Heart of a Queen

Established in November of 2019, CustomsxTrii is both a touching and impressive homage to Owner Katrina Mitchell's father, who passed away in March of 2020. In life, Shurndale Kemp was a force to be reckoned with. Though Katrina's childhood relationship with him was not what one might call "storybook," her relationship with him beginning in 2005 was nothing short of an epic father/daughter lovefest. Born in Pittsburgh PA and subsequently moved to New York (as a teen), Shurndale endured years of adversity. In his later years, he learned to turn adversity into motivation and he passed this perserverence on to Katrina. She attributes her strong work ethic and her drive to achieve to her father. "Most people don't have 'storybook' family lives, even though it might look like it from the outside," says Katrina. "Quality time is what matters and I will forever be grateful for those wonderful, inspiring 14 years with my father." 29-year-old Katrina Mitchell was born in Mt. Kisco NY and grew up right here in Burlington NC. She attended Walter M. Williams High School, graduating in 2009, and went on to graduate from Winston-Salem State University with degrees in business administration and justice studies. Raised by her mother and maternal grandparents, Katrina grew up with an appreciation for the importance of families sticking together and an understanding of what it means to sacrifice for your children. She credits her mother for instilling a belief in God. In November of 2019, when she started her business, CustomsxTrii (pronounced Customs by Trii), her father Shurndale was looking on and coaching her, as he always did. As her business began to flourish, she later took pride in being able to do for him (a Father's Day trip in 2019, for one). "I know he is watching from above and is proud of me and my drive to be successful," she says. "It's because of him that I'm as strong as I am. My father was a 'hustler' in the best sense of the word. When he made up his mind about something, he was going to make it happen." She goes on to say that her father never met a stranger. When Shurndale Kemp entered a room, you knew he had arrived. He lived most of his life in The Bronx in New York City and he lived his life in a big way and in his own way. It was always important to him to keep upping his game — and he passed that mindset on to Katrina. To this day she gets up every day and thinks about what she can do to live a fuller, better life — trying to "best" herself, in essence. Operating within her motto, "Mind of a Hustler, Heart of a Queen," she likes to think of herself as the female version of her father. 26 Burlington Magazine | FALL 2020

KATRINA MITCHELL OWNER of CustomsXTrii, LLC

CustomsxTrii offers designer apparel as well as an all-natural line of whipped body butter called ‘YUP’. (Yup! Katrina is making "YUP" a household name and turning one her father's favorite responses into a noun.) Shurndale's signature "Yup" and his personal mantra of "Love Harder" made a profound and eternal imprint on Katrina's heart and her business. He had many sayings, but her favorite (and the one that resonates most) is "If you're going to do it, do it right!" — And she gets up and lives by that every day. "Everyday I strive to become a better business owner than the previous business day," she muses. "I brainstorm daily on what my business can produce and how I can keep customers happy." To date, CustomsxTrii has shipped throughout the U.S. and has even managed to catch the attention of celebrities the likes of Trina (of Miami FL), Trick Daddy (of Miami FL), Reemarkable (Eazy E’s daughter — Atlanta GA), Randi Rossario (Detroit MI) and Zo (Wild’n Out of Atlanta GA) ◊

See what all the fuss is about at: www.customsxtrii.com