We recently connected with Giavanna Rosa and have shared our conversation below.

Giavanna, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

When I first started my business in 2020, I actually had a different name; WildCle. I picked that name out for two different reasons; Wild as in my personality and Cle for Clematis as a nod for my Grandpa, his front porch was covered in them… I also have a tattoo of a Clematis. Secondly, Cle as a reference to my city, Cleveland. However, as my business grew and became more professional, the name didn’t stick. I thought it was time for an upgrade. So soon after that, I changed my business to my actual name, Giavanna Rosa Designs. In my opinion, using your name doesn’t limit you to one medium or one type of art or craft. When trying to come up with a business name, do your research, write all your ideas down, ask your friends and family for help, and when you narrow it down, create a few logos for each idea. This will help you decide which exactly speaks to you the most.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My whole family is on the creative side. My dad owns a landscaping company, my mom is a kindergarten teacher, and my sister is a chef and also owns her own company. I guess you can say I grew up being creative and loving art – coloring books were my jam.

I was actually going to college for art at Ohio University, until some guy asked me “How are you going to make money making art?” As a freshman in college, that kind of question will freak you out. So, I left after the first semester and went to Cleveland State University to obtain a degree in Promotional Communications and then Cuyahoga Community College to further my knowledge in Graphic Design. In my college career, I worked for different small businesses in Cleveland. Learning the in’s and out’s of how to run and maintain a small business. In 2020, I started working for another small business, Emily Roggenburk, as her Design and Fulfillment Coordinator. Since then, I have created some of her top selling designs, sold over 10k pieces of apparel with my designs on them, been featured in the Cleveland Magazine, and have a design being sold in Rally House. Additionally, some Cleveland athletes have also purchased apparel with my designs on it, which is by far the coolest thing I could say I’ve done so far in my career, mainly because I’m a huge Cleveland sports fan.

When I wasn’t working, I was always drawing or painting as a way to de-stress. I started to post what I created to my Instagram and that got some traction from friends and then friends of friends and so on until, Giavanna Rosa Designs was born! My artwork is heavily inspired by nature. Maybe it has to do with the fact that my dad owns a landscaping business and I’ve been working for him since I was 15. My outdoors-y nature made me become obsessed with plants and flowers. I believe that nature has a way of healing you and your wellbeing. When people look at my art, I want it to have that same effect. I want my art to give you a little bit of happiness each time you look at it. Moreover, if you’re feeling stressed at work, having a panic or anxiety attack, or maybe you just received some not so great news, I hope my art can calm your mind or bring you back to your happy place like it does for me when I create each item. In my newest collection, the Food Collection, I want people to look at a piece and be instantly hungry or think  back on a happy memory of that food. I created this collection because my kitchen walls are so white and boring. I was looking for pasta art to put up in my kitchen but couldn’t find anything that spoke to me, so I decided I’ll just do it myself.

All in all, the best advice I can give to any creative is do what you want and don’t let anyone bring you down. The best advice someone gave to me is if you are trying to make a business out of your art, make a collection, a few of mine are the Food Collection, the Floral Alphabet, and also Floral Canvases.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Cleveland is a very tight knit community, especially the small business community. Everyone wants to help each other out and see them succeed. With my background of working for small businesses, that has really helped. One of my internships while in college was with the Cleveland Flea, this was a huge art/ creative small business market. It allowed me to make many connections and friendships with the vendors.

Also, my love of nature shown in my artwork has helped build my reputation. Those who love nature as much as I do tend to follow my business. The custom artwork I’ve done has all been nature themed; paintings of house plants, custom painted plant pots, paintings of birds, bouquet paintings, custom plant people, and so on. People come to me because, I’m that nature plant person.

Make sure to be yourself, don’t be someone you aren’t. People will love you and want to follow you for who you are.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Three words. Word of mouth. That’s how I got most of my clients and followers before I started doing art markets. My friends and family have been super supportive with my art and help in any way they can. Additionally building relationships with different small businesses has helped tremendously.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://giavannarosadesigns.square.site
• Instagram: @giavannarosadesigns
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/giavannarosadesigns
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/giavanna-rosa-b76aa5104
• Other: Portfolio : https://giavannarosa95.wixsite.com/giavanna-rosa-s-port