has grown with me.
10. Do you have any short/long term goals that you plan to achieve with your brand?
Absolutely! Short-term I plan on expanding the Curls and Couture website and blog and long-term...you’ll have to wait and see! =)
Keep Up With Courtney!
►Blog: www.curlsandcouture.com
►Youtube Channel: Curls and Couture
►Instagram: @curlsandcouture
►Twitter: @curlsandcouture
