We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dominique Salley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dominique below.
Alright, Dominique thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?
I came up with the name Elevated Images because I wanted to Elevate my clients home to a more impressive level. I wanted to be accessible to everyone but more importantly people who looked like me. Being an African American Interior Designer I wanted to set a trend that we too can afford luxury and we don’t have to break the bank to do so. I always told myself never change who you are, let your work speak for itself and that it did. Normally you’ll see a business professional in a suit and tie, business causal attire to come off as someone who means business. I never wanted to take that approach. I wanted my clients to see who I really am. I wanted them to be able to speak to me as if we were friends, a neighbor, a cousin or just someone they could relate to. I’ll never forget working in Corporate America and having to change my tone and having that “Work Voice”, and having to speak and act a certain way to be taken serious in the workforce. I wanted Elevated Images to be the total opposite, I wanted to be obtainable by Eric from Buckhead all the from Shanique from Bankhead. I pride myself with making that decision because my clients now consist of Doctors , Lawyers, Exotic dancers ,NBA Players , Reality Tv Stars, I mean the list goes on.
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
My name is Dominique, better known as “Nicky”. I’m an African American Interior Designer located in Atlanta , Ga. The name of my company is iElevatedImages. Elevated Images is an Interior Designer Company that consist of myself and one of my good friends by the name of Antonio. I got in the interior design industry with the push of my friends and my following on social media. I have to be honest at first I never believed in my craft and where it could take me. I would always post my work on social media and my friends would fall in love and give me all type of praises and tell me I should do this professionally. My friends would ask me to decorate their homes, parties , etc and of course I did it free of charge because it was something I really loved to do. Fast Forwarding to now , having Celebrity Clientele, having my work being featured on national television words can’t explain how grateful I am. My main goal is being able to give everyone this experience no matter who you are. Here at Elevated Images we pride ourselves on being affordable. We pride ourselves on being accessible to people in our community. We want people who look like us to live in luxurious homes too. My goal is to make it the new norm for people to contact an interior designer just as if they were to call their hairstylist or barber.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
Having the right people on your team is very important when it comes down to having a successful business. I met Antonio through one of my good girlfriends and ever since we met we been inseparable since. I had no clue how talented he was until I asked if he could help me design my apartment. We executed it so well that our peers started to reach out for our services. From that point on we’ve been like the Frick & Frack of interior designers. It’s been times when I wanted to quick but Antonio wouldn’t let me. Antonio was heaven sent and I couldn’t ask for a better business partner I’m forever grateful for him.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Social media plays a major key in our success. Majority of my business comes from people on social media. Post , Post , Post, that’s all I can say for people trying to build their brand. At first I was concerned about how many likes I would get, but trust me that doesn’t matter people are still watching. Having people who I use to watch on television viewing my stories and commenting on my post is still shocking to this day. None of that could of happened if I wasn’t constantly posting on social media.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://iwanttogetelevated.as.me/schedule.php
- Instagram: @ielevatedimages_