We recently connected with Tracy Greenan and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Tracy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

One of my suppliers is based in the Ukraine. His name is Kirill and he and his mother and aunt make my beautiful, black velvet lined chic jewelry boxes. When the war happened, he could not ship to me anymore. We were never really close before the war, in fact I actually was a bit of a pain probably for him because I am quite particular with little things, so if the color is off or if something turned out differently I will usually be the squeaky wheel about it and he would grumble a bit in his emails back!

The war has changed our relationship. Due to the situation in the country, Kirill ran out of materials to make my boxes so he and his family could not work anymore and their income dried up. As a business owner I decided to buddy up and help him through this terrible time in any way I could. The emails we exchange are so moving. He and his family and their resiliency and positivity inspire me so much. One day a delivery arrived at my door and it was a delivery of boxes from Kirill! He had scaped together what he could and he actually apologized that it was not enough for me! I couldn’t believe how selfless he was to send it despite everything that was going on and was shocked it actually made its way all the way to New York from the Ukraine during a war! It was the most meaningful gift I have ever received!

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?

My name is Tracy Greenan, I am the founder and CEO of AURELIA + ICARUS, a phygital (digital and physical) web 3 jewelry and accessories brand based in New York. Web3 fashion for those who are unfamiliar refers to digital fashion, that is apparel and accessories that do not exist in real life, but online, in gaming and across virtual worlds. It is computer generated, rendered in 3D and infused often with augmented reality (AR) to bring the pieces to life with movement.

I started in fashion as a shoe designer while still a student in design school in Toronto, Canada. I learned from the company I was working for my designs became so in demand people were stealing from them in the shop windows! For me, that’s the ultimate compliment!

Since then I’ve gone on to designing eye wear (Anne Klein, Laura Ashley amongst others) and then branched out into clothing, selling my eponymous label across eight countries before e-commerce was widely available. I still reflect upon how brave I was back then as I really was on my own with little assistance apart from a business loan to start me out. Because of this I really feel it is important to help the next generation of female entrepreneurs, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds and people of color, to give them the support they need.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

The number one platform that has elevated my presence is LinkedIn. I try to be active on there everyday. Social Media platforms like Instagram, Twitter and others are fine for visuals and branding so I usually leave that up to my assistants to take care of.

When I do business, almost all my contacts are through LinkedIn. I tell my interns they need to be on there, making connections and posting to prepare themselves in the job market before they graduate. They need to let people know who they are and what they can bring to the table. Don’t wait until you graduate.

Any advice for managing a team?

People like to feel acknowledged for their work. Always remember they are there helping you; don’t take them for granted. If someone does something wrong, don’t chastise them in front of everyone, instead take them aside and work it out with them privately. If you work in a booming industry like mine, it is hard to find the right tech talent when everyone wants to hire them, so keep them close to you. Be grateful for what you have and always treat people how you would expect to be treated. When things fall apart, I always tell myself, I’m not curing cancer, I’m making fashion–it puts things into perspective!

Contact Info:

• Website: ShopTheAi.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aurelia_and_icarus/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AureliaAndIcarus
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracygreenan/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/AureliaIcarus
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZsjaen0jCxbXKdoD6Zoakg
• Other: Email: [email protected] Tracy Greenan is the founder of AURELIA + ICARUS, a premium hip hop inspired, genderless phygital fine jewelry and accessories label.  She is Advisory Board Member at the Metaverse Fashion Council ; Mentor at The Future Connoisseurs Global Luxury Alliance; Digital Fashion Advisor at Web3 Gallery NYC and Fashion Industry Advisor at Meta-Tailor. Her brand has integrated phygital pieces with wearable NFTs. AURELIA + ICARUS is a ‘Ones to Watch’ brand winner and has shown at Paris Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week this autumn. Tracy regularly gives speeches on metaverse fashion to worldwide audiences with over 20 speaking engagements this year.

Image Credits
Image credits to Flying Solo (Fashion show photos)