Broken Baby Apparel was established in 2018 by musical artist Na’Shya “Naay Moe” Donnelly-Johnson in Bloomington, Illinois. The design started out as just the words “Broken Baby”, and the crying baby was added later giving the design a memorable logo.

     What does “Broken Baby '' mean? Na’shya has been through a lot in her young life, and the brand was created as she worked through her mental illnesses resulting from different struggles she’s dealt with over the years. She was diagnosed with bi-polar depression at a young age which created the vision for the “baby” image. She tried different ways to cope with her struggles and eventually found the perfect outlet, in music, to help her express her feelings. However,  since she also had a desire to pursue a career in graphic design Broken Baby Apparel was her visual coping outlet.

     She started working towards that goal in high school. Along with her regular high school classes, she also took college courses to perfect her designing talent. Using these skills, she created her crying baby logo, turning her band into something bigger.

     “I love seeing people wearing my brand. Knowing that people think my brand is dope, even when they don’t know the history behind it, means more to me than anything. I am so thankful for everything I’ve been through because it created the person I am today and motivated me to find a healthy way to cope with my emotions. And out of that darkness I was able to produce music and create a clothing line that people love,” Na’shya explained.

     Broken Baby Apparel is growing its brand every day and will soon expand to more than just clothing. Na’shya plans to teach classes so others can learn how to create their own brand, as well as offering insight on how to deal with mental illness in a positive, creative way.

“We all have a story to tell,” she said, “we just have to figure out the best way to tell it.”