For designer Travis Terry, fashion is a family affair.
The budding entrepreneur is making his mark in the accessories world with a very important lady by his side: his mom, Laverne Terry.
The 61-year-old has been making waves as the face of her son's brand, IEMBE, and she's gained quite a following for her fierce modeling skills.
It all started when Travis, 23, was a student at Clark Atlanta University. As he was getting ready to embark on a spring break trip, the business major realized he didn’t have a bag to bring, but he did have a refund check from his student loans and an idea.
"(Suddenly, I thought), 'I’m starting my own business, and I’m trying to create bags,'" he told NBC News’ Morgan Radford.
Travis worked at a local deli to save up the funds to fuel his dream and his business started gaining traction once he started designing and manufacturing his own bags.
Soon enough, IEMBE was born. The name was inspired by the phrase "in my bag."
"When you say the name, IEMBE, you’re saying those letters, I-M-B. And the meaning is really just trying to motivate and let other people know to be confident in themselves, get to the bag, which means get money, and just go in and grind and focus," he explained.
His mother, Laverne, has been his biggest cheerleader through it all and said she couldn't be prouder of her son.
“The neighborhood we came from, the kids that he grew around, a lot of them don’t make it out,” she said, explaining that drugs and shootings regularly take place in their neighborhood.
Travis was accustomed to using his sister as his model but when she was unavailable for a photo shoot one day, he asked his mom instead. The shoot, which was inspired by rapper Cardi B, quickly went viral.
Laverne, who had no prior modeling experience, became an overnight sensation and has since made it onto a billboard in Times Square.
“It’s like the best time of my life. I’m 61 now. I’ve never been as happy in my life," she said.
“Age is nothing but a number,” she added.
Having his mother on board as he builds his business is even more sweet for Travis since he lost his dad shortly after graduating.
“That was another reason why I wanted to do it, because I feel like I wanted to change the narrative of honoring your parents,” he said.
For Travis and Laverne, the sky's the limit and they're just excited to see where the journey takes them.
"It’s a pinch-me moment, but it’s kind of like, I need somebody else to pinch me, right?" Travis said.