Today we’d like to introduce you to Alice (“AllUs”) Frank.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Alice. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
At first glance, it may seem that I do a million unrelated things – I am a filmmaker, a poet, a teacher of yoga and mysticism, and I make onesies for grown-ups! To me, all of these expressions have one common thread. Much like light coming through a prism becomes different colors, each artform is a color projected from a strong, internal assertion that all humanity (and everything else) is one. After a very powerful, unsolicited spiritual experience in a tiny Manhattan apartment when I was 20 years old, it seems that every word, action, artform, and business that I create is just another attestation of our oneness.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
After 9/11, when I was pretty young, I started “Truth Tees.” The tagline was “Truth is talking. Hear it, speak it, wear it.” The idea of Truth Tees was to use the space in the world that is most intimately yours- your body, your clothing- to almost advertise the reality you wish for. “Words create worlds.” By putting our truth into the world on our own personal billboards- our chests, we are in fact giving it legs on the planet. We walk it into being.
One of my “Principles of Truth” was: “Truth cannot be designated to any one race, region, or religion. And neither can its counterpart- ‘Evil.’ These dimensions exist everywhere. And these dimensions are practiced everywhere.
We try hard to pretend otherwise because pretending otherwise is easy… but it is not the truth. And this is our aim… to bring truth to the SURFACE everywhere that it lives. And in so doing, bring to the surface the truth- that it lives everywhere. There truly is no ‘Other.’
That was written in 2003. I had absolutely no money, knew nothing about the business of buying or selling anything. I did what I could, but its reach remained extremely limited.
What I love is how many lifetimes we live in one lifetime! The things we are passionate about return in as many forms as they need to until we are ready to follow them through. Truth Tee’s was short-lived as a business and has given way to Urban Monk and Onesies for Oneness. I am ecstatic to see the essence of its message reach even further.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about That We Are Productions, Urban Monk- Onesies for Oneness – what should we know?
Right now, I am using apparel in what I see as the most practical way possible; to create a movement of “PEACEKPR”s around the world standing for Peace in the midst of chaos, hatred, and violence. In every race, country, and religion, there are people who act violently, whether out of a learned hatred, greed, or need. Because violence is loud it can often seem the majority. The majority of our world, however, want peace. Urban Monk clothing is a visible representation of the massive network of PEACEKPRs, a node of which you undoubtedly are.
Poetry has been the primary way of relaying something of the oneness and wonder I experienced that day in my room, and also, the pain of sometimes feeling separate and isolated. I wrote these experiences into a book, “My Real Name is You.”
Performance Art combining spoken word poetry and a sharing of ideas is my favorite form of expression.
Urban Monk, a sustainable apparel company, I call Naked’s Next Best Thing because it is so delicious on the skin and easy to take off! I love that the clothes help us to act less inadvertently violently toward the earth, while at the same time help us to assert our own individual testament to interconnectedness.
Lastly, I am making a short film called “Open” which I am looking forward to sharing.
What’s the most important piece of advice you could give to a young woman just starting her career?
Allow for what looks like “failure.” It is all fertilizer for your next vision to grow. Just keep sowing your seeds.
Your expression of love is totally unique and we need it your way. Today.
Your true “career” in this life, as far as I can see, is to learn how to love this world as fully as you can- your family, your friends, strangers, “enemies,” yourself. Whatever your career path might include (and that may change multiple times) stay curious how it contributes or could distribute love out into the world. I think that is what every modality is for. Especially entrepreneurship. It is being as creative as you can to reach as many people as you can. What you deliver them means everything. A huge bonus is if you can reach people beyond the circles of people you see every day. We are here to unify.
And last, the image of who we are, no matter how much time and energy we put in cultivating it, cannot come close to touching what we are. Your worth has nothing to do with how many followers you have or how many dollars come in. Your worth is 100%. That is the given. Knowing that, feeling that fullness, will help you manifest what you are meant to with greater ease.
You are already perfect. Breathe into that knowing as often as you can. (You might have to close your eyes.)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.1urbanmonk.com
- Email: thatweare@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uniamory/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allus.frank
- Other: heartprintcess.com
Image Credit:
Jason Goodrich, Heidi Garcia, Lev Freedman
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