We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rickeyia Lolla a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Rickeyia , thanks for joining us today. Risk taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
My most challenging risk was my family and I moving to Los Angeles, a city that was unfamiliar, but familiar to us. I was always intrigued with fashion, beauty, and music. I knew I possessed an eye for fashion and style, I thought, why not pursue fashion styling? Before moving to Los Angeles, I was a military wife and mom of three. Between their naps, I would use the dial up internet to go on style.com and lime wire. I live for fashion and music, it has, and will always be a part of my life. One of the most humbling experiences while taking a risk, was interning at the age of 32, navigating the unknown streets of LA using “waze” to get from one showroom to the next, normally Downtown to West Hollywood. I was given the opportunity to work with Law Roach who is still one of my favorite fashion stylist of all time, even though he has retired. I first interned with him for K. Michelle’s Rebellious Soul album cover, followed by Zendaya’s Replay video. I was so nervous that day, not only was this Zendaya’s first single, it was my first time being on set for a music video. I learned a lot working with Law and not too long after, I advanced, becoming his assistant stylist which came with much responsibility and knowledge of the business. I interned and assisted many other stylist such as; June Ambrose, Ade Samuel, etc., to name a few. This gave me the opportunity to work on many music videos, with a variety of artists. The biggest risk of all would be in 2017, which was creating the brand Kheir Sannai and walking away from styling altogether.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Rickeyia Nicole, I am the designer of Kheir Sannai. I’m originally from San Diego, California but reside in Los Angeles. I started in this industry in 2012 as a Fashion Stylist however, the ultimate goal was to be a Fashion Designer which I have been designing for the last 7 years.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
My pivotal moment was changing directions from styling to designing.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
The vast majority of funding emanated from my spouse. In addition to this, I also worked full time to cover business expenses. When I started the brand, it wasn’t making enough capital to acquire a loan. There are a lot of stipulations put in place that small brands don’t qualify for unfortunately.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kheirsannai.com
- Instagram: Kheir Sannai
- Facebook: Kheir Sannai
- Linkedin: Kheir Sannai Group
Image Credits
Photo taken by: Nigel Elliot Perfume photo credit, Rickeyia Lolla Designer in suit
Photo taken by: Nigel Elliot, Whitney Model in chocolate silk skirt and blouse
Photo taken by: JR Pecache, Jenna Model sitting