Today we’d like to introduce you to Pearl Dixon.
Hi Pearl, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
God, Family, Life. Back in 2019, my husband Dontay, who is the founder, and myself, the co-founder, both understood that a 9-5 would not be suitable for the ambitions and visions we had for our family of 5 and soon to be 6 at the time. It was at that time that God gave us the vision to begin what use to be Empower Apparel. As imperfect beings, we did not get it right at first… We had the name wrong; we did not know what we were doing; all we knew was that in our obedience God was up to something BIG. As Kingdom people and children of God, we are called to be lenders and not the borrowers. We were meant to be the trendsetters, not going broke to fit in with the latest trend… God began to show us that we were Royalty on Earth and that He had a plan for us, His kids, to make generational wealth for our kids and leave behind a legacy that would break cycles and curses and give our kids more than we had.
As we went for it, we ran into a few hardships along the way. We decided we wanted to get the name trademarked so that we would be “official.” Thanks to my husband’s cousin Johnny Hawkins we began the process and found that the name “Empowered Apparel” was already spoken for. After some thoughts and petitioning God, He answered. Our company was created to Empower people to Prevail… and this is where the name Emprail originated. It is a combination of the words Empowered and Prevail and simply means “Empowered to Prevail.”
Once we obtained the trademark for both the name and logo of our company and also obtained our LLC we acquired a few clients along the way. Our most supportive clients being Build a Beast Fitness who contracted us to make their business shirts, and Pastor Jane Kennedy who is a director at Word of Peace International Ministry in Grand Prairie, but nevertheless, we lacked passion. The designs would come and go, but we were not actively pursuing them. Next thing we knew, we had been established for over 3 years… still working a 9-5 and nothing to show for it. Still stuck in generational cycles.
It was not until this past year when we both began to seek God on a deeper level that our business began to flourished. With the help and guidance of our Senior Apostle, Apostle Frank Manu of Word of Peace International Ministries, and the support of those closest to us, God has been blowing our minds lately. This will be our second publication this year, and we are beyond grateful and thankful to God and even more so humbled that He would find us worthy to bless in this capacity.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. On top of the struggles mentioned in my “brief” (lol) description of how we got started, we hit many roads of distraction. Multiple detours… the whole 9 yards.
Within the journey of pursuing our dream, we lost our home twice and moved out another time before losing our home. The cycles of poverty were real. We lost cars, we struggled to get our growing kids the things they needed for school, clothes, etc… but through faith, God always provided. He proved Himself to be Jireh in our lives.
We also lost friends, and our families were torn apart for multiple reasons, and we kept finding ourselves putting the business on the back burner because we just needed a moment to collect our thoughts from all of the mental trauma we had been experiencing. But God has shown Himself to be a restorer, and our families are gradually healing from the things we have been through.
On top of all of that… We had ZERO collateral, terrible credit, negative bank accounts, and did not understand how and why God would give us a business to fund on top of everything else that we were struggling with. I recall a time that we were simply praying for a shirt order just to be able to get some food, and God came through that very day and gave us the exact amount we needed. We hustled doing door dash and sacrificed things between my husband and myself to obtain some of the equipment we now posses to run our business.
The road… was not pretty at all… but it was a journey worth traveling full of character-building and wisdom. Would I wish it for anyone else?… no… would I change it?… no… I was built to withstand it… my husband was built to withstand it… It was a journey especially created for us to build character, morals, principles, endurance, perseverance, indomitable spirits, faith, love, patience, and so much more… but most importantly, the journey built the passion inside of us that goes behind each and every design we release.
We’ve been impressed with Emprail Apparel, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Emprail Apparel is a Christian clothing brand that was established in 2019 by husband-and-wife L’Dontay and Pearl Dixon. The business was initially sparked by a desire to find an exclusive way to spread the gospel and love of Jesus Christ to the four corners of the world and remind a dying generation that there is still a God who saves, heals, delivers, and most importantly redeems. The word “Emprail” was uniquely designed by co-founder Pearl Dixon as a conjunction of words that stand for “Empowered to Prevail.” In hopes to spread this message with every stitch of clothing, Romans 12:12 became the official scripture of the brand, explaining that the way to prevail is to be “joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.” This is a reminder that the bible never promises us that tribulations will not come, but it does give us a blueprint on how to survive in the darkest hours of the night and remember that it is Christ in us that is the hope for glory.
Emprail offers both distinctively designed apparel as well as custom options. As believers of a connection of the mind body, and spirit we are advocates for fitness and active apparel while repping the power of the Almighty King. Our clothing is both designed for the gym and for a casual day out with friends and family, but wherever your feet may tread while wearing a piece of our clothing, you will stand as a beacon of hope and a reminder that prevailing is a promise from GOD.
What sets us apart… we have lived and are living this Christian life… We are here to let the world know… the walk with God is not easy contrary to what some may try to sell to you… but it is the only life worth fighting for. Our designs remind each and every person that God is sovereign, God is Love, God is hope, God is the breath we breathe, God is our savior, God is the I am that I am… it’s His world we are just living in it… We have lived Romans 12:12, and we are a living testimony to what can happen if you follow its principles. We may not be where we want to be yet… but we are a long way from where we use to be… and I have a strong feeling that God is up to something BIGGER for us.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
God is Greater than anything. As long as we keep God first and we Follow in His footsteps… we won’t fail…
He is undefeated and has never lost a battle…. and He never will.
Pricing:
- NO RIVAL (Isaiah 40:25) start at $20
- AGAPE (1 Peter 4:8) start at $22
- Emprail (Signature Brand) start at $22
- YAHWEH (Most popular design) start at $22
- Redeemed (Eph 1:7) (being released 03.17.2023) starting at $22
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.emprailapparelonline.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emprailapparel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emprailapparelonline
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@emprailapparel
