We were lucky to catch up with Tiffany Chuang recently and have shared our conversation below.
Tiffany, appreciate you joining us today. Can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
Hello! My name is Tiffany, but my close friends and relatives call me Tiff. I was named after the Breakfast at Tiffany’s movie, because my parents really liked Audrey Hepburn. I believe they had wishes I would grow up to be classy, stylish, and respected, just like her.
I truly believe in the human experience of longing to feel a connection; to be a part of something bigger. No one wants to be alone. I believe in being kind to everyone when you can, and being a decent member of society. Everyone has their own story and journey they’re going through. Oftentimes, I’m going through it, my friends are going through it—we are all going through it. When I began building my presence, I clung to the idea of my brand identity for this reason. No matter our individual challenges and hardships, all our stories are intertwined and part of a bigger picture, together.
Sonder Wonder focuses on adventuring, fashion, lifestyle, and travel content with an emphasis on spreading kindness wherever you go. I like to document a lot of my wanderings to share a relatable experience with whomever may come across it. When looking at my work, you can tell I love to explore the world. In my humble opinion, travel is the best method to heal, enlighten, self-reflect, and spark appreciation for life and for Earth’s beauty. The word sonder is a neologism that means “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.” When traveling, experiencing “sonder” can be even more powerful. It’s also a way for people to see from each other’s perspective and learn how to be accepting or thankful for different cultures.
Whenever I produce content, I always remain true to myself and my authenticity. Even when it comes to collaboration projects, I won’t accept one if I don’t like or believe in the brand. I will always be picky about who I want to work with. Part of the luxury of having my hobby not be my source of income is not settling for anything less than what grows my mission, and being able to ensure that I can always be true to Tiffany— true to being Sonder Wonder.
With my taste in clothes and style, I have always been particular. I hold my brand to the same high regard. I’d like to think that no matter what happens, I’ll always have that sense of sonder and curious wonder instilled in me.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you. But before we get to all of that, can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?
As a growing and self-learning content creator, I’m forever a student. I have yet to be bored by what’s new and accessible in the social media realm. I also find fulfillment in expressing myself through my craft. My vision is constantly developing, and I’m happy to be continuously adapting and studying. I love collaboration projects the most, especially when from ideation to creation, the outcome is consistently even better than I hoped.
Because of this, it’s an on-going struggle between whether I want to try to transform what I love into my career or if I would be happier keeping the two separate. So far, I’m happy they haven’t merged. There’s less pressure when I’m able to post whenever I want and on my own time, especially outside of my 9-5.
This hobby is only worthwhile if it brings me joy and liberation. Time isn’t wasted if I’m doing something that I love. I know everyone has their own measurement of what success should look like, but as long as you’re content with yourself, you’ve already won.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Being allowed to create is so rewarding and satisfying. If I’ve gone for a period of time without creating, I don’t feel like myself. Creating through Sonder Wonder is my form of liberation, self expression, and contributing something positive into the world. Even creating a connection with one person through my content is an achievement in my eyes. As an artist, I am improving and enriching my life with my creativity; and believe that investing in creativity can only enrich other people’s lives as well. I like to feel challenged with a prompt or theme. That’s my favorite type of content I produce, when there’s an obvious theme accomplished. The brainstorming that goes into how I style an outfit according to the environment is thrilling. When what I imagine in my head turns out to exceed what I expected, the success is exhilarating. I am endlessly working to expand and push my creative horizons.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Similar to many, there have been times where I felt like giving up. Years ago, I wanted to give up on myself and on life. I just couldn’t do it anymore. No matter how hard I tried or worked, I wasn’t getting anywhere. When I felt like I was finally able to take a few steps forward, I was pushed another ten steps backwards. Looking back, I’m glad I decided to be resilient. I wouldn’t still be here and have made it to where I am now if I had given up. All those bitter memories of struggling remind me that, even in the past when I thought there would be no way through, I was able to come out the other side.
Years ago, one of my toxic exes told me that my dreams were dumb and nothing would come of them. About a year after he broke up with me, I won an Instagram contest as the grand prize winner for Sorel. The prize was a paid trip to New York with a friend, complimentary shoes for the two of us, $1000 to spend, and an opportunity to hang out with a renowned costume designer. Some of the photos I submitted in that contest were taken by him. At the time, I had begged him to help me take those photos, and he begrudgingly did. Looking back, I’m glad I got even one decent, outfit picture from that session. For one of the images, I was posing in front of a local library on the side, facing the street. A motorcyclist passed by and whistled and hollered at me during the photoshoot. Of course, my ex got pissed and stopped taking pictures. That’s when he told me what we were doing was stupid and that it would never amount to anything. As many T-Swift fans may agree, karma can be sweet like honey.
Today, my boyfriend of almost a decade happily helps me with my content creation and is so supportive of my dreams. He helps me capture my fashion styling through photography and is always excited to help my ideas come to life. If I had not been resilient, I would have never gotten the chance to meet him and to have such a wonderful soulmate. My journey has helped me to realize my strength and to have faith in myself. With everything that I’ve faced and gone through, I know that I am capable. My story and creativity will continue to flourish even in the face of adversity.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.sonderwonder.com/
- Instagram: @sonderwonderofficial
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sonderwonder?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-chuang-sonderwonder?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Other: TikTok: @sonderwonderofficial
Image Credits
Tiffany Chuang