Kawaii Empowerment from the Founder of DC Kawaii Style:
DC Kawaii Style™ is a growing community with members from varying backgrounds who engage respectfully with others while learning and exploring Japanese Culture.
The community brings Kawaii to the immediate DC area but connects people from around the globe with the culture of cute. This community encourages finding ways to bring your heritage and background and mixing it with Kawaii. I am an artist who explores my heritage while understanding the cultures of others.
The importance of accepting oneself has grown into an empowering career and way of life. I strongly encourage that others in the communities I interact with and those I don’t to engage with other cultures respectfully and in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone. My experience as a black Tattoo Artist and entrepreneur have seen so much growth. Each piece of my past comes into play as I build not only my Community, DC Kawaii Style™, but my career. The choices of my past, for my brand and the way I engaged with my heritage still exist in some spaces that might alarm those who have only seen the person that I am now.
I don’t dismiss my past. Instead, I ask, that you engage with it to understand the importance of Afro Kawaii in art, community, and style. From there you will see how I have used Afro Kawaii and tattoo therapy to build both the Community and my own self-esteem. I share publicly today. Rest assured that my past is but a piece of the colorful impact I have had in my lifetime and a stepping stone into the vision I have for DC Kawaii Style™.
I will address any issues with open arms and a guide informing people about DC Kawaii Style™ so that the communities outside of this one can learn more about heritage, culture, and empowerment through kawaii.
– Imani K Brown / ipukekawaii
A Word from Imani K Brown was originally published on The KAWAII Way
DC to Japan 