Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Cassidy Burel of Kernersville, NC

Cassidy Burel shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Cassidy, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
I would certainly say I am one of those gals with WAY too many hobbies. My grandmother says I am an old sole in that my favorite past times are gardening, sewing cooking, and painting, i.e. old lady hobbies. But if I had to pick another favorite aside from my sewing and designing, gardening is easily at the top of my list. Growing up, my childhood home was built on an enormous mound of red clay. So you might imagine that anything I tried to grow had much success at all. But visiting my grandma brought all the joy of fields of flowers in bloom. Now as an adult, I spend many weekends and weekday mornings and evenings visiting my garden full of flowers and vegetables. There is just something incredibly rewarding about growing something beautiful from a tiny seed and then of course harvesting the produce and trickling into another hobby of mine, cooking, where I get to prepare a meal from fresh produce in the garden. What can I say, sometimes, simpler is better.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Cassidy and my brand is CassB. CassB is a fashion atelier based in Kernersville, North Carolina specializing in all things custom for bridal and eveningwear.

I am the owner and lead apparel designer of my business and I developed a passion for fashion at the young age of 9 while playing a game of hide and seek at a holiday get-together. On that winter night, I found myself looking to hide in a wardrobe and I discovered, awestruck, gazing into the wardrobe full of dazzling fur coats and glittery gowns. When the festivities came to an end, the host generously offered one of her precious coats to me to keep. The spark and love for beautiful garments was born. I knew I wanted to bring that same level of delight and confidence I felt when slipping on the coat that day to others. And sooner than expected, that desire became a reality.

I studied at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) and graduated with my degree in Apparel, and Retail Studies with a concentration in Apparel Design. During my time in design school, I explored the different avenues of fashion. Although my love for luxurious coats sparked my original enthusiasm for apparel design, I quickly found my niche in the bridal and evening wear industry. After graduation, I apprenticed with two master pattern makers at a bridal boutique in Greensboro, North Carolina. All the while, I was making a conscious effort to develop and grow intentional relationships within the fashion and bridal industry in North Carolina as well as all over the U.S.

Now, coming up on a decade of industry experience, myself and the CassB team work closely together to bring our clients’ visions for their special occasion to life. Each day is a beautiful day in the CassB studio, filled with delicately crafted custom creations that are designed to make their wearer feel at their best and most confident version of themselves.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who taught you the most about work?
It’s hard to say whether my mom or dad influenced me the most when it comes to working hard. I remember growing up, for as early on in my childhood as I can remember until recently, almost 30 years later, I don’t remember any days where my dad slept in later than 4:30am and was always working late into the evenings until long after we had all gone to bed. He put in the hours even if there weren’t any more hours in the day. He taught me, that discipline is a mindset and you can choose to have it. Put in the work, and the “luckier” you’ll find that you are as you work towards accomplishing your goals. My mom, was a stay at home mother of 5. So a full time job times five. And then on top of her 5 full time jobs as a mom, she got another as a teacher when we were in highschool AND went to grad school at the same time. My mom, on top of always being available for emotional support, offering advice, and encouragement, taught me how hard you can work even when all the circumstances around you say it’s impossible, you cant do it. She and I sat down and created a 10 year goal of how I could accomplish me dreams of being a fashion designer and ultimately a business owner. I was 18 graduating highschool at the time. Now I am 29 and have had my business for 3 years and counting. I am so grateful to have had two incredibly hard working parents as role models and mentors.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Coming up on graduating from design school in May of 2020, I had the job offers I had been working towards in the couture bridal industry in the city I’d been dreaming about since I was in fourth grade; New York City of course. But instead of taking this next step in my 10 year plan, COVID 19 shut the world down. I felt as if the pandemic had stolen those opportunities from me and placed me in limbo, left with a degree and skill set that was not considered “essential”. This situation immediately hurled me into a defeated and negative way of thinking. I took a minimum wage job in one of the two industries that was considered “essential” and I was qualified to work in. It absolutely wasn’t the medical field, so I went into grocery.
Over the next two years, I continued to ask myself a version of the same questions as I always had. “What are you passionate about?” “Where do you see yourself in five years?” “How are you going to get there?” Through my college career, I’d had a side hustle designing and creating custom apparel and the end goal was always to operate under my own label CassB, in a studio space that created custom gowns, that made everyone who wore them feel the most confident version of themselves. The plan was to work under others who were more experienced than I was before doing so, which of course is not exactly what happened. After two years of waiting, trying to redirect my shifted timeline, and trying to get back what I thought I’d lost, instead, I took those questions I’d been asking myself that spoke in terms of the future, and changed the narrative to the present. Those questions led me to taking actions immediately towards what my end goal was of being an entrepreneur, and creating beauty and joy right now. In March of 2022 I stepped down from my several part time jobs and redesigned and published a new website, CassB Studio. I started heavily engaging in the marketing platforms I had access to and by September 2022, was generating enough business to be able to work full time for my label, CassB. Fall of 2022 launched my career as an apparel designer, not designing and working for anyone like I thought was my next step, but instead for myself, which is what I had wanted all along. From this I’ve learned to leave room for change, disappointment, redirection, but never stop asking yourself the important questions because they can very well lead you exactly to where you want to be.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
I think everyone would like to claim that they are as authentic as they present to be on social media. But the reality is that we show our BEST foot forward to the public. And why wouldn’t we? As humans, we crave attention and gratification. So you convey a narrative, a version of yourself, that you’re comfortable with sharing, that wont create any issues, and hopefully, grabs people’s attention, even if that isn’t the REAL you 100% of the time. Anything I share or post is true and accurate to my knowledge about myself and my work. But in doing so, the parts I and many don’t share, are the downsides, problems, and negative aspects of what it took to make whatever you’re trying to share happen. For me and what I see with many women-owned-businesses, I find this the most frequent with comments like “how do you do it ALL?” Which, in and of itself is absolutely a complement and that feels good. It feels so good and gratifying to where you want to act like you really just do it all and it goes well all the time. If we are being honest, I can say first hand that not only can we never do it all, but whatever does go well and the public sees, there was an enormous amount of stress, horrible work life balance with the time invested, and generally a lot of help from our friends and significant others who definitely didn’t get paid or sign up to help with the chaos. So all of that to say, I show my true self, YES. But I, like everyone else, keep to myself many of the struggles and stress associated with going through life.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
The fashion industry is a fast-paced, and cut throat industry. Anyone who works in it will tell you the same. It’s full of arrogance, gate keepers, and people who only care what you have to offer on the outside. But for me, what I came to realize is that my work as a designer has never been just about fashion. It’s about people. About connection. About the experience of being seen, understood, and transformed. And this is why I create. Because when someone feels seen—truly seen—it changes everything. While of course I work hand in hand with my clients to “create their dream dress” I also focus on them as individuals. I want to know who they are and how they feel in specific clothing so that I can, yes dress them, but make them feel like they have stepped into a whole new world of their own. One of confidence and beauty and joy, all from putting on a piece of clothing made as uniquely as they are. I ask questions about them, not to extract answers, but to make a connection. The connection created by being truly understood—will outlast the dress. It’s that experience that transforms everything.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cassbstudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassbbydesign/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
• Facebook: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cassbbydesign

Image Credits
Veronica Mossed
Liana Rose
Hannah Booth
Ellie McKinney
Elsa Judkins
Ella Farrell