We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Noelle Tavares a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Noelle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

A meaningful project that I honestly hold true and dear to my heart is a custom made piece I created for my best friend who passed away a year ago. I remember her texting me years ago and was extremely excited because she did an ancestral test and found out she was Nigerian. She asked if I could create a custom jacket for her to show off her Nigerian roots. When I gave her a reveal of the jacket, she was so delighted. She told me how much she loved it and now she had something to showcase her roots and all. I also featured her wearing the jacket in an art campaign installation I did called representation in 2019. Just to see the smile and proudness she held from that moment will hold a special place in my heart forever and in a beautiful memory of her as well.

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.

I started off as a self taught cut and sew designer back in 2005. I did custom clothing incorporating original designs when I first started. From there, it led me into wardrobe styling due to styling my own photo shoots for my clothing line. People liked the styles so much including the interactions, the styles and motivation that was given during my styling sessions grew more and more. When I rebranded into FineTuned Inc., I wanted to bring in what I first started with customizing out more to the forefront. That allowed me to bring in my own artwork as well for people to wear it.

I created wearable items and art for men, women and children. I create canvas and mural pieces. Im a stylist and I host a monthly movie night in my hometown. I am part of a collective that brings community opportunities to up and coming entrepreneurs, events and more and most importantly I’m a mother of 4.

What I bring to the table is originality and creating for those who love to have one of a kind pieces made just for them. I always make sure that my customers/clients have a piece from me that is timeless and in its own right.

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

I just want to do what I love for the rest of my life, raise my tribe up and be in a comfortable living state. That’s the goal! It sounds simple but it’s hard at times. Some days are great, sales are good and steady, people are buying what you created and rent is paid. Other times, it’s quiet and you barely get any interaction with the pieces you have made and created. At the end of the day, I want to be able to give back in my career journey and to the communities that I’m from and where I’ve been living. Through my art journey, I am wanting hold a special space for those who are up and coming into the scene, those who don’t know where to start when it comes to launching their career and being able to give them an opportunity to do so. I want to hold a space for creatives to share their work, to create and be expressive in their craft. That’s my mission to keep going in what I do so I can make that happen for others.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Within the rise of social media, I was able to reach out to a lot of those that are now well know celebrities (in their own right) through the rise of Instagram and Twitter. To have these individuals be able to wear my work and for it to be seen all over the world has been an ultimate blessing. I come from the street team era of walking around and getting the word out about what you’re doing, who you are and handing out flyers to spread the word…which in my opinion makes you a better people person. Social media can be good to an extent and sometimes it can be useless if you don’t navigate and use it correctly to your advantages.

Note to the audience: Be yourself. Don’t be of a gimmick or of the “norm” meaning don’t be like everyone else on social media. People are doing the same things and starting to look the same. In movements, what they’re wearing and saying….its getting dull. Just be you and show your true self.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://finetunedinc916.square.site/
• Instagram: @finetunedinc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noelletavares/
• Youtube: Soon…
• Other: My Apple Music Playlists:
  https://music.apple.com/profile/thefinetunerMy movie event page:
  https://www.instagram.com/filmswithsoul916

Image Credits

My self portrait was shot by Alé Hernandez.