Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Angie Cantu. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Angie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I’ve always known I wanted to be an artist and a fashion designer from a young age. I was attracted to art in the 8th grade. My art teacher. Mr. San Miguel was always pushing me and said I had good vision and a great imagination.
Fashion wise, I started to love fashion around the same time. I was about 12 or 13. My mom and my aunts were very supportive. They were always buying me clothes especially my mom from second hand stores. My love for fashion started with Madonna, Prince and Cyndi Lauper. They open the doors for me. Not only in art and fashion but in music as well. That’s another avenue I want to pursue one day. Professionally my art and fashion didn’t start until I was pushed into it after a car accident in 2019 and Covid in 2020.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Ok, It all started with curating a collection of vintage jewelry, accessories and clothing in 2010. I really wanted to have a boutique. That was put on hold due to family circumstances. It took a couple of years to get through all that. So in 2018 my curated items I held on to for so long came in handy. I started doing pop ups selling my vintage items. I loved it but it just wasn’t enough. Everyone else was doing the same so I opted to stop at the time and start up a Closet Organization business so that I can make money and save for a my own boutique but fate had other plans. My car accident took my car away a year later. To make matters worse I believe I got Covid during the doctors office visit from the the car accident. I was sick for a month. It was a very difficult time for me. No car, no job, no money sometimes no food but Thank God for my family and my resilient entrepreneur heart that does not give up, I started cutting up all the vintage tshirts and creating all these designs Also using the left over materials and making jewelry and accessories with it . I started to do pop ups again with the help of a friend to get me there. It was selling really well but then Covid stopped everything. So again left with no job, I didn’t know what to do but then bam I saw a need of mask and started making them by hand at first. Then a good friend donated a brand new sewing machine to me and I started sewing hundreds of masks. Not only was I helping the community I was financially taking care of myself. Then it slowed down. Things got rough so I bought some paint and canvas and started painting. My customers followed me over to my new found love of painting I started selling my paintings. At the same time I continued sewing and doing alterations. It was great! Work came to my doorstep, but I still was not fulfilled. One day I was looking in the mirror crying and felt empty and lost. I said to myself “There you are, I see You! It changed my outlook on what was going on inside. It created my “I see you” and my “Take of the Mask” series. It was also helping me heal from family matters and helping others as well with my story. It open the doors to new adventures. I was recently the Costume Designer for a movie ” Mi Reina Y El Rey”. I also service several musicians with wardrobe all because I saved all my curated items from the past.
I entered a contest and my upcycled jacket and skirt helped me win a Frida Khalo look alike contest that has also open the doors to other entrepreneur opportunities.
Lots has changed for the better, I found love again, I have transportation now and I have my little boutique, with my vintage items, my upcycled fashion designs, my fringed jewelry and tee shirt designs and my wardrobe/costume designs and all my art. It’s very small but it’s mine. Here recently I started creating art again in a different way. Now my art and fashion are weaving together. It’s pretty amazing. With all that I do,
I have learned how to be a service to others through most of these relationships, My creations, designs, paintings, I help women and that’s what I love mostly. I see them even more so that I can see myself. My colorful aesthetic sets me apart and I feel like I’m saving my planet by upcycling the many garments I have curated. When I pick out clothing for my upcycled pieces, I’m thinking of other women all the time just like when I create my art it’s not only about myself but about women I meet along the way. In all my creations, I take vintage pieces that are torn or too out of style for the moment or any broken piece of jewelry and recreate something new out of it. Giving it a new life. Just like humans get second chances to become what we want to become, these precious creations are given a new life. They only want to be loved again. That’s what My brand is all about.
I have learned to be disciplined with my time, I appreciate to people that support me and I enjoy the process the most. Very grateful to have learned to be patient with processes

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Yes, when I started creating, I had more than one creative activity going on. A non-creative person told me to stop and do one thing at a time because I was confusing people. I was early into everything and I didn’t even understand it. I just knew that I needed to listen to my intuition and continue creating and basically hustling to get me to the next level. I see now why. My art and my creations in the beginning wasn’t for everyone else it was for me to try and figure out where I was suppose to be in the art and fashion world. Now I now and It’s because I shot out some rockets of desire into the Universe many years ago. So everything I’ve learned, all the routes it took me to get to this point has been to get me to where I am today. Artist and Designer and I am proud of who I’ve become no matter what anyone says. Don’t get me wrong…I still have a lot to learn and will ever stop learning and adding to my crafts. It only gets better from here. Even if I have some contrast I know I’m on the right road for my destiny.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Yes, I worked a corporate life for 18 years.That job was all I knew. When they laid me off in 2009 it was very difficult to find a job with no degree especially in the medical marketing field. So I told myself that I would never work in a corporate field again. I went thru a couple of jobs but none that I felt were for me. I had always been intrigued by fashion magazines (Vogue), art and even poems and writing lyrics for songs. I’ve always been a dreamer so I decided that I didn’t want to be a dreamer anymore especially after my dad died. My dad didn’t have anything to leave me so I had to do for myself. So the one mission I have is to leave my daughters and grandchildren a legacy. Like Coco Chanel, although she didn’t have anyone to leave hers to, I admire how her life, her everything keeps on going She left plenty for me even if only the inspiration. She was a great teacher for me and I want to be like her. I want to leave not only a legacy for my family but skills, I want to teach them all I have learned, Teach them how to sew and how to pull a paint brush out because just like me right now the sewing machine and the paint brush is paving my way in a not so easy world. I want them to be ready to be ready always.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Gigi_jewelz
• Facebook: Gigi Jewelz
• Youtube: Gigi_Jewelz_
• Other: GigiJewelz1 on Tik Tok

Image Credits

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