![\"Four](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2022\/10\/fashion-side.jpg?resize=483%2C362&ssl=1\")
For a little more than four years, Abdur-Rahman has been painting for her first business, SJLCreations, but she only just began her digital designing career in December 2021. She launched her clothing line, Haus of Imani, this June at Michigan Fashion Week. Although her brand is only months old, she is no stranger to the fashion industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was first introduced to fashion when my aunt had her own clothing line when I was in high school,\u201d said Abdur-Rahman. \u201cShe had a show at the Detroit Institute of Arts and while helping with that, I was able to see her make the clothes and dress the models. That show and seeing her work was what inspired me to express myself through art.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old artist continues to find her creativity through similar experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of my inspiration comes from day-to-day life. I draw a lot from whatever I surround myself with whether that be galleries, walking through the zoo or visiting a park\u2014I\u2019m very influenced by my environment,\u201d Abdur-Rahman said. \u201cMy faith is also one of my biggest influences.\u201d<\/p>\n
With her Christian faith being a main pillar in Abdur-Rahman\u2019s life, it was easy for her to find her place at Detroit Mercy. But it was a religious studies course that gave her a new outlook on how to combine her two passions\u2014art and God.<\/p>\n
\u201cDetroit Mercy has really helped shape my spirituality. Last semester I took a course with Fr. Kelly and we read an article about how your creativity brings you closer to God,\u201d said Abdur-Rahman. \u201cThat lesson really stuck with me and made me think of my art and my devotion to God and how they can work together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Growing up with a mother who works as a social worker and father who teaches at Beech Elementary School in Redford, it didn\u2019t take much for Abdur-Rahman to realize how she could use her skills to give back to her community in a positive way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did a few painting workshops at my dad\u2019s school, one for all the second graders and another for the entire staff to celebrate teacher appreciation week,\u201d said Abdur-Rahman. \u201cThose workshops were such a success that I started reaching out to shelters and youth centers and already have four workshops scheduled.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abdur-Rahman has hosted her painting workshops at COTS (Coalition On Temporary Shelter) Detroit, the Covenant House and Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, just to name a few.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love teaching people how to express themselves,\u201d said Abdur-Rahman. \u201cThis portion of my work has been the most fulfilling by far.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a full-time student, business owner and volunteer, Abdur-Rahman has been steadily accomplishing whatever she sets her mind to and doesn\u2019t plan to slow down anytime soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are just so many possibilities for me right now, once I accomplish one goal, I just keep asking myself \u2018OK, what\u2019s next?\u2019\u201d said Abdur-Rahman. \u201cI want to go to it all, Paris Fashion Week even London.\u201d<\/p>\n
But even as she continues to build and dream big, she makes it a point to appreciate all that she\u2019s accomplished and those who\u2019ve helped her along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough all these experiences I\u2019ve learned how important it is to have a team beside you,\u201d said Abdur-Rahman. \u201cI\u2019ve also learned that it\u2019s not always about the end goal, it\u2019s more about how I get there. I keep reminding myself to enjoy the moment that I\u2019m in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the New York trip, productions from both Haus of Imani and SJLCreations can be found in select brick and motor stores and cafes throughout Detroit and Brooklyn as well as on Abdur-Rahman’s\u00a0website<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u2014\u202fBy\u00a0Victoria H. Taylor<\/a>. Follow Detroit Mercy on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>. Have a story idea? Let us know by\u00a0submitting your idea<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Samaiyah Abdur-Rahman reached the pinnacle of her small business career by participating in New York Fashion Week with The Model Experience in Brooklyn, NY.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":224,"featured_media":11816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[6,4404],"tags":[130,2195,3429,5674,5672,5673,5671,1507],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2022\/10\/fashion-full-width.jpg?fit=1900%2C900&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbwnTV-34z","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11815"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/224"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11815"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11819,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11815\/revisions\/11819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Eighteen](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/campusconnection\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2022\/10\/fashion-full-width.jpg?resize=993%2C470&ssl=1\")
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