Meet Kia Smith | Author/ Creative Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kia Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kia, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
One day it seem like I was seeing Hello Kitty Designs on every little girl in the airport. I thought to myself, what is it about this Kitty that has little girls so obsessed with the Brand. What does this Brand mean for them. I began to do some research about Brands especially for girls and as a Designer I then was inspired to create a Brand that wasn’t just a fashionable icon, but I wanted to create a meaningful and inspiring brand that would create positivity for young girls especially. As, i created the purple ladybug logo, my creativity started to really kick in. I redesigned my logo several times, until she became more of a character. I shared my idea with family and friends, they just loved it. It was then my friends encouraged me to create friends for the character design i came up with. After all of my characters where created, I was inspired by a girlfriend to not only make t-shirt designs but maybe i should write a story about my purple ladybug. This was a major challenge for me, because i had never imagined that i could ever write a book, I’m just a designer I kept telling myself. However, the story of Lalibella the Ladybug has been the core of my business, it gave so much meaning to my Brand ” LALIBELLA” and this is what i wanted the most. A brand that not only was a cute idea for girls, but a Brand that Inspired.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I believe that what sets apart from others is that I allow myself to be guided by my imagination and my passion and drive to continue to create designs that will inspire the world one day. It has not been an easy journey because I never had a professional artistic background, everything has always been in my imagination. But because i have so much passion about my brand, I challenged myself to learn to draw by looking on youtube and I pushed past my insecurities about my ability to be a writer. It took many years to overcome my insecurities because i would always compare myself to other creatives that where way more talented than me. I felt all i had was my imagination. However, with great mentorship and supportive friends that believed in Lalibella the Ladybug, I have been able to grow into the person that I’ve always have been meant to be. I want the world to hear my story, my struggle that i had within. Just like my purple ladybug that struggle with being different. I pray one day that my story will encourage all individuals to embrace who you truly are from within. Because the only thing that can hold us back from becoming the Greatest Version of ourselves is the voice that we hear within.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Most definitely the best way to entertain my Bestie is to do what we love to do most. Happy Hours, Lunches and Brunches. In my hometown there are so many cafe, restaurant and bars. I would get on Yelp like always and we would discover together some interesting places to enjoy the things we love no matter where we go. Some of my favorite spots here in the city are Hungry’s for Brunch or Empire Cafe. We also have the City Centre with shopping and great Happy Hour Places within the Centre. I also like to try different things like a Yoga, or Dance Class together, so this would be a fun thing to schedule with my Bestie. It would definitely a week full of Fun running around and discovering the city together.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There have been so many people that have been place in my path that have inspired the growth of my brand. My number one shoutout is my dear friend and mentor Kenneth Akiri who was there from the beginning when i designed Lalibella. Also. My dear friend Geisha Thompson who shared her creative writing skills to help me explore the writer that was hidden inside of me. My dear friend Kimberly Rhone who has now passed away from stomach cancer, she is the reason i wrote the story in the first place, she pushed me beyond my limited beliefs. Last but least my Bestie Rhonda Kimbler who also rediscovered her artisitc abitlites as we created designs for the Brand Lalibella the Ladybug. Its been a 10 year journey for me and all these people are the reason of my success today.

Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LaliBellaBoutique

Instagram: @lalibellatheladybug

Twitter: Kia J Smith@lalibella2017

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kia.smith.9212