We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Timbrel Chyatee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Timbrel below.

Hi Timbrel , thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I don’t think there is one moment that lead me to start my entrepreneurship journey. I think it was many small moments that come together to help me take a big leap to start my entrepreneurship journey. From a very young age I wanted to be in the fashion world. I just didn’t have the courage to follow my passion and go against my parents aspirations for my life. Being a child of a first generation immigrant means carrying so many of your parents dreams for your life, because you know all they sacrificed to give you better than what they had. So for years I carried their desires for my life, instead of following my passion. But after college I made a wild decision to move to India- alone, and find my own way. Unaware what to expect. I did not speak any Indian language, I did not understand the culture, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

It was not an easy journey when I began, but it felt like I had found my place and passion. I quickly was drawn to the art and fashion in India. I loved the colors, the feeling of handwoven fabrics, and the way you can take a piece of fabric and give it life based on the colors used in the fabric or silhouettes chosen. I quickly found my niche- Handmade fashion, with an indo-western flare. Fabric and textile art forms from India and silhouettes and designs from the west- Perfectly representing my background and so many other South-Asian Immigrants.

I knew there were so many individuals like me and I knew I had an idea that would become global. I think the biggest risk was believing in my gut feeling and knowledge I had of the fashion world. I think the biggest risk is taking the leap into entrepreneurship, because no matter how much you research or know, you will still not understand everything or be prepared for everything.

When I began my journey, I could barely speak Hindi or Telugu (Indian languages). I did not understand the culture and I had no idea how to start an international business- but slowly and surely the more I pushed myself to learn, the more I grew and learned and perfected my fashion designs, business skills and so much more.

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 am a first generation Indian-American fashion designer- who once pursued a career in Medicine and realized it was not for me. I created a fashion brand, CHYATEE that focuses on the art of fashion and lifestyle. Shining a light on ethically made fashion, lifestyle and homegoods that are handmade by artisans and the CHYATEE team and designed by me.
I create small batch fashion that uses ancient forms of art such as block-printed fabric, handwoven natural fibers, aari work from persia and so much more. My goal is to bridge the fashion gap of east to west, for the many immigrants in our world who are trying to balance their love for their motherland and their love for their homeland.
I design every item and have my in-house team create the items. The colors, the block printing, the aari work and so much more. It is a never ending journey and always full of new adventures of art to explore.
All the items are handmade, small batch produced and unique. Making shopping at CHYATEE so much more special and unique.
I hope to someday build a fashion brand that is known all over the world, celebrating art, culture and history with a modern twist.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I have hit so many roadblocks in myjourney and with each road block I have learned to jump higher, push harder and persevere. Earlier this year I had a fast fashion company contact me regarding my previous business name Lush Bazaar. They shut down my website and demanded that I changed my name or else be sued and taken to court. They found a way to contact my website host and removed my online website and they refused to have a civil conversation with me, all because they trademarked a word in the English language which gave them the power to demolish my business and brand that I worked so hard to build and grow for so many years. The lawyers fees were outrageous and in a blink of an eye I felt like I had lost EVERYTHING I worked so hard for and sacrificed for. It was the beginning of the year and I had a solid growth plan and budget for the year and this road block was not part of it.
So I cried for a few hours, wiped my tears and decided to do what I had to do to keep my business growing, even if that meant changing my name, because I did not want to fight a corporate company with an endless budget.
Changing the name from Lush Bazaar was so hard to do, it felt like I was losing a piece of me, a piece I would never get back. But like a butterfly, even the darkest of moments only lead to a more beautiful and bright beginning, so with the name change meant a new identity and so much more to bring forward to the brand. Changing my brand name and adding a piece of me into the brand (the name), knowing this would elevate the brand and share a deeper story about art. fashion and designer fashion.
It was painful, and it pushed me off track, but it did not deter me from staying the course and not giving up.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Have an open line of communication and be vocal with your team. Give them the praise they need when they go above and beyond expectations and also be honest with them when they are not in the “zone”, and be understanding of both moments. Being open with your team about what you expect from them will help them understand you and the goals.

I started with 2 employees and now I have 25 employees in two different continents and countless other contract employees/artisans I work with. The biggest obstacle I face is learning how to communicate and finding how to make sure your team is held accountable.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.chyatee.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/chyatee
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/chyatee
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/chyatee