Interior Home Designer Nikki Chu Shares Her Journey To Creating Her Own Furniture Line & Bedding Products
Success happens naturally when you make the conscious decision to go and get it.
Sponsored by the new 2017 Toyota Corolla, this episode of Living My Dream centers around the ever-so-stylish celebrity interior designer Nikki Chu. In college, the Toronto native studied graphic design, and after graduating, she quickly rose through the ranks to become Creative Director at the advertising agency she worked at. To anyone else, that might have been their definition of “success", but Chu wasn't satisfied. It didn't fit what she saw for her dreams.
“As I was working at the advertising agency, I just had that moment where I realized this isn't for me. I needed to be free, I want to be an entrepreneur, I want to be self-employed."
Armed with drive, ambition, and a great eye for product design, Chu left the views of the 6 in Toronto with $500 dollars in her bank account and headed to LA where her first creative endeavor backfired when a deal with investors fell through. However, she didn't take the knockdown as a loss and started selling refurbished furniture instead. This led her to actress Tisha Campbell-Martin who requested that she design her dressing room on the My Wife & Kids set. Shortly thereafter, Chu gained more celeb clients like Gabrielle Union and Tyra Banks, which began the official start of what would become a very lucrative career in interior decorating.
Since then, the designer has appeared on E!, HGTV, and has been celebrated as one of the Top 10 Black Interior Decorators In the Nation. She also has her own paint line, furniture collection, and line of bedding products that can be found at Bed, Bath & Beyond. How's that for success?
“Success means a lot of things to me and it has changed over the years. The older you get, the more you realize that success is not predicated on a career. It's actually predicated on having loving relationships, having great friendships, traveling the world, doing things that I love, being self-employed, being able to buy my mom whatever she wants – that's success."
Watch below as Nikki Chu chronicles her career journey from successful ad agency to the owner and designer of her own brand where she's her own boss:
Living My Dream: The Complete Series
Click here to read Nikki Chu's full feature story!
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Tyler James Williams Explains Why His And Quinta Brunson 'Abbott Elementary' Characters Should Remain Friends
While Abbott Elementary fans are hoping that Janine and Gregory end up together, the show’s star has another take. Tyler James Williams plays Gregory on the Emmy award-winning sitcom, and he recently stopped by The Jennifer Hudson Show to share his point of view on his storyline with Janine, which Quinta Brunson plays.
“I hate to say it. I know that everybody’s always mad at me for this. I don’t necessarily want to see them together,” he revealed. “It’s partially an actor’s choice, but also somebody who, like, I read a lot of scripts all the time. I watch a lot of TV, a lot of film. I don’t think that we see displays of platonic love between two people often. I think it’s really easy to go right to they have feelings for each other, therefore they should be together. I like this dynamic of exploring withholding that and just actively loving each other where they are. That I like to see more.”
If you recall, they were co-workers who became friends but were secretly crushing on each other. They’ve had many awkward run-ins during and after school, like the unforgettable club scene where they were dancing nervously with each other in season one, and in season two, they finally kiss. However, it only made things even more awkward, and they decided to just be friends. Tyler further explained why he thinks it’s important to showcase that type of relationship on screen.
“I think it’s time for that. I think TV allows people to see things that could be their lives for the first time, and I think seeing a healthy friendship that is deeply caring about one another in a work atmosphere needs to be shown more than the relationship,” he concluded.
Abbott Elementary comes on every Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.
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Feature image by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images