We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tilda Boyd . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tilda below.
Alright, Tilda thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?
Risk can always be scary to take but could be amazing at the same time. I used to have a 9-5 job but wasn’t necessarily happy with it. I took a risk to start my own business, my clothing brand business. It’s probably the best decision I’ve made so far. When you can work for yourself doing exactly what you love is the best feeling in the world. I design and make clothes for a living.
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?
It all began with a dream. I’ve always wanted to have my own fashion line. I didn’t know how to sew at the time. I would pay manufacturers to produce my clothing. One day I got an email with a picture of a sample hoodie I wanted them to make. I only liked it and not loved it. From then on, I didn’t want to pay manufactures to produce clothing I didn’t love. I looked up and watched tons of videos on YouTube on how to sew and make a hoodie. I didn’t have a sewing machine at the time, so my mom let me borrow hers. The first day I attempted to sew, it didn’t go as plan. I couldn’t get the fabric to run through the machine. I gave up for the rest of the day. The next day I came back to it and told myself, “If I can’t get the fabric to sew through the machine, I’m going to keep paying manufactures to produce my clothing.” Suddenly it worked, and I was able to run the fabric through the machine. From then on, I sewed all my clothing. The first item I ever made was a 1 of 1 patchwork denim hoodie, longer in the back with zippers on the side. That item was made from four different pairs of jeans. My parents saw how good and passionate I was about fashion and sewing. They wanted me to go to a fashion art school so I could learn more. In 2018 I attended FIDM in Los Angeles to further my knowledge in fashion design. One of the hardest things I had to go through in life because I was done with school and didn’t want to go back. I had other degrees that could help me in life. School wasn’t the easiest, but it’s always worth it. I graduated in 2020 with a BA in fashion design and from then on, my fashion career started. Everything I have sewn for my brand are items you cannot get in clothing stores. These are 1 of 1 items. I wanted my clothing to be unique for the customers and not have them worry about someone else having on the same outfit on as them. I wanted to stand out and be different from other brands. I didn’t have a workplace either. I would find anything in the house where I could set up my sewing machine.
Sometimes I would sew in a treatable, a kitchen table, a desk, even the bathroom counter. Anywhere I found I could put my machine, I would. When you’re so passionate about something you’ll do anything to make it work. My fashion brand is called UHAHNNA (pronounced U-HAHN-NA) which consists of 1 of 1 custom high-end streetwear apparel. UHAHNNA, my middle name, means be you all is taken. I’m half Swedish and half African American, and I wanted my brand name to be unique and different. In the past, I was one of those people in this world who was scared to be themselves and would do what everyone else was doing. As I got older, I started to not care and stood out more. Everyone is weird and unique in their own way and should embrace it. I wanted to show the younger generation that it is ok to be yourself in this judgmental world we live in. There is always going to be someone looking up to you that wants to be just like you. So, at the end of it all, Be You.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Just staying true to who I am not being like everyone else. My patchwork and customization sets me apart from other brands that made my brand/company stand out to others.
How did you build your audience on social media?
The way to build an audience is knowing what audience and market you want to focus on. Knowing what the customers/certain market wants but also staying true to yourself and not changing up for anyone. You want to post at least 3 times a day to build your audience. Word of mouth is great for marketing as well as sending out care packages to influencers that has a lot of followers.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.uhahnna.com
- Instagram: @uhahnna