Meet Monique Autumn Carter | Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Monique Autumn Carter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Monique Autumn, can you share the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career?
After almost 3 years of running Canji, I would say the most important lesson I’ve learned was to be teachable. Even when you think you might know the most or know it all, there’s no such thing as you stop learning. And as someone who took pride in being very educated in a lot of the academic spaces I’ve been in, I quickly realized that for the fashion and business world- that wasn’t the case here. Quickly, I had to get used to being a student and learning from everyone I came in contact with. Someone always has a thing or two to teach you, and if you’re not listening you’ll miss it.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Canji was always supposed to be a community-oriented brand, providing clothes and opportunities for urban youth. As it approaches its third year in effect, I’m most excited to release clothes that (In my opinion) are a better representation of the brand and provide premium quality to our customers in the styles they deserve. Our after-school program is something I’m proud of because it reaches the community that needs the most attention- our youth- and feeds them opportunities that some of us didn’t have the privilege to grow up having, room to be creative, learn skills, and build connections with young adults in creative careers.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Hmm, I would suggest taking them to one of those underground parties in Manhattan- I hear those be wild! My friends over at 237ENT in Brooklyn throw some fire events to bring together creatives and artists of all sorts, so I’d definitely recommend checking them out. NYC honestly has great food everywhere but I would say Yelp is your best friend for sure. El Jeffes in Brooklyn- best shrimp tacos ever, Nyonya for the fire Malaysian food in Chinatown, and any Van Leeuwen location for some vegan ice cream.

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 community deserves the most love for continuing to help me make my dreams come true. Friends and family alike, I’ve had an immense amount of support before I even dropped my first collection, and I appreciate it all. Thank you for every like, comment, repost, purchase, referral, and pop-up- you guys inspire me to keep going.

Website: www.canjiclo.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/canjiclo