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| (Tosha Brize - the humbled mastermind behind Brize Collection) |
Tosha Brize is gifted. Tosha Brize believes in the concept and act
of “persistence.” Tosha Brize ignored the lack of support she received and now
adorns celebrities with her one-of-a-kind collection. Those were just some of the thoughts swirling around my head
after the 33-year old entrepreneur and I chatted on the phone for more than an
hour last week.
As a tweetaholic, I obsessively follow tons
of awesome folks on Twitter. This includes Tami Roman, one of the original
Reality TV stars in, literally, history. Way before her current role on
“Basketball Wives,” and before she founded TR LOVE Cosmetics and her own line
of Virgin Hair, Tami was one of seven “strangers picked to live in a house” on
MTV’s “The Real World: Los Angeles” Season 2. So combine my love for social
media, Reality TV, and fashion, and…BAM – I did what I had to do! I noticed a
tweet between Tami and Tosha in regards to a special fashion item being sent to
the Reality TV star. Curious (and ok, nosey), as to what was being sent to
Tami, I checked out Tosha’s page and saw all kinds of sparking, fun goodies in
her photos!
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| (Chanel-inspired Chucks!) |
The Chanel symbol, Hello Kitty, roses, gold,
pearls, zippers, chains...wow. The elements that Tosha uses to recreate simple
pairs of high-top Chucks are incredible. She was turning fashion out, and it seemed as though Tami was
receiving her own pair of customized shoes directly from Tosha. So I
immediately tweeted Tosha, gave her my email address, and asked her to contact
me because I would love to feature her on Good Girl Gone Shopping. And then
after the successful coordination and connection between two busy women, we
made it happen!
In our exclusive interview, which is in fact,
her very first interview regarding Brize Collection, Tosha talks about her
journey as an artist, her passion in creating personalized accessories and
shoes (LaLa Anthony and Trina Rockstarr are also fans of her work), what keeps
her inspired, and what she has in store for us in 2014. So it is with pleasure
and an honor that I introduce you to Tosha Brize, the creator and beautiful
spirit behind Brize Collection. Born and bred in Champaign, Illinois and now based
in Orlando, Florida, Tosha’s brand is built on the formula of talent, passion,
and determination.
So how did you get started? Tell me about the beginning…
Well, I started making accessories with my
mother. We would get together on Sunday nights at her house and make earrings
and necklaces, and we would customize. That was our bonding moment. We would watch our favorite reality shows and
make accessories! And then, I had a friend who was on Facebook, and I sent her
some pieces. Her name is Janet Jackson, and she is a big-time event planner in
Atlanta. And she said, “You know what? Tosha your stuff is amazing! Start
posting your stuff on the Internet.” And I was like, “Really?! You think it’s
all that?” And Janet said, “Yeah, show people what you’re doing. You would be
surprised at who’s looking at your pictures.” So I had started just posting the
pictures of the jewelry and I got a lot of people’s feedback on the buzz –
based on what they liked and what they didn’t like.
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| (Janet Jackson - Tosha's friend who encouraged her to use Facebook for Brize Collection promo.) |
I have always customized shoes, blue jeans,
khakis, and stuff ever since I was a little girl. When I was young, my older
cousin and aunts would go to the clubs, and I would draw and paint on their
blue jeans…and do graffiti art, like Bart Simpson. I one time took my mom’s MC
Hammer album and painted the whole album on the back of a jacket. So I would
draw, paint, and do the graffiti down the pant leg, like I said with Bart
Simpson, and other cartoon characters like Bugs Bunny, and I would make them
look urban – the hip hop look, you know?
So I had put that away, and then in time, I
had gotten into doing customized jewelry. And I was like, “I’m gonna bring that
back.” Then once I started doing the jewelry, such as the earrings and necklaces,
I decided to go further with it. Then I started customizing the shoes with the
matching jackets, and then the blue jeans to match the shoes. Especially for
the kids – I do stuff for kids as well, not just for adults.
Then I had a good friend of mine, Ericka King
said “I want some Chucks.” So I said, “What colors do you want on them?” And
she said, “I want Chanel-inspired Chucks.”
And I said, “Alright, I got you.” Erika said she wanted them to be
pearl, gold, and bling. So these are another set of Chucks that I did, which
are different from Tami’s. I always make sure that my pieces are exclusive. No
shoes look the same. So I always do different patterns and different looks. So
with the Chanel-inspired looks, what I do is: I turn a purse into a shoe. I get
a lot of my inspirations and my visions from Instagram, and I will go through
all the Chanel hashtags photos and check out the different styles of the
purses. I get inspiration from the details, like the chains, and that’s how I
would get ideas for the shoes. Because a lot of the Chanel shoes don’t look
like the purses. So I think that’s what makes my shoes stand out so they catch
certain people’s eyes, like Tami. The first Chanel-inspired shoes I posted
online were the ones for my friend, and I said, “Tami, check these out.” Then
Tami said, “Send me a pair. I wear size 9.” And then I was like “Oh wow.”
Sounds like it’s luxury on a shoe!
Yup. When I decided I wanted to create a
jeweled shoe…something that would stop and make another person and make them
say, “Where did you get those shoes from?” When I wear my own customized
Chucks and I go to places to buy shoes after taking orders for clients, the
salespeople are always like, “Well, where did you get those from?!” I explain that I make them, and I’m forever passing
out my information to people. I have so many people stop me in the stores to
ask me about both my shoes and accessories. A lot of people are liking what I
do, which is different for me, because I’m not use to having strangers approach
me or stare at me. Sometimes, I’m like, “Why is she looking at me like that?”
And it’s usually because the woman wants to ask me about my shoes and
accessories.
So how did you get involved with customizing accessories and shoes
for celebrities?
When I first started, I had no
support…really. No support from my family and friends, except for my mother who
has always been a very good supporter of my dreams. She’s always had my back.
The Brize Collection comes from my last name, and I always wanted to do
something big and put a stamp on my name, because my last name is very unique.
And I felt I had to create a voice for myself and get out there and reach out
to people that I know. And certain people accepted what I did. Like I did stuff
for Trina Rockstarr. I did stuff for Trina Braxton – I sent her some earrings.
I did stuff for LaLa [Anthony]…sent her some “Picasso” earrings with a picture
of her son, Kiyan. I did a lot of things throughout the years for a few
celebrities, and people who big in entertainment, such as major event planners
in Atlanta. You know, I felt like once I reached out to them, and do stuff for
them, that people would notice. And that’s what happened…people noticed. Then
somehow, you have to be persistent, make a voice for yourself, and believe in
yourself…and then everybody would then follow suit. Because the people who
didn’t believe in me, or when I was doing it back in the day, I would get “Oh
that’s cute.” And that was that. It was like what I was doing was nothing.
But when I really started to make a lot of
accessories, there were a lot of girls that I noticed started doing the same
thing. Which I didn’t get offended – I didn’t feel like they were copying off
of me. If I gave someone an idea and they want to try and make something happen
from it, and do it, and they’re finding something else to do with their time…I
was proud to see that. And I thought, maybe I’m settin’ a trend here!
So when it came to reaching out to the big names…How did you go
about doing that?
Really, it was the Picasso earrings I did for
LaLa that set me out there a little bit. Her stylist, Jillian, who also styled
Whitney Houston and a lot of people, is a friend of mine on Facebook. And
Jillian told me that she was going to reach out to LaLa’s PR rep at the time,
Jazmyn Hurts, and have her contact me with the hopes that my pieces could
possibly be featured on LaLa’s blog. So then, when Jasmine actually contacted
me, she said that she would like to give LaLa some of my accessories and that
she really liked the picture earrings [Picasso earrings]. So she sent me LaLa’s
favorite picture of Kiyan to make that happen. And when they were done, we sent
them to LaLa…and she loved them. After that, I was dropping off earrings and
accessories to Trina Rockstarr, because LaLa and Trina are good friends. So
when Trina would come into town, I would get a phone call and her camp would
let me know she’s interested and that she was doing a show, and invited me out
there. And I met with Trina in her trailer, and then sent her several
accessories. I’ve actually met with her a few times.
It’s great that you never let the lack of support stop you from
focusing on your craft…
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| ("Picasso" earrings for LaLa!) |
Yeah, gradually I brought back what I did as
a kid with the clothes. I just kept going with it…I just kept building. I have
so many ideas on what I want to do for my brand, and how I want to do it. It started
by doing Chucks for some kids, and honestly, I just kept going with it. My mom
would help me sometimes when I would get orders, ‘cause I work two jobs. So she
helps if I get overwhelmed, and she makes things herself. We’re always emailing
each other, and sending pictures to each other’s phone about what we’re working
on. The shoes, lately, have been the biggest thing.
So with celebrities wearing your designs, you must be so proud of
yourself. It’s amazing!
I tell people all the time it’s persistence.
I’ve been doing this on and off for years, and it’s time I just ride it out and
stick to it. I had bumps in the road. I have been in situations where I
invested money, and had to do things to correct contracts and money was lost
for photo shoots. I was trying to do everything on my own. Even with working,
trying to pay bills, and going through life in general, including situations
with family, I still kept going. I kept posting pictures and putting myself out
there. I was telling people that these shoes are gonna be dope, and I already
was gassing stuff up. When you have self-esteem about yourself and have pride
in what you do, it does make a difference. Years ago, I would post stuff but
not really amp it up. And I would get responses like, “Yeah, that’s cute.” Now
I get “Girl, send me some stuff!” So being persistent and speaking to your
dream is important. You cannot give up, because you will get a thousand no’s
before you get that one yes. My preacher said that. It has been just a blessing
to me to see people that can afford red-bottoms and have lines of their own,
and still support what I’m doing. That, to me, is amazing. Trina Rockstar is
very down-to-earth. She told me, “Girl, as long as it’s cute, I’ll wear it.” That’s
just how she is. Tami could get her Louboutin sneakers, or whatever, but she
was like, “Send me those!” I knew she really wanted them, that it wasn’t just
talk. That meant a lot to me, because I come from no support.
So how does the whole process work if I wanted a customized pair
of Chucks? Do I get the shoe first and then I send to you…?
When a client is out of town, I get their
size and go ahead and get the shoes myself. That is included in the overall
price. I receive payments trough PayPal, because as of right now, I don’t have
a website. I’m currently working on that. (I had actually invested money into
someone who was supposed to do that, but I was taken advantage of.) So
currently, I am getting pictures together, especially those for little girls. I
make hair ribbons, jackets, the Chucks…I want the website to adapt to
everybody.
In general, what is the price range for your children’s line and
your adult line?
For the Chanel-inspired Chucks, those are at
$300. There are a lot of crystals and details that go into the creation of the
shoe. For the kids, the prices start at $100. Normally, I try to keep it around
that price for children, because their feet are smaller and the shoes don’t
require as much material. I do my best to not be outrageous, because I
understand how it feels to like something but can’t afford. When a lot of artists
and celebrities come out with brands, they really don’t take into consideration
that the majority of the people that support you and got you to where you are
cannot afford your collection. So I’m always humble and try to do things within
reasonable range. People say you gotta
charge for your time, but for me, the feedback I get is worth more than
anything, honestly. I love to see people wear my stuff proudly and take
pictures in it, and then tweet it. Like Trina Braxton – She had tweeted a
picture of my earrings and said something like she has a new, favorite pair of
earrings now. That made me feel good, because in the end, that’s Trina Braxton.
That’s Toni Braxton’s sister.
When you’re creating, what is guiding your inspiration?
I have a relationship with God, and I
honestly feel that he places certain people in your life for a reason. I get
excited when I’m coming up with ideas, and I’m excited when something’s halfway
done and I know it’s just going to be so cute. I was so gassed up about Tami’s
shoes, especially when I put the crystals on them. It’s so exciting to see
things come to life; something that you have pictured in your head…And it may
come out better than what it was envisioned to be. That’s also what keeps me
going. And I like to have input from my customers; I don’t just make something
custom and not have them involved in the process. For instance, if a person has a purse that
they really like, I ask them to take a picture and send it to me. Then I will
feed off of that, and make it come to life. I have everybody involved.
 |
| (Guest star from "LaLa's Full Court Life" |
My goal is to create things that will not be
easily given away or thrown away. Just like with Tami, I don’t think she’d give
away her shoes or throw them away. Same thing with LaLa – the Picasso earrings
feature a picture of her baby. Certain styles come and go, but I know those
will never fade out because that’s her son and they’re handmade.
About how long does it take you to complete an item?
It’s different with each person, because it
depends on what they like. Some things
that people ask me for, I have to go and look at more than what product and do
my research. Then I can find certain
pieces to be able to do exactly what the client is asking for. Because I work two jobs, I am only able to get
in about two hours in on a shoe. On my days off, I can knock a pair of shoes
out in two days. I enjoy people calling me personally to place their orders,
because I get a chance to talk to people that I don’t even know. I had a girl
tell me that I’m a great inspiration. That really touches me, even though I’m
still trying to get to where I want to be! But I understand, because I look to
people that inspire me too, like Keyshia Ka’oire. I respect her and admire her.
I even had the opportunity to meet her. I would watch her documentary like once
a week and study how she built her brand. How she turned nothing into
something. She’s said that she was even told that when she came out with a
lipstick line that it wasn’t going to amount to anything. So, I felt like our
stories are so connected. I have a lot of dreams and a lot that I want for my
collection.
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| (Glamming up the kids in Brize Collection!) |
It’s great that your story is turning into an inspirational story
for others. Like you said, persistence is key…
Yeah, I’m so happy you reached out to me!
This is my first interview. You know, I want to be in the position where I can
help people. Where I can help them build their brand, whether it’s business or
entertainment. I want to give back and help people. It’s so hard nowadays, and
it’s easy to lose hope. That’s why I say you’ve just got to be persistent and
not give up. You can’t. I’ve been pushing and pushing my jewelry, and
customizing for so long…People started to see that I wasn’t going to shut up
about this. I was my own cheerleader for a very long time. I’m so happy for the
Internet, because without it, I wouldn’t’ have connected with celebrities like LaLa,
Trina Rockstarr, Trina Braxton, or Tami Roman.
In conclusion, what are your plans for Brize Collection in 2014?
My
plans are to continue to grow to become a vendor for boutiques in different
states. I have dreams to add Brize Cosmetics later in the year.
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