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

Hi Abenezer, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
As I developed and grew in my professional as well as a spiritual journey, I began to assess what makes me happy and fulfilled. Once I began that journey was when I started seeing Abojel`s faint shadows. Growing up in Ethiopia, the one thing that I was extremely excited about every year was my birthday party. The best thing about my birthday is that it falls on the day after the Ethiopian New Year and typically right before the new school year’s first day. One thing I looked forward to was my new wardrobe for the new school year. My father would always send me my back-to-school and birthday goodies around that time from the states. The excitement would start months prior. I would start a monthly countdown every year, reminding everyone how many days away my birthday was. Sometimes, I would love the clothes so much that I would sleep holding them like a teddy bear. My love for clothing started early. It started with cutting up socks to make my barbies their glamorous knit gowns and progressed to cutting up my clothes to make something new. This obsession expressed my eagerness to learn how to sew in high school and my consistent style of exploration throughout the years. After teaching myself how to sew in high school, I continued my journey at Parsons School of Design. Following graduation, I began working in fashion. After a few years in the industry, I began reassessing my contribution and what I wanted that to look like. After spiraling down the dark abyss of vise documentaries, a deep dive into world history, and studying people like Dick Gregory, Bobby Hemmitt, Dr. Sebi, and Sadhguru I thought long and hard about my impact and contribution. That’s when Abojel was born. Abojel is an emerging fashion label based in LA. The brand specializes in creating sensuous garments and accessories that worship the female body. Inspired by the journey of womanhood and spirituality, the brand explores the dichotomy of our existence and the constant changes in our journey. The collections study the cycles of growth, polarity, and what those stages look like with playful prints, titillating textures, and organic techniques. Known for its signature ostrich feather gloves and hats, the brand draws heavily on 1920s flapper fashion coupled with everything Bob Mackie, and an all-around “more is more” attitude. After all, life is too short to wear boring clothes and everything else is hard enough as is, so why not find some joy in your closet at least?

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

Everything I do now has either been driven by passion or my spiritual journey. Most of my paintings and clothing creations now are the representation of an aspect of the divine goddess or a snapshot of the journey to divinity. Whether it’s creating clothing, art, or jewelry, I stand on the anchor of the divine and let it develop from there. It wasn’t always anchored; it was very chaotic in the beginning. As I grew in my personal as well as professional journey I began to understand myself more and honed in on what truly inspired me. Being raised by my mother in my early childhood and constantly surrounded by strong resilient women I was very blessed to witness a lot of extraordinary journeys, some beautifully tragic, some messy, some joyous, and all inspiring. That being my core experience it has guided a lot of my perspective in my creative exploration. This core experience has also seeped through my professional experience allowing me to remain agile, and resilient, and to consistently learn and go after more in my career. Breaking into the industry and finding my footing was initially very challenging, It was hard to get a job with minimal experience. Once I did get a job in fashion, I realized it took much longer to
make good money not to mention it drained my creative juices. That’s when I pivoted to graphic design as a career. Once I got my footing I was able to work with all the brands that I loved in a capacity that I enjoyed and learned a lot from. Over the years, I have worked with notable companies such as Apple, Smashbox, GlamGlow, and TBWA Chait Day in nearly every capacity: as a graphic designer, web developer, clothing designer, e-commerce manager, and branding director. All of the knowledge I was able to pick up working with these brands now fully informs how I brand and market Abojel. My main lesson would be to stay agile and fully explore every inch of every stage during your journey. You never know which tiny lesson will apply to the large masterpiece you are working on.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My ultimate favorite spot to visit is the Los Angeles Arboretum. Whenever I feel stressed, overwhelmed, or just need a little grounding I like to go visit the peacocks and wander in the park. I love how ethereal and beautiful it is there.

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?
My mother for molding me and my father for giving me the opportunity and access to resources. And all the people that have truly seen me, helped me, inspired me, and encouraged me.

Website: https://www.abojelltd.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abenezer-mengesha-8aba0a133/

Other: personal IG : https://www.instagram.com/mademoiselle.abojel/ Graphic Design website : https://www.abojel.com/

Image Credits
Fanny Chu (https://www.instagram.com/fannychuphotography/) Abby https://www.instagram.com/mademoiselle.abojel/

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.