We recently connected with Maine Uy and have shared our conversation below.

Maine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

The most impactful moments of my life are those thought-provoking experiences I’ve invested in. These experiences that are unique and personal to me have given far more valuable lessons in my life than anything else. Specialising in Luxury Experiences with a focus on cultivating Responsible Connoisseurship is a new found mission I have ever since I took the bold move to further my knowledge about the luxury industry and its market. What started out as brand management have evolved, and I now see that we are all responsible towards a sustainable future. And for me it begins with a genuine conversion, an immersive experience, all with the intent to educate and empower those around us.

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 take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My professional journey began when I was 18 with a simple idea of designing brand identities for MSMEs. Back then, image was everything for me. Having the right logo, colours, fonts, visual storytelling fascinated me. I was also a restaurateur in charged of marketing activities that ensures customers will have the full experience of the concept behind our idea.

My company grew and my clientele evolved from MSMEs to fast-moving consumer goods, shopping malls and then premium lifestyle brands. All this went on during my early 20s. Until the Pandemic happened that I had to pivot from a design service provider to an educational mentor. I established The SHEeo Society – A Private Members Club for Modern Women Entrepreneurs where I’ve helped 80 Filipinas build a brand of their own during the Pandemic. I love initiating conversations and empowering people to maximise their capacities.

However after 2 years into the Pandemic, I feel like it already served its purpose. And I started discerning for something deeper, I wanted to understand aspirations. I look at Luxury as a source of inspiration, I wanted to understand why I would pay so much for a one-of-a-kind experience. Why Luxury Brands are spear heading efforts towards a sustainable future.

Today, I’ve evolved my services again. And now I’m offering Luxury Experience Advisory for personal and businesses, hosting social events and experiences to get the conversations going about the State of Luxury, and as of this moment, I’m offering guest lectures and speaking engagements for those who wanted to understand what Responsible Luxury Connoisseurship is.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I am a hyper-achiever and I feel that was what made my previous business thrive. It was all about the quantity, making sure we’re getting the right numbers and exposure counts. It’s highly addicting to quantify all our successes and reduce them to the number of likes and following we have. This was something I needed to unlearn. It was exhausting to keep chasing, to keep going after the next big thing I’m about to make.

This was also the very reason that I turned to luxury. The select quality few, the rarity, the uniqueness… Who would have thought that these qualities are sustainable forms of successes. It’s about knowing that amount of enoughness for you to thrive in a world. It comes with a lot of self-awareness and self-discipline. But coming to peace with your own definition of success is the only way to thrive and to be happy.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I have always challenged the norms. I always thought of myself as a misfit growing up. And I believe this is what helped me build my reputation. My openness, adaptability, and curiosity. While everyone are in long beautiful dresses, I would be in my femme suit. How to do things creatively and differently is always in my head. My personal brand of leadership is different from everyone else. I’m one of those who still believes that nice guys will always have a place, they may not be the first one to get ahead of the game. But they are the ones who will last.

Contact Info:

• Website: maineuy.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/mainemoiselle
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maineuy/