One to One Initiative
One to One is Aesthetic Supply’s initiative to partner with a nonprofit to give back to our community. For our first campaign we have partnered with Café Momentum to provide each intern with a Fail Forward t-shirt. After the launch of our Fail Forward prints, Chad Houser, Executive Director of Café Momentum, envisioned each of his interns wearing a Fail Forward t-shirt as a reminder to respond to failure with perseverance. Through this One to One campaign, Aesthetic Supply will donate a Fail Forward t-shirt to an intern every time a shirt is purchased from our store. There are currently 39 interns, but our goal is to donate 50 shirts so that the incoming class of young men and women will also receive a shirt. Please help us remind these young people that failure should only be feared if we do not use it as a means to learn and grow.
Café Momentum, a Dallas-based restaurant and culinary training facility, transforms young people’s lives by providing a positive environment in which at-risk youth who have spent time in juvenile facilities receive intensive culinary, job and life-skill training, as well as continued mentorship and support, enabling them to achieve their full potential.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit restaurant, Café Momentum teaches critical skills that allow youth to apply what they have been taught in pre-release programs in a safe, real-world environment of nurturing accountability. By participating in our program, at-risk young men and women rotate through every aspect of the restaurant from waiting tables to washing dishes, while working side-by-side with established chefs.
Giving Back
Growing up my dad would tell me stories of what life was like for him in Nicaragua. He would tell me how he would go fishing in the river right in the backyard with just a bottle and some rice. They had countless of animals; chickens, dogs, cows and baby tigers… yes, I said baby tigers. Sometimes these stories feel like something out of a fiction book but in reality this was his life.
Growing up my dad would tell me stories of what life was like for him in Nicaragua. He would tell me how he would go fishing in the river right in the backyard with just a bottle and some rice. They had countless of animals; chickens, dogs, cows and baby tigers… yes, I said baby tigers. Sometimes these stories feel like something out of a fiction book but in reality this was his life.
One part of his life that has always stuck with me was when they started a small organization called, “Club Santa Lucia.” My Grandpa along with a few others from the community rented out a space to help people in the community; it helped feed families, and provided a shelter for people in need. My family was not “well off” by any means, they themselves were struggling to get by but it did not stop them from giving, even in the little they had, they gave.
As long as I can remember my dad has always lived a life of giving. If a friend, family or stranger is in need my dad is always there to help. As Aesthetic Supply grows, I don’t want to move forward without giving back to people who are in need. There are millions of people that fight each day to get enough water or food for the day. There are people struggling with depression, anxiety or drug addictions. Our world is filled with broken homes or the reality of no home at all. I know I may not be able to help everyone but I can help somebody and I surely can’t do it alone.
I recently designed a print called, “Fail Forward,” the idea behind this design is to encourage people to press forward from all the failure they may have experienced. all fail at some point or another but it’s important to learn from these failures, get back up and try again. Café Momentum “is a restaurant training platform that provides post-release paid internships for juvenile offenders through which they will receive intensive culinary, job, and life-skill training as well as continued mentoring and support to foster successful re-entry into the community.” I LOVE their passion and heart to help young people break the cycle of violence or crimes they have committed. By training them in the restaurant, working with established chefs and teaching them valuable life skills, Café Momentum is helping give them a second chance. They are empowering young men and women to grow and obtain new opportunities that they once did not have.
With every purchase of the Fail Forward Print, Aesthetic Supply will give $5.00 for every print sold to Café Momentum to help them continue to help these young men and women grow and fail forward. If you would like more information about Cafe Momentum, please visit them at www.cafemomentum.org
Adolph Martin and Malik Runnels, Credit Haynsworth Photography
Chef Chad Houser and Malik Runnels, Credit Stanton Stephens
Fail Forward
We all know that feeling when something you make or do is not successful. It can be disheartening, discouraging, painful but don’t let the failure ruin your chance at success.
We all know that feeling when something you make or do is not successful. It can be disheartening, discouraging, painful but don’t let the failure ruin your chance at success. In fact let your failures fuel you to do better and push on for whatever is next on the horizon. Learn from what you did wrong, where you may have made a wrong turn and correct it. I can't tell you how many times I have failed at things that I wanted to succeed so bad but at the end of the day all I could to is learn from it.
I started a company a couple years back and was very happy to have something to share with people. It was a company that I started with my brother, we were full of ambition, drive and we were dedicated to making this work. Slowly but surely we started to lose grip on this company that we were so excited about. I attribute our failure to being ill equipped; we just weren’t ready to begin this company and ship products. We still needed to grow before we were able to start a company. I am all for the mentality to learn as you go but we had a steep learning curve. I felt horrible; we put money, time, and effort into this only to fail.
I could have stopped there but instead I see it as paying for my education in a non-conventional way. Once we officially shut everything down, I began to think about how I could learn from this and how I could do things different. I began practicing and growing my craft and I slowly started to save some money to begin again. There is no substitute for hard work, you just have to do it. With the encouragement and support of my family and others I began my journey to a new company. I am beyond grateful for my wife as she helped lift me up in those moments where I didn’t believe in myself, where I wanted to quit. Don’t get caught up in the “pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps,” thinking. Having people around you to help you up is important, find a friend, spouse, anyone and don’t be to prideful to accept their help and encouragement. Today I am happy and humbled to share with you Aesthetic Supply Co.
