Today we’d like to introduce you to Eniola Abioye.
Eniola, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I can not remember a time in my life when I wasn’t creating. When I was young, I wrote plays, poems, and songs. I used to stay up late until daybreak, writing and drawing. Ideation, the act of coming up with ideas, has always come naturally to me.
Around 2016, I decided to create a simple sweatshirt for people to wear to encourage them to celebrate the gold. That was how Goldheart started. Two years later, I decided to post a new poem, daily, on social media. I launched the Goldheart Podcast in early April 2020.
Apparel and poetry have become the two largest expressions of Goldheart.
Has it been a smooth road?
Not at all! I stepped into Goldheart with a lot of ambiguity. I brought people along to help and ultimately, realized that I had invited them into a sandcastle. I wasn’t firm on a lot of my decisions about the brand, which then fractured some friendships and broke trust with partners.
I learned to become a person of my word. Now, I am allowing the brand to speak for itself and where I am not strong, I am getting educated or turning to experienced voices.
Please tell us about Goldheart.
Goldheart is “wet clay”. What I mean is that it is in a constant state of flux. It is easiest to describe the feeling. It feels like a mix of home, creativity, connection, and Jesus being everything. I am the creative director. I spend most of my time ideating and executing content.
The primary expressions of Goldheart are through the podcast, poetry, and apparel.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Building a lifestyle brand in Dallas can be difficult. It isn’t always easy to find like-minded people who are excellent in their work and desire to share their strengths at the table. They are all over the city but locating, getting in touch with, and connecting with them, doesn’t happen as fluidly as I have witnessed in other cities.
I will own my part in that. I am not always quick to get out and meet new people. Depth and intimacy are important to me and that doesn’t happen easily in a group of new faces.
On the flip side, if as a city, we can get over some of our (my) cynicism towards the city, in general, we may be able to connect and create in ways we haven’t seen yet. Also, being willing to give has been a huge part of my work.
Giving away free custom poetry and connecting with people in coffee shops, just to inspire their gifts and hear their stories, does a lot to bring people together and connect the like-minded. This eliminates the, sometimes, icky feeling of connecting just to get something out of someone.
An openness and willingness to give and connect will serve our city’s creators well. You never know if the person you say “Yes” to, will end up being the threshold to a door you have been waiting to walk through.
Pricing:
- A Goldheart sweatshirt – $55
- “light & truth”: a collection of words by Eniola Abioye – $22
- A custom poem with print – $15
Contact Info:
- Website: goldheart.shop
- Email: liveyourgold@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/g.oldheart
- Other: instagram.com/aloine.poetry
Image Credit:
Portraits by Ruby Olivia Photography, https://www.rubyoliviaphotography.com/
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