All beanpYe bracelets are imported from Mumbai and hand painted by the owner herself. In addition, all necklaces and earrings are designed and handcrafted to meet the needs of eclectic customers. In an effort to be socially responsible through fashion, Beanpye donates ten percent of sales to Save Darfur (www.savedarfur.org).
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude” is a quote from Maya Angelou that beanpYe creator, Sabrina Thompson, applies to many things in life especially fashion. “Boring” is the word Sabrina uses to describe what shopping had eventually become after moving up to New York City from her hometown of Wilson, North Carolina. “I would go in one store after the other and the bland items far outweighed the eye-catching products.” So she simply decided to change it and provide women with more options by launching beanpYe.
Sabrina’s love for art and fashion started well before beanpYe. Ever since she was 11 and witnessed her childhood sports hero, Flo Jo, dash around the track wearing every color and fabric imaginable, Sabrina was inspired to pair stripes with polka dots and anything else that conventionally was not “supposed” to go together. Instead of throwing old clothing and jewelry away, she would revamp dated fashions into new, original styles that others gradually began to appreciate. It didn’t dawn on her to make money from her creations until she tricked out a few pairs of flip flops and bracelets years later and sold them to sorority girls to make extra money while in college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
After graduating from UNC, Sabrina moved to New York City and continued to create her unique apparel by personally hand painting and embellishing each creation. She credits her drive to construct each new decorative ornament from her love of African and Native American fabrics, traveling experiences and varying genres of art, music and media. With the help of Sundree (www.sundtree.tv), a Brooklyn based branding company, Sabrina launched beanpYe in April of 2005 and hasn’t looked back since.
For information on Sabrina’s other business ventures, see www.iamsabrina.com.
Shannon Mayock honed her vast public relations knowledge, unconventional marketing skills, and advertising expertise in the corporate, private, and entertainment sectors. Shannon gained her professional experience, working in The San Diego Union Tribune’s National Advertising Department, and handling media buys at McCann Eriksson Advertising for client Sony Pictures. She also previously handled marketing and public relations for some of the most respected and powerful attorneys in the nation at The Cochran Firm; founded by the late, famed attorney Johnnie Cochran.
Currently, Shannon is the Director of Marketing and Communications for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s personally founded charity, After-School All-Stars, Los Angeles, where she is responsible for organization’s strategic branding initiatives, publicity campaigns and corporate partnerships.
Shannon’s upbringing as a military brat, who lived in Guam, the Philippines, and Hawaii, provided her with a rooted appreciation for culture and diversity.
She studied Public Affairs in Europe and obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Hawaii Pacific University.
She currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Carla L. Williams is the President and CEO of The J Daniel Group and lends her expertise to beanpYe as a creative consultant. The combination of a versatile career portfolio, strong academic credentials, and tenacious industry savvy has enabled Carla to expand The J Daniel Group™ beyond the trendsetting sports scene of New York to the sensational red carpet galas of Hollywood. Her multi-faceted experiences include established relationships with Fortune 500 companies, marquee athletes and celebrities, industry titans, and global leaders.
Carla has over 10 years of experience working foundations in strategic and creative marketing, branding, sales, promotions, business development, corporate sponsorship, event management, and public relations for companies and clients such as ESPN/ABC Sports, Fox Sports Net, 20th Century FOX, Burger King, ExxonMobil, WNBA LA Sparks, and Faithful Central Bible Church. Carla has masterminded successful marketing campaigns with partners such as the NFL, NBA/WNBA, NASCAR, 7 Eleven, Tostitos, Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures, and Microsoft. Her robust involvement with these marketing campaigns always exceeds her client’s and company’s expectations.
Her forte is work excellence, professionalism, and brand enhancement. Carla is nationally recognized for utilizing strategic thinking, keen insight of emerging markets and opportunities, consumer responsiveness, and strong analysis to accomplish brand objectives and drive revenue through marketing, sales, product/business development and organizational effectiveness. Continued experience, integrated relationships and varied exposure with industries that comprise professional sports, entertainment, media, corporate, pet, arts, finance, petroleum, church organizations, and non-profit foundations validate her one-stop shop marketing modality.
Carla holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management in Marketing and a BS from North Carolina State University in Chemical Engineering, where she graduated cum laude from both educational institutions.
Born and raised in Wilson, North Carolina, Carla currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband Khristopher, software analyst for the electronic medical industry leading AllscriptsMysis and assistant men’s basketball coach at Word of God Christian Academy. In her spare time, Carla enjoys basketball, volleyball, running, fashion, scrap booking, movies, reading, and traveling.
