Emily Roggenburk

If you live in Cleveland you’ve certainly seen her chic, trendy, instagramable designs, and I have no doubt her empire will soon explode across the U.S. She’s been voted Cleveland’s Best Local Fashion Designer, and her loyal fanbase of 29K followers on instagram includes some of Cleveland’s top athletes and their wives. Emily Roggenburk is a design force to be reckoned with, and of course, we’re all about that. She’s been in Cleveland for 10 years come this summer, and though this Indiana native assumed that Cleveland would just be a stop on her list, the city quickly cast a spell on her. She pivoted from a career at American Greetings, towards a more creative outlet through photography, which ultimately birthed her namesake apparel brand.

It’s clear from chatting with Emily, that not only is her heart in championing the city of Cleveland, but also very much in elevating and empowering the women around her. She’s got empowerment apparel, you often see her surrounded by her gal pals on instagram, and she’s constantly supporting other women owned businesses. Quite frankly, that’s an attribute and we don’t see enough of—a woman who isn’t afraid to share the spotlight, because she realizes that when her crew wins, she wins. I was delighted to spend time with, and formally meet this powerhouse of a woman, so without further adieu, let’s get to know Emily Roggenburk.

The following interview has been edited for brevity and length.

1.) What inspires you to do what you do professionally?

The biggest thing that inspires me on a day-to-day basis is my friends and family. But it’s also very inspiring to hear from my customers directly, and to put something out into the world that you’ve created and have positive feedback on it—-or any kind of feedback, just anyone even noticing it is what keeps me going.

2.) What person has had the biggest influence on your life and why?

There’s a couple different people, but my husband is literally my partner in business—we’re 50/50 partners, and he does so much more than what people probably realizes because the brand is just my name, but he does everything business related, so he’s got a huge impact on me and the business. And my first boss at American Greetings, Christine, she just did a podcast and mentioned me in it, and she’s another person I have to mention because she made me believe in myself from the get-go and instilled confidence in me.

3.)  How do you practice balance in your life?

I feel like I’m bad at it honestly. A lot of my work gets done at night or later in the day, so it’s nice because I can find balance here and there throughout the day. So I’m not so great at the typical 9-5 workday where you work during the day and you’re done at night—I’m not great at that anymore. But I do find little pockets of time throughout the day for myself.

4.)  How do you use your inherited gifts, platform, or particular privilege to give back?

For me it’s always been something that’s created in the little moments. I try to give back in making donations here or there for charities, which is great and valuable, but for me it’s more about the day to day of lifting other people up, particularly women or minorities. People that if I have somewhat of a privilege, if I can use my platform to give a voice to people who feel like they don’t have a voice that’s what I want to do. I want to speak kindness into the world and give back on a daily basis as opposed to once in awhile.

5.)  What person living or dead would you like to sit down for a meal with?

I think that I would probably talk to my ancestors and figure out where I’m from and who I am based on that. I’m really big into your roots and where you come from.

6.)  What’s your ideal cocktail, wine, or drink?

I usually just go with wine, in the winter I’ll go with a great red wine.

7.)  What’s your biggest vice?

Having a good cocktail after a long day or swearing.

8.)  Name one thing you’d like to be kinder to yourself about?

I think over the last year I’ve realized I need to be kinder to myself with my time. Going back to the balance thing, it’s definitely necessary for me to stop once in awhile and recharge my batteries because I tend to just go, go, go. And honestly it’s not because I’m a perfectionist, or because I’m addicted to working, but because it’s just really hard work when you have a small business. And so I think I just need to be kinder to myself in general and not feel like I constantly need to be doing something.

9.)  What’s your biggest insecurity?

I have a lot of imposter syndrome when it comes to my business. You work away and you don’t realize how much you’re accomplishing or what you’ve done, and sometimes people will point out what you’ve done, and you’re like—oh yeah! You don’t realize that people are paying attention or know those things.

10.) What outstanding goal do you have that you’ve yet to accomplish?

I would like to get more brand recognition in other states and other locations. It’s probably a 3-5 year goal that I have to get more of a customer base and following outside of Ohio.