We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tia Nicole Lui. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tia Nicole below.
Tia Nicole, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?
I think success can be defined in many different ways, and in the film industry it can mean a multitude of different things. To me, to be successful takes hard work and creativity. As a costume designer, supervisor, and technician, the one through line no matter what is hard work. For me success is important in all aspects of my life – both personal and in work as well. Learning how to balance those different aspects has been something I’ve continuously been working on. For example, I used to ice skate as a child – I wasn’t able to stick with it due to moving around, but in college I picked it back up and here in LA I’ve been skating regularly for just over a year. Continuing to develop my skills in a sport that I’ve always been so passionate about has been so rewarding in so many ways. I try to go and skate every day – even when I have to work on set for 12+ hours a day. It’s been extremely difficult, but focusing and prioritizing my health and happiness has been such an amazing mental shift for me and has also allowed me to find different avenues of creative work. I’ve started designing and creating custom figure skating costumes for other people at the rink in addition to my work in film. Taking the time for myself and allowing myself to explore things that interest me has led to much success for me. It requires a lot of hard work to juggle all the different aspects, but I feel very secure in where I am right now in my career and personal life.
Tia Nicole, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a costume designer, supervisor, and technician based out of Los Angeles. My mother taught me how to sew when I was very young – I think 4 years old? And I just never stopped! I’ve always loved fashion and clothing, and started being a part of the theater department in middle school. My parents always supported and helped cultivate my creativity, and I was very lucky to go to public schools who supported my creativity as well. In high school I was the costume designer for most of the plays and musicals we put on through the years. I was given a lot of opportunities to design and then build some of the things I designed. I went to college at The Theater School at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois and received a dual major BFA in Costume Design & Costume Technology. After I graduated, I wanted to work in film so I moved right away to Los Angeles and started working. Now, I work primarily as a costume designer and a costume supervisor, and I’ve really developed a love for sci-fi and horror genre projects. I also do freelance sewing/construction work. I am a big figure skating fan, and if I’m not at work you can find me at the rink. Through that hobby, I’ve started to design and create custom figure skating costumes as additional work.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
The film industry has been especially volatile lately. The very nature of freelance industries can lead to a lot of uncertainty. This year because of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes work has been very slow for the others who work in the industry. I am a member of IATSE 705, so I understand how important these strikes has been for achieving better conditions for everyone in the film industry – but that’s not to say it hasn’t been extremely difficult for us to work though it. The very nature of freelance work requires resilience – there are busy times and there are slow times. You need to be flexible enough to explore different avenues and skillsets you can monetize. When I first moved to Los Angeles and had my first slow period – I was out of work for a few months – I had to learn how to pivot and figure out what I could do to make it through. I utilized my other skills, leaned into costume construction and started creating work for myself that way.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I think the most rewarding aspect of creative work is just seeing the final project! Seeing my name in the credits on something I’ve worked on – no matter how little of a project it was – will never get old to me. It normally takes a lot of time for film projects to go through post-production so it can be a long time before you get to see your finished work! For my construction work, just seeing everything completely done and knowing I did everything from scratch – from the paper pattern, mock-ups, finishing – it’s just so amazing to see it all come together after so many hours of work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tianicoledesigns.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tianicoledesigns
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10765260/
Image Credits
Michael Street Monique Coleman Brooke Maroon The Dresden Sun- VMI International My Scary Indian Wedding- Ramone Menon