REPRESENTATION MATTERS. EVERYDAY. ALL DAY.

LaToya Simpson was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and has never been a stranger to hard work and determination. While in high school, LaToya worked for a greeting card company where two things occurred:

1. Her love for words and messages with meaning was started.
2. She realized that even in happy birthday messages that people who looked and sounded like her were not represented.

LaToya's story was not unique as it relates to the "American dream" which for her community meant finishing school and getting a good job to take care of your family. The idea of a stable job provides peace and security, but there's one concept that was never at the center of conversations;  freedom.

LaToya founded The Candidly Speaking in 2020, during the pandemic, toprovide representation for people who don't always see themselves on store shelves and to provide a product that she and her customers could find pride and freedom in.

Her mission is simple: to create products with messages that truly reflect theexperiences of both consumers and their recipients.With a vision to be have her products readily available to her customers on store shelves, she aims to make authenticrepresentation accessible to everyone.