Meet Takiya Jarnagin of Jig Marie

Today we’d like to introduce you to Takiya Jarnagin.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Takiya. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I go by Jiggy. Jiggy came from a friend in high school who just simply was in support of my hobby at the time, dancing. The nickname traveled quickly and eventually, everyone was calling me that. This was my first transformation, jiggy was someone who was confident and when it was time to perform, nothing else mattered. So eventually jiggy became alter ego to me. In 2015, I decided to attend the Illustrious Clark Atlanta University. This phase of life changed me because my mom only wanted me in predominantly white schools, the more Caucasian, the better in her eyes. When it came to attending an HBCU, it was a major culture shock for me. My high school senior portraits are what sparked the model interest. The photos made me realize how photogenic and beautiful I was behind the camera, failing to realize that I actually looked just as beautiful in person. This made me want to become an influencer because I knew there were full-figured girls who wanted to feel that same spark I felt from seeing myself in the photos. During undergrad I visit LA for spring break and fell in love. I knew essentially for what I wanted to do in live that I wanted to move to another major city and I have been grinding towards that ever since.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Rather than taking six months off of school before obtaining a second degree, I decided to take my education an even farther step and pursue a masters degree in Sociology. I decided to stay in Atlanta as opposed to applying to a school In California and not being able to afford the cost of living. As a believer of manifestation and positive affirmations, when I read the email from Voyage I was hesitant to do the interview, but I know where I want to be in life. When you put things into existence and live as if it has already happened, then it will. This is why I am choosing to reveal who I am to those not only locally, but in different parts of the world as well. I am happy to share this opportunity with VoyageLA. This journey has honestly been crazy. Jig Marie was born in 2018 when I was basically entering another transformation in my life.

My grandma died in April of 2018 and that really broke me, I became a member of Gamma Sigma Sigma National Service Sorority Incorporated (best decision of my life), I was preparing for this major weight loss surgery, and graduation was approaching fast. 2018 was pretty much a year where I lost everything and before I was able to lose myself, I applied for MissDivaKurves Kurve Angel Calendar for the year 2019 and this is where I decided to go from Jiggy to Jigmarie. Jigmarie is the older, wiser version of jiggy. She is driven to be the epitome for plus size women and that has always been the goal. I decided to not make Jig Marie an alter ego, but me all the time. I wasn’t doing enough.

After graduation happened May 20, 2019 and receiving my Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Merchandising, I was pretty much homeless for a good two weeks, jumping from house to house and sleeping in the car sometimes. This was a very humbling experience because it helped me understand that I wasn’t only meant to serve one purpose on this earth. I have seen a whole different side of me. On January 18, 2019, I got gastric sleeve surgery. This is a form of weight loss surgery which in short terms, stops the overeating I was doing. This confused a lot of my viewers because I am a plus size model and it really didn’t make sense as to why I wanted to lose weight. Well, I still am a plus model, Jig Marie is still alive, but she’s alive and healthy. With my highest weight being 320 pounds and now sitting at 202. I am happier than I have ever been.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
When it comes to competition, I am the worst person. Competition has never been “my thing”, there are opportunities that I have turned down simply because it .was a competitive game. As I progress in the modeling world I’ve learned that my fear of the unknown will stop me from being successful. I couldn’t compete with others because I was too busy competing with myself when I’ve already won that internal battle. The only person I was scared of was myself because even though I prayed for greatness, it’s scary to know that your dreams are actually unfolding in front of your eyes but it’s the most amazing feeling in the world.

My brand is myself, Jig Marie. What I do mostly is the brand ambassador position. I have a lot of marketing knowledge, thanks to the illustrious Clark Atlanta University and like to see small businesses excel. I am the one who pays attention to what to sell, who to sell to, and where. Being a brand ambassador allows me to target an audience that is more broad than what the business owner can do alone. Businesses are teamwork and when it comes to merchandising and marketing, a solid team will give an advantage in this very competitive fashion industry. I have worked with brands such as Banni Peru, Miss Diva Kurves Collection, Swanky Ds, ChosenATL, Macy’s, Paint by Shawn Denise and Draper James located in Lenox shops. These are brands and company’s that I have either
modeled for or have spent time being their brand ambassador. My job is to target the curvy women so that everyone is aware of the sizing and it shows the limitations of a company (if any). My goal is to reside in California or Newyork, but right now I am still taking over the city of Atlanta.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up I shockingly wasn’t too far off from where I am now. Every time I return back to my old middle school or high school to mentor, faculty always says that they are not surprised that I am an aspiring fashion model. I’ve always been plus size with high confidence and I remain that way til’ this day. I knew that I wanted to go into fashion, but I wasn’t sure what that was called. It wasn’t until the end of high school when I decided to research more of what I wanted for myself. Making the decision to get a Bachelors degree in Fashion Design and Merchandising was the best decision I have ever made. My matriculation allowed me to detect portions of my own mind that were not revealed to me prior to college. As a graduate of Clark Atlanta University, I am now tackling my purpose in life. I believe that my passion and purpose is two different things and I love fashion and that is my passion.

The other side of me is my favorite because this is where my critical thinking begins to work. The other side of me holds the desire to help. The desire to save the world. As a Merchandiser, I am able to take a small business and help expand them due to sales, but I wanted to continue to influence in more ways by continuing to be relatable. As a new graduate student at Clark Atlanta University, my sociology degree will allow me to target specific consumers based off of their behavior while at the same time having the credentials to give back to the Black community and prepare our young brothers and sisters for this crazy world.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hashtagjiggy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kiya.marie.3

Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.