Confession.
I’m a bit of a fashion addict.
Ok, maybe more than “a bit”.

I pour over fashion magazines the way a musician lusts after a shiny new Gibson.
I was mesmerized by fashion designers at a very early age.
The craftsmanship. The creativity. The sheer beauty of it all.
The ability to transform yourself. With a single look.
Fashion, not always, but often, takes my breath away.

Though I adore fashion, I’m not the best at putting together my own looks.
That’s why it’s nice to have a hot NYC fashion stylist on speed-dial. *wink*

My dear friend, collaborator and soul-sister, Elsa Isaac, is visiting L.A. for the next week.
I’m giddy to have her out West for some quality work-time and beach-time (of course)!
But I didn’t want to keep her all to myself, so I thought I’d put together a bonus GET TO KNOW post this week.

If after reading this Q+A, you’re totally smitten with her (as I know you will be), you should know that she’s got a few spots left for some 1-on-1 styling sessions with her in Los Angeles next week. (more details below).

I digress.
On to the Q+A.
Enjoy!

~

Ok, I realize I know you pretty well, but give my readers a little background about yourself.
Well, my love affair with clothes & fashion began at an early age . . . I’m sure playing dress up with Barbies played a small part. 🙂
However it came to be, I knew early on that my love for fashion wasn’t just something to play with, it was a full-time passion I would spend the rest of my life honing!
After studying fashion marketing at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, I quickly jumped into the styling world and began dressing musicians for music videos.
When I moved to New York, I began working on magazine & commercial shoots as well.
I’ve been fortunate enough to work with companies like Essence, Redbook, Good Housekeeping Magazine and celebrities like Bill Cosby, Brooke Shields & Lenny Kravitz! I LOVE MY JOB!

Tell me a bit more about how you came to the world of styling. Why did you want to pursue being a stylist after studying fashion marketing?
Believe it or not I actually never wanted to be a stylist! In fact I had no idea that this type of career even existed.
My dream had always been to be a fashion designer {still is}. It wasn’t until I was half way through college and a friend in the music industry forced me to style a video for one of his artists, before I really knew what a stylist was.
But after I styled that music video, I fell completely in love and knew I wanted to pursue the styling path.

You clearly have an entrepreneurial spirit and are your own business woman. I share that same sense of adventure with what I do. I’m curious, do you feel like you’ve always wanted to “do your own thing”? And what do you find are the most challenging {and gratifying} things about working for yourself?
I don’t think I realized that all of my quirks growing up would eventually mean that I was destined for an entrepreneurial life.
But I when I look back at myself now, it all makes sense!
I used to do things like plan summer neighborhood events and hold best dressed contests at school.
I was always creating and I think that came from not finding things or situations in life that fit perfectly with who I was. So it seemed second nature to me to just create the things I couldn’t find. That’s the essence of an entrepreneur to me.

The most challenging thing about working for yourself is having to wear so many hats when you really would rather live wearing just the one. But the most gratifying part about about running my own business is having the ability to transform & evolve my business in a way that best compliments who I am and how I choose to live my life.

What inspires + motivates you to keep doing what you do?
New York City, the ocean, the fact that a fellow human being invented the airplane, love, Michael Jackson . . .
So many things inspire + motivate me on a daily basis, but I think what motivates me most, is knowing that my parents escaped a war torn country, to provide their children with the kind of life so many of the family and friends we left behind couldn’t have.
It’s a sobering thought that ALWAYS reminds me of how lucky I really am.

Lately I’ve become fascinated by the idea of balancing creating “art” and doing business. Personally, I find it hard to strike a balance between the two in my own life. Do you struggle with this? If so, how do you deal with it?
Balancing art creation with business, has hands down been my hardest struggle!
I recently had a conversation with a business man who shed new light on this area for me. He told me that doing what you’re good at is the easy part in life, but felt that mastering what you struggle with is the true meaning of success.
I realized at that point, that in order for me to really share my creative gift with the world, I will need to master the art of business no matter what it takes.

You’ve styled some pretty well-known folks (Lenny Kravitz, Marie Forleo, Bill Cosby, among many others). What has been the most fun part of your job? Do you have a particular memory of a time that sticks out as being especially amazing?
The memory that stands out most in my career is when I got the opportunity to style the cast of The Cosby Show for Essence magazine! There was a moment as I was meeting each of them for the first time where I felt like I was having an out of body experience.
I just couldn’t believe that the people who were such a big part of my childhood were standing in front of me!
I was overflowing with gratitude on that day.

Tell us why style is so important? And maybe a few tips for how every woman out there, can have “style”.
Style is important because it’s an extension of who we are. We put clothes on everyday of our lives, so what we wear affects us in a good way or a bad way.

When you don’t put thought into how you’re going to adorn your body and what you want to declare about yourself to the world, then you ignore an important part of you that seeks expression.

The first way you can start to bring style into your life is by knowing your body’s size and shape. I created a fun body shape calculator on my blog, that allows to you enter your measurements and discover your shape instantly.
Knowing your body shape helps you eliminate the various styles and cuts of clothing that are not suited for you, and focus more on the ones that are. The best place to start implementing this new rule is in your closet!

Another great way to develop personal style is by starting a vision board {or Pinterest board} by collecting all the clothing styles that inspire you most. Slowly try some of the style ideas from your board and eliminate what doesn’t work. Eventually you’ll end up with a style that really represents you fully.
And remember as we change an evolve so will our style, so it’s important to create vision boards frequently.

I know you and I know that what you’ve created for yourself hasn’t come easy. We all have struggles, some big – some small. Do you have any thoughts or words of wisdom on how to keep on going when the going gets tough?

When it comes down to it, there’s really nothing else I’d rather be doing in my life than playing with clothes.
I really can’t imagine myself doing anything else. So when I have my down moments, I’m realizing that it usually means I have to step away from my craft and just live life.
Coming back to it with a renewed + refreshed energy changes everything! I’ve learned this the hard way 🙂

I’m curious, what does beauty mean to you? What do you find ‘beautiful’?
Beauty to me is happiness expressed outwardly.
Which is why, in my opinion, you can’t fake true beauty.

Beauty only exists if it comes through you, not to you.

I think that’s why I love the arts so much.
It allows us to not only see, but connect with the all the other ways people are expressing their own passions.
Things I find beautiful: a well decorated home, a woman wearing the perfect dress and heels, perfectly designed packaging and a man in well fitted suit!

I know you love to travel too – tell me, what are a few of your favorite spots? Any places you’re dying to visit?
My favorite places to travel to so far have been Eritrea (the country I’m from), Costa Rica + Portugal.
I’m absolutely dying to get to Thailand, Dubai + Australia!

Is there a specific quote or a philosophy, which guides your life?
Yes. The serenity prayer:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.

And finally, WHY do you do what you do?
For 2 reasons:
Because it fills me up with joy
Because I wouldn’t want to do anything else!
~

Super sweet, down-to-earth and she’s created a truly inspiring life and business that she loves.
What’s not to love about this girl?

Like I mentioned at the top of this post, you can snag Elsa for an in-person styling session before she heads back East.
$400 for 3-hours of wardrobe magic with one of NYC’s hottest stylists?
Ummm, yes please.
She’s only got opening from February 4th to February 7th, so get on it!
You can get in touch with Elsa via her website here.

Hope you enjoyed getting to know Elsa + I’ll see you next time!

xo