Claima

Today, Claima Stories, announces its partnership with the design and marketing partner to small business, @Vistaprint and Vistaprint’s new go-to graphic design service, @99designs by Vistaprint. Learn more through the link in the bio. The multi-dimensional partnership is part of 99 Days of Design, a 99designs by Vistaprint initiative to empower 99 small businesses around the world with financial support and design services. Through this collaboration, a Claima Stories committee will identify 12 BIPOC businesses and creatives impacted by COVID-19 to receive $15,000 in cash, a design makeover and marketing assets to support their business growth. Each brand will be a part of the creative industry and range from fashion, interior design, art and more. Recipients of the grant will be included on the Claima Stories podcast for a one-on-one with Claima Stories host Bimma Williams. Recipients will be announced on a rolling basis. Find more information about the upcoming partnership, visit claimastories.com or click the link in the bio. 🖼 @lilschoice

Inspired by our moms and Vice President Kamala Harris, we've partnered with Converse to create the Claima Chuck 70 "Pearls" celebrating women of color that continue to shatter glass ceilings. These are limited to guests on Season 2 of @claimastories .

Season 2 of Claima Stories with Bimma debuted at #1 on the @applepodcasts Career charts. Listen now on Apple Podcasts. Created by @claima Produced by @bj_frogozo Original music, production, and scoring by @a.nayapdx Original music @camouflagedon Vocals by @racella Audio Engineering by @prof.h and @coolazzvdot Copy by @jordanrenee Cover Art + Billboard by @lilschoice Cover Photography by @pdxwulf_ Studio Art by @jackfacekillah Photography by @jesserowelljr.photography Video by @puurple_ Trailer by @amiri_rose PR by @disrpt_agency Studio Decor by @cedy_ced Product by @sneakerheadnupe @jordan.champ.mendez and @butterypat Supported by @Converse , @SonyAlpha , @TheGoodMod , @PDX_originals , @fully_us , @KampGrizzly , @IndustryPDX , @guerrilladev Advised by @jps , @oved_industry , @lhicks13 , @amfarrand , Darius Hartwell, @mikethelin , @sashe.shantae , Amber Davis, @mlo84 , @hookypdx , and @nugotgame Special thanks to my wife @katelynywilliams

Claim Your Narrative - a new lecture series where @BimmaWilliams , host of the @ClaimaStories podcast, shares his story from being a struggling podcaster to creating a six figure purpose driven business. Starting February 1st, in partner with Black and Brown owned sneaker shops, Bimma will share how to hone your unique talent, attract the right people to help you grow, and connect with mentors that have been where you want to go. Register now at claimastories.com/lecture or through the link in the bio. 📹 @puurple_ 📸 @pdxwulf_ 🔊 @a.nayadx 🔋 @claima

Ghana. Nigeria. Mexico. Moscow. Iran. Istanbul. Egypt. Portugal. Spain. London. Chile. New Zealand. Wow, we just hosted Claima Stories Live with Bimma via Zoom with attendees from all over the world, helping them discover their dream careers. It's unreal how the power of one story can change our day to day lives in an instant. The Coronavirus pandemic has shifted how we interact with our loved ones, upended millions of jobs, and taken many lives. As the story continued to develop, we worried about our Claima community and what impact this pandemic would have on our lives... especially after learning of how COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting black and brown communities. Motivated to do something that would uplift spirits and offer hope, we created a new concept, Claima Stories with Bimma Live: an interview series via Zoom. Over the span of five weeks, we shared incredible career stories featuring top talent of color including Bryce Wong (@bbbrycewong ) Nike SB - Footwear Designer, Jazerai Allen-Lord (@nerdlikejazzy ) True to Size - Co-founder, James Hesse (@heskicks ) Youtuber, Portia Blunt (@portiablunt ) @newbalance : Director of Apparel Operations, and Cam Mason (@sneakerheadnupe ) @adidashoops : Director of Product. 392,000 people were reached by Claima Stories Live content, Footwear News showed us some love, and the feedback from you was overwhelmingly positive. “My Tuesdays will never be the same.” @bestnkicks Thank you so much to everyone that joined us for the series. Our Tuesday nights will never be the same either. If you missed the series, stay locked on @claimastories as we’ll start to roll out those interviews over the next couple of weeks. Special thanks to our partners @pensoleofficial , @yellowbrick.sneakers , @betternrg , @oregonstatealumni , @deadstockcoffee , and @aop_portland . Special thanks to the @claima team @bj_frogozo , @___itsmoi , @a.nayapdx , @justnecessary , and @katelynywilliams

We are pleased to announce that the Claima: Stories with Bimma podcast has an official release day. We’re dubbing this “Day after MLK” 1/21/2019! We will be re-releasing the stories from African American Footwear Forum and featured interviews with ✔️Frank Cooker -  Creative / Curator (@frankcooker ) ✔️Melissa Chun - Category Director adidas Originals Apparel (@chunfun ), ✔️Dewayne Dale Jr. - Innovation Designer KEEN Footwear (@indigenous_designer ) , ✔️Domonique Debnam - Senior Product Line Manager: Jordan Footwear Kids (@debradom ) #storiesbringequality (📸 by @oilang__ )

From growing up as a young black girl in NE Portland to managing billions of dollars with Meyers Memorial Trust (@meyermemorialtrust ). Recorded live at the African American Footwear Forum, @BimmaWilliams sat down with Rukaiyah Adams (@missrukaiyah ) to discuss how she pursued a career as a acquisitions lawyer in Silicon Valley and later pivoted into managing investment portfolios driven by her love of math. Hit the link in the bio for the full story 🚨 #StoriesBringEquality

Claima x Contemporary Athletics First meeting when they joined a special product team at adidas working on global collaborations in 2017, Bimma (@storieswithbimma ), our co-founder and @Cedy_ced (Founder of @c_athletics and Senior Apparel Designer at @adidashoops ) developed a very unique bond. While reminiscing about their childhoods in the south, they found a lot synergy in their interests. From both growing up as Track & Field athletes to being underrepresented professionals working in the sportswear industry, but perhaps the most significant common interest between them is the desire for equality at the leadership table in the industry. For Bimma, it materialized through Claima. For Ced, it was a new venture into furniture. At this year’s African American Footwear Forum (@aaff.us ), a very organic representation of their ideals came into fruition— a table that can also function as a seat. “We wanted to bring to life the idea of a seat at the table, something that marginalized groups struggle to achieve in their careers.” - @cedy_ced Today, we’re excited to share our Claima x @c_athletics Table. #StoriesBringEquality

Last Saturday, the most amazing collaboration of the year took place and it wasn’t a sneaker. Companies like @footlocker , @nike , @adidas , @vans , @newbalance , @underarmour , and @timberland came together to tackle inclusion at the leadership table and celebrate the contributions of African Americans to the Footwear industry. “In order to move the needle, we have to break the needle: [Leaders] need to understand that diversity is not only a good thing to do but it is essential to the bottom line.” Darla DeGrace of (@degraceconsulting ) #StoriesBringEquality Event: @aaff.us , @pensoleofficial , @fdra1944 Videography: @_carlosperalta_ Music: @sirnai_ Tee: @dehen1920

Claima x Dehen1920 Knowing that the African American Footwear Forum would be a big milestone for @Claima , we came up with an idea to celebrate the moment with a locally made Heavy Duty Tee. This idea led us to the doors of the Dehen Knitting Company based here in Portland, OR. This family business has been producing heavy duty, quality apparel since 1920. Even through tough times and pressure to move their manufacturing outside of the United States, they’ve remained committed to their core ideals. Today, we’re excited to share our limited edition Claima x Dehen 1920 Heavy Duty Tee. We currently do not have plans to make more of these shirts, but let us know in the comments if we should. Photography: @nathanielcrissman @thecollab.pdx Tee: @dehen1920

Unlocking the Industry Over the weekend at the @portlandartmuseum , @pensoleofficial and @fdra1944 hosted the second African American Footwear Forum. @storieswithbimma guided one-on-one interviews and revisited the career stories of four incredible professionals with the goal to make others’ paths a little less like a game of Clue. Rukaiyah, Jarvis, Rashad, and Darla did an amazing job at being very honest and open about the challenges they’ve faced in their careers. Full recordings of these interviews will be shared at a later date via claimastories.com #StoriesBringEquality For a recap of the forum, hit the link in the bio to read an incredible article on @footwearnews by @sheissosheena . Photography: @deewellsosd Table: @cedy_ced @c_athletics Fit: @tabor_made , @dehen1920 , @moscotnyc , @tannergoods , @levis + @converse

Earlier today, we joined @pdxstepheng on “Think Out Loud” with host Dave Miller to talk about this Saturday’s African American Footwear Forum, @sneakerweekpdx , and @claima . Just a reminder, everyone is invited to join us at the African American Footwear Forum where we’ll be highlighting the journeys of prominent leaders within the local community and footwear industry. Doors open at noon. Link in the bio for more info and to register. Note: We’ll let y’all know when we get the link to the interview. Pictured: Stephen Green of Pensole (@pensoleofficial ), BJ (@belarmino_frogozo ) and Bimma (@storieswithbimma ) of Claima