Can you introduce yourself for those who don't know you? Who is Doreen, where are you from and where did you grow up?
– I am Dee Sprengers, T-shirt designer for the clothing brand Bebe Rose. In addition to my work as a designer, I am following the HBO education Small Business & Retail and I hope to graduate soon. I was born in Suriname, grew up there until I was 7. Then we left for the Netherlands and I spent the rest of my youth in Volendam.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship? What drives you? Who is your inspiration?
– I wanted this from a young age. But I was not sufficiently stimulated by my environment. Fashion and entrepreneurship were still seen as an “uncertain” profession. That is why I chose a commercial study within the HR sector. After years of working in this sector, I still followed my passion for fashion. What drives me? My entrepreneurial qualities. Just do it!
My inspiration is my grandmother, Josephine de Getrouwe. She was the first in Suriname to sell dolls in Surinamese costume to hotels and shops. Born out of necessity because she had to bring extra bread on the table, in addition to her work as a teacher.
What is the best thing you have achieved so far?
– Built a successful career and managed to combine that with motherhood.
What was a low point? How did you get through it and what did you learn from it?
– Low point was: finding out that I had been doing work for years that my heart wasn’t fully in. On the other hand: I needed that experience to get where I am now and to acquire the knowledge that I have now. And I’m far from finished learning. Conclusion: All’s well that ends well.
When was your first relaxer and what was the experience like?
– After much nagging, I was finally allowed to relax my hair at the age of 14. I didn’t like it at all, but I wanted to fit in because I thought it was “normal”. Everyone did it. So yeah.
When did you go curly, why and what was your biggest fear?
– I have “gone frizzy” several times in my life. I found it much easier than all that relaxing stuff. But I still switched back to relaxing because I couldn’t accept the shrinkage, the shrinking of frizzy hair. My biggest fear was that my hair wouldn’t grow past my shoulders if I relaxed it. Guess what? My hair agreed.
Bebe Rose Fashion has fantastic t-shirts
Have you ever been ashamed of your hair? If so, what was your thought process? Can you explain it? If not, do you know people who were ashamed and how did you know they were ashamed?
– I have never been ashamed of my frizzy hair. Unfortunately, I know enough people who were ashamed of their frizzy hair. Those were mainly the people who always had weave on their head and waved it as if it were their own hair.
Has your perception of kinky hair changed? If so, can you explain it and has the Natural Hair movement had an impact?
– My perception of frizzy hair has changed completely. I always wanted frizzy hair, but I was stuck in that imposed norm. I have let go of that. I have also accepted my shrinkage and know that the more shrinkage, the healthier my hair is. The Natural Hair movement has caused an earthquake in my world because I only see beautiful role models that I used to miss enormously. When I see a natural hair sister walk by with beautiful hair, I can only look in admiration. And luckily I get the same looks back. And I chat with strangers about which hair products we use. How nice is that?
How has the process of going curly impacted your identity and what has going curly taught you?
– A place where you can go with questions. Where you can identify. My curly hair is part of my identity as a black woman.
About BlackFollicles.com
BlackFollicles.com, is becoming the amazon for Black Hair Care Products. It is the solution to the limited supply of Black hair products. We are doing a crowdfunding to build the marketplace so that people with curly and kinky hair all over the world really have a place where they can go to get all possible brands of suitable hair products. Would you like to take a look at the site and tell us what you think and what gift you would choose?
Do you support BlackFollicles.com and if so why?
– I support Black Follicles because everything can be found in one place and it is, as far as I know, a unique concept. In any case, I support black entrepreneurs as far as I can.
What else do you hope to see? What else do you hope to see?
– Maybe where events and/or workshops are held?
Bebe Rose can be found at http://www.bebe-rose.com/
Bebe Rose also sells great headscarves