LA-born BE LOVE creates quality clothing that is both beautiful and inspiring to fulfil their vision of making a difference. They take part of the profit from sales to fund services that impact youth and positively transform the community. Now, Be Love is looking at ways to continue their work in London. They are committed to working with local organisations in a hands-on way, targeting projects focussed on youth education, art, non-violence and community empowerment. Here Be Love founders Kyle and Kam-Gi Finch explain how they took their passion for service and made it their business:

What attracted you to fashion or the art of design? Why a clothing company?
Our intention from the beginning of Be Love was to create a ‘vehicle’ that could help support the community service projects we believe in.

Starting a clothing company seemed like a natural way to do this. We love art and spreading positivity through creative messages. Our goal is to create beautiful, quality clothing that inspires & empowers. The designs & messaging on the clothing affirm and underline everything we believe in…… ‘Love & Truth Shall Prevail’, ‘May All Beings Be Happy & Free’, ‘Be the Change’, ‘Be Love’, ‘Seva’ are just a few of the great Be Love messages and designs.
Be Love is the way we have found to serve in our community and make a difference where we can.

Why the name ‘Be Love’? What does that name mean to you?
The name Be Love serves as a reminder for us that this is what we are meant to be. It’s an active name that implies the need for action in order to realize our full potential & our connection to all.
Life is so full that we often get caught up in the day-to-day grind and forget about the simple yet powerful truths, such as being love.
The messages on our clothing also serve the same purpose, to remind all of us of the things that essentially make us happy.

Where do you see Be Love going? What is your vision or hope for the future of the company?
We see Be Love growing as a brand that stands for service, community empowerment, and gorgeous clothing!
We would like to be a model and inspire other individuals and businesses to put service to the community higher up on the priority list.
As we grow so will our giving. We are really inspired by Paul Newman’s company ‘Newman’s Own’ & his model of giving away all profits.
We envision Be Love being a ‘conduit’ through which money flows. Through Be Love it reaches the organizations and places that will do work of great value.
It is our belief that there are enough resources to go around, and we want to be one of the channels that keeps it all flowing!
We also see our brand growing geographically – Be Love is now being stocked by a number retailers in the UK and Europe. Our vision is to be able to place more focus on that growth and eventually set up service projects in other places, with London being a key location for us.

More about the charities you want to help and how you want to help your community? Which charities and why?
We are committed to working with small organizations with strong track records of service in our community. We want to make sure that the money we raise goes directly to the intended goal so that it makes a real impact.
To start, we have partnered with a grass roots, local organization here in Los Angeles, Alexandria House (a transitional home for formerly homeless women & children) to initiate a transformative community project that has a measurable & achievable goal. We will initiate an after school program for the youth in this inner city Los Angeles community and bring talented teachers (musicians, yoga instructors, photographers, videographers, writers and poets) to provide ‘Art-Shop’ workshops for the kids.
Our initial goal is to raise $25,000 for the after school program at Alexandria House. We will do this by donating 20% of the profit on all shirts sold through our website. This equals $5 on each product sold. Once we reach the funding goal for Alexandria House we will introduce a powerful new project to support.
We will consistently update our customers, as to the progress and effect of each project we support with video, photos, and reports from the field. Additional service projects that we are reviewing will reflect similar values and will be focused on youth education, art, nonviolence and peace studies.

When you design your clothing, what inspires you? How does this process work?
We design much of our graphic art ourselves and also work with various artists whose work we love. It is a good way to keep things fresh. Our way has always been one of collaboration & co-creation with exceptionally talented friends ~ this works beautifully for us.
Its important that our clothing looks & feels wonderful, pieces you can wear at home, out and about, during yoga after yoga. Be Love is a lifestyle brand that is spirit inspired!

Who wears your clothes? Who is the “Be Love” customer or supporter?
Our demographic is huge! It is always such a sweet surprise to see how many different kinds of people (of all ages) love & resonate with our clothes and mission. Essentially the Be Love customer is someone who appreciates beautiful design & quality clothing, someone who is part of the ‘awakening’ and is down with the cause! Be Love is about making a positive difference.

You can learn more about Be Love by visiting their website www.beloveapparel.com

And if you’d like to get in touch with Kyle and Kam-Gi you can email them at
kyle@beloveapparel.com and kamgi@beloveapparel.com

**SPECIAL OFFER FOR READERS**
Be Love are generously giving away one top to a lucky reader (women’s and men’s styles are available, so guys you are not left out on this one!). To be in with a chance of winning all you need to do is Like Be Love on Facebook and follow them on Twitter. The deadline is 5th May and the lucky winner will be announced shortly after by Be Love via Facebook and Twitter so keep your eyes peeled! Good Luck!”