TSOG Exclusive Interview: The Creators of ‘Barack the Vote’ Apparel
As an only child growing up, I looked up to my cousins and their closest friends like big brothers and sisters. Now that we are all grown up, it is great to see them all doing well and inspiring others along the way. There’s one entrepreneur in particular that has a smile to light up a room and whose ambitions are limitless. Meet half of the brother sister duo that created and marketed a clothing line based on inspiration to become self-made millionaires- Miss Lorielle Broussard. Lorielle is half of the driving force behind the Barack the Vote clothing line. The native Houstonian and her brother (Brandon) have created avenues in which they have made their passion (for fashion) into their career. Check out the exclusive Spaced Out interview below with Lori:
TSOG: What inspired you to get into fashion?
Lori B: As a little girl, I’ve always been pretty picky about my clothes and fashion choices, so I think it’s just something that’s always been in me. I will say though that my Mom has always been pretty fashionable and I think I’m the only one of her daughters that really took to it as well. She always took me with her shopping when I was a kid and to tons of fashion shows (that I also would model in) so, I think I just loved it from when I was a little girl.
Lori B: The idea for the “Barack the Vote” t-shirt came from my brother, Brandon, who is my business partner. In the summer of 2007, he actually was watching a speech on TV given by President Barack Obama, then just a Senator, and he saw an old lady in the crowd holding a sign that just said Barack the Vote! He came to me with the idea of doing an edgy but cool design with the slogan for a t-shirt to help promote Barack Obama’s campaign for President. I told him I thought it was a great idea and that I would do a mock up of a few designs to choose from. And from there, we hit gold!
Lori B: As of right now I do have a regular job, well it’s not “regular” but I do have a job. I work in Costumes in TV & Film. So, presently I am doing both at the same time.
Lori B: Well, as I stated in the previous question, I work in Costumes in TV and Film so, that takes up a lot of my time during the week (being on set). But I also go to a lot of different events in LA to network & promote our brand.
Lori B: Brandon thought that the experience was amazing. The aftermath of the show has really been the fun/funny experience for him though. Just seeing how many different women have been hitting him up online via social media after seeing him on the show has been really interesting. It’s kind of crazy to see how many people there are that watch the show.
Lori B: We are constantly working on Purple Stuff TV, our web based news/sketch comedy show. That is always in the works. We are constantly trying to expand our audience and get the show picked up to be on TV. Brandon is always writing and he is also busy producing for TV.
