Meet Halim Flowers | Culture Manufacturer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Halim Flowers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Halim, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
For me, I never felt like having a job was an option. Since I was a child growing up in Washington, D.C. during the Crack and Reaganomics era, I had a reasonable suspicion that the traditional model of going to school, getting a degree, and getting a job would not lead to the wealthy lifestyle that I wanted for myself. Being raised in an impoverished community that was so close to wealth and power, but yet simultaneously being so far removed from it, I knew that by me being socially constructed as ‘Black’, that I would have to start my own businesses in order to be what I defined as successful financially. And, I knew this clearly at a young age, because all I saw was inter-generational poverty and illiteracy around me like a plague.

Going to prison at the age of 16, and receiving two life sentences, afforded me the time capital to research how I would become a successful entrepreneur. During my twenty years of incarceration, I studied economics, financial engineering, business law, accounting, real estate, and taxes. These were the main things that I felt that I needed to be grounded in to be successful commercially with monetizing globally all of the intellectual property that I was developing inside of my prison cell.

Upon my release from prison in 2019, I had already started my own publishing company while inside, releasing eleven books. Wherefore, my first business was public speaking engagements about my experience in the criminal legal system as a juvenile lifer, and after my talks I would sell my books. From there, I scaled into spoken word performances, visual art, music, and fashion. I never intended to apply for a job because I knew well that it would be impossible – no matter how gifted and talented I may be – to retain a job that would provide me with the revenue that would be necessary for me to become wealthy. And, my goal has always been to live a healthy and wealthy lifestyle.

Therefore, my thought process was sink or swim. I had no choice but to “BE” the business. Wage labor has never been a reasonable option for me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My work, just as my life, is grounded in the intention of love. My work is grounded in authentic storytelling. My work is an extension of me fully.

I believe that all life is dichotomous. Everything in existence is a composition of atoms which possess the balance of positive and negative charged energy forces. And, it is my humble opinion that all life forms, even human beings, dance along the pendulums of darkness and light, good and evil, positive and negative.

Therefore, my willingness to share all aspects of my story, the great moments and the scandals that we have been encouraged to feel ashamed about, grants me an authenticity to my work, whether it be art, fashion, music, or spoken word, that connects with others in an empowering way. The empowerment comes in recognizing the not so great moments in life that you’ve experienced, embracing them to transcend them instead of ignoring them or covering them up out of shame, and using the bad moments as fuel to become better, to transcend, and to heal self and others. And, I feel that my work reflects this when you really engage with my poetry, paintings, fashion and music.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Definitely the museums. In D.C., we have one of the best public museum institutions in the world, the Smithsonian. This consist of 17 museums and galleries in the city. We also have dope private museums such as the Kreeger Museum and the Phillips Collection. Art is everywhere in the nation’s capital.

Food is culinary arts, and we have great restaurants. I would take them to get oysters at Joe’s Steakhouse around the corner from the White House. La Vie has the best lamb chops and a cake that they set ablaze for you. And, Hamilton’s has the best District wings with Mumbo sauce in town. Union Market has a nice food court.

For scenary, I would take them to DC Wharf, the Navy Yard pier, and the National Harbor.

As a nerd and lover of books, we would visit the MLK Library and the Library of Congress.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would to shoutout my wife, Lauren P. McKinney. She was the one that taught me how to paint during the quarantine, which launched my career as a painter. We have done hundreds of paintings together that are in numerous collections, but she never desired to be recognized for her contribution. Whether it has been my art, fashion, or music, she has been a constant, but yet unrecognized, collaborator. So, I just want to shoutout her as a fashion designer, visual artist, culinary artist, and creative director.

Website: https://www.halim-flowers.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/halimflowers/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRealHalim?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWH46R2vlnBSoNW3-6aafEw

Image Credits
Tati Bruening