Today we’d like to introduce you to Tatiana Ilia.
Hi Tatiana, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am a Haitian-American New York native with roots also planted in Southern California due to my family upbringing and the connections that I have made over the years. I have a great love and fascination for the vibrancy of the creative arts world, and I inspire to uplift and empower humanity through my artistry, healing work, and business efforts. From a young age, this fascination led me into the realm of jewelry and accessory design, creative direction, styling, modeling, event curation, women empowerment, community empowerment, philanthropy, and much more.
Over the years, I have worked closely with the community-driven agency Driven Society, along with other creatives, collectives, and businesses in New York and California. I have also worked for several years in the finance industry as a tax consultant, which helped me to create a balance between the business and creative aspects of the industries that I collaborate in. Through my work in finance and communications, I have been able to maintain partnerships with many local, state, and government entities, along with educational institutions, financial institutions, and nonprofit organizations. Through my work in the creative curation space, I have been able to collaborate with entities like Teen Vogue, Facebook, Verizon Media, Warner Music Group, Cadillac, Fuse Media and many others.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Overall, it has not been a smooth road for me to pursue my creative and business ventures. By the grace of God, I’m very blessed but my life as a whole has never just been smooth sailing. There’s definitely been bumps along the way but it has honestly made me even more resilient and dedicated to myself and my pursuits. My hardworking mom taught me from a very young age that I must work hard and put in consistent effort to attain anything in this life. This was definitely tested over the years as I grew more into adulthood and I would experience my own personal adversities and still try my best to show up and execute at work, in business partnerships and in creative ventures. Creating that balance for myself has been one of the biggest struggles for me but I’m happy to say that I have found a lot more peace of mind and balance with everything. It is important to take the time to handle business but also taking the time to rest, recharge, and pour back into my cup is equally as important so that I can continue to become the best version of myself.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve always been very creative from when I was a child but I didn’t necessarily know the outlets that I needed to use to express myself or monetize my gifts. Then in high school and college, I got exposed to different forms of art and design work, which inspired me to create something of my own. A lot of people that I knew at the time were very interested in making lifestyle clothing brands or couture fashion pieces but I wanted to do something different. I then started my jewelry and accessory line entitled ILIA BY TATIANA ILIA and took a few jewelry and fashion classes to learn more about the industry. Soon after, I started experimenting more with different chains, beads, gemstones, wiring, and mixed metals. Having an outlet to express myself on a creative level was my initial inspiration and motivation behind starting my company. However, more recently the power of gemstones, energy work, and sound healing have been providing me with more inspiration to use my company as a platform to encourage others to feel good through raising our vibration and looking good through style and wearing fly jewelry and accessories.
One of my proudest moments happened late last year when I was approached to be featured in a Fuse Media Campaign and executing my first big nationally televised commercial. This was definitely one of my proudest career moments, especially because Fuse Media is such a renowned company and I had to really stretch myself and wear various hats in order to pull everything off. These past couple of years have been a huge test of my faith and perseverance, and being asked to participate in this reminded me that I was doing something right and that I should keep going. Being able to bring my peers together to create such a unique body of work has made me feel proud of what can be created when individuals from all different walks of life come together to shine their unique light and create a beautiful body of work. This experience also reminded me of my own light and power within and how it can have such a positive impact on others as well.
Fuse Media Commercial Link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY6zuG4QgEs
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
The character qualities that I believe are the most important to my success include resilience, creativity, uniqueness, consistency, discipline, and of course, wisdom. Resilience is important because as a human being, creative or entrepreneur, never giving up is so important, taking breaks are sometimes necessary but giving up on ourselves and our dreams are not an option. In addition, being creative and embracing my uniqueness allows me to be in my own lane and connect with others on a different level. Also, through having knowledge and wisdom it helps me get clear on the vision, and then through discipline and consistency, I’m able to take inspired action and execute. I’m always working on finding the best balance for it all but I’ve learned that embracing all of the multi-faced qualities of ourselves allows us to be more of a person of value regardless of the field or tasks at hand.
Pricing:
- Gemstone Bracelets – $40
- Healing Essentials – $10+
- Gold Chains – $45+
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Tatianailia.com
- Instagram: @_ilia / @Jewelrybyilia
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/_ilia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY6zuG4QgEs
Image Credits
Photographers IG Profile: @JustinBare / @TheOluwaseye / @Daniel.emuna
