Living In Color with Steph Jordan Ep 4

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Lots of fun in this Episode. Laugh, Get Tips on Art Products, Kyle McGuigan creates another work of art, and so much more.

25 years of Bling by Steph Jordan...In Color!

The Lady Speaks! - Stephanie Alva

I’d like to introduce you to the lovely, energetic and motivated Stephanie Alva. This beautiful lady came to my attention because of her motivational videos and her positive energy! She’s a CEO, Personal Manager, Motivator, Teacher, Singer…. Check her out.

Hello Stephanie. My you have a lot going on! I don’t even know where to start LOL.

LOL!! Yes, I am extremely busy these days and I’m loving every minute of it!

What are you up to right now?

WOW… that is a loaded question LOL! I recently launched my newest company, My Life Keys, LLC., along with my business partner, Tavaghn “Montster” Monts. My Life Keys offers Life Coaching and Motivational Speaking, as well as positive affirmation CDs and books, inspirational t-shirts, and a beautiful line of meditation candles and jewelry. In addition to that, I am also the CEO of Wise Owl Management and am a Personal Manager for a lot of reality television stars, a couple of musicians, an Olympian, a few models… the list goes on and on. I am living my dreams!

I’ve seen your videos and followed your progress and I am always inspired. 

Thank you so much!! I love to hear that! That is confirmation that I am doing the right thing.

Let’s talk about your life as a Personal Manager first. You manage Reality Stars and other Entertainers? 

Yes, I do. I manage quite a few people who work in various industries. It definitely keeps me on my toes.

What do you do as a personal manager? 

It is my responsibility to manage every aspect, both personal and business, of my clients’ lives. I put together their schedules, make sure that they are prepared for interviews, shows, different jobs, etc., I am in charge of their media training, I dissect every contract and offer that comes across my desk for each of them, I maintain their public images, accompany them to various events, talk them through any problems or circumstances that they may find themselves having…. I am their Mom, Sister, Best Friend, Wife, etc. I am involved in every aspect of their lives.

What’s the most rewarding part of being a Manager?

Seeing my clients accomplish their goals and dreams. There is nothing better or more rewarding then being part of someone else living in their purpose.

We all tend to retain a part of our childhood as we grow. What part would you say is most prevalent in your character today?

Nobody has ever asked me that question before. I love it! I’d have to say that it is most definitely perseverance. My Grandma moved here from Spain, knowing no English, and she managed to teach herself the language, get a GED, attend and graduate from nursing school, and become an LVN, all while being married to an abusive, alcoholic husband and raising 4 children, one of whom was disabled. The other person who raised me was my Mom and I watched her work 3 jobs to keep a roof over our heads and make sure that I had everything that I needed. Even when times got hard and they didn’t feel like it, they persevered through it all. THAT is what I have chosen to retain from my childhood.

When someone asked the ‘what do you want to do when you grow up’ question what did you say?

It varied as I grew up. Initially, I wanted to be a singer and a lawyer. Then I wanted to be a news anchor woman, similar to Diane Sawyer. That turned into me wanting to be a sports broadcaster like Jayne Kennedy. The irony is that I was able to accomplish all of those dreams on various levels, (with the exception of being a lawyer). The one thing that has never changed is that I’ve always wanted to help and inspire people.

You’ve been chronicling your weight loss. What has that experience been like? Would you say sharing it has helped you on your Journey? 

It has been both scary and inspirational. I originally began chronicling my weight loss as a way to publically keep myself accountable. That didn’t work. LOL. I didn’t find success with my weight loss until I made the decision to commit to myself regardless of external circumstances. I have gotten some ridicule from blogs and different people but the majority of the responses have been positive. I don’t regret it for a minute.

 

How will you celebrate once you reach your target?

I plan on celebrating in two ways: 1.) By taking a weeklong trip to Turks & Caicos and 2.) Doing a photo shoot with the incomparable B. Breezy and G14 from The Studio Concept out in Atlanta, GA. I CANNOT wait!

Tell us a little about your company, ‘My Life Keys’

My Life Keys offers Life Coaching on an individual or group basis, and Motivational Speakers are also available to speak at different events, seminars, and conferences. It is my intense desire to teach people about who they really are and what they are really capable of. I strongly agree that we ALL come from Greatness and that we are Co-Creators with the Source who created us. We also offer positive affirmation cd’s and books, along with other self-help tools.

 

Stephanie and Tavaghn "Montster" Monts, VP, My Life Keys

To date what would you say your greatest accomplishment has been?

Mother Teresa once said that people shouldn’t leave from you the same way they were when they arrived. I am most proud of that fact that people say that after having interacted with me, they are changed forever. I was born to inspire and motivate people to greatness. But, I don’t think I have accomplished my greatest goal yet… it’s right around the corner though…. I can feel it!

You are very passionate about life and your Journey. What other things move you?

I am moved by TRANSFORMATIONS. When someone finds their purpose and they are able to live in that purpose in spite of adversity, tragedy, or hardship, THAT is what inspires me! THAT is what I live for! If I can somehow be a part of someone being able to do that, I will have accomplished what I was put here to do.

 You also sing? What do you like to sing and where can we hear your music?

Singing has always been a huge part of who I am, but it is only a passionate hobby of mine now LOL. Although my manager is slowly but surely trying to get me to pick it back up professionally. I had a solo CD out around 1994 that did marginally well and received some radio play, but I am best known for being part of a group called The Gospel Gangstas. They are one of the pioneers of Gospel rap and after seeing me perform on a small tour that I was part of, they recruited me to become the singer of their group. I was blessed enough to be able to tour with them for close to two years and I got to perform on BET, MTV, and various large venues throughout the United States. I even got the opportunity to work with greats such as Kirk Franklin, Bobby Jones, T-Bone, and Yolanda Adams. It is part of my life that I am VERY proud of and will never forget, but I’m fairly positive that my professional singing career is over.

What do you do for fun?

I LOVE to spend time with my God-Children, (there are 9 of them), and boring stuff like going to the movies, game night with my friends & family, you know, the simple things. My guilty pleasure is to just zone out and watch T.V., but I’m trying to let that go slowly but surely.

Please share some motivational and inspirational words with us.

You come from Greatness, you attract Greatness, you ARE Greatness!! Your circumstances DO NOT have to stay the way that they are now. YOU have the power to change them. DO NOT give up! DO NOT give in! DO NOT stray from your purpose! There is something that you were born to do that NOBODY else on the face of this earth can do. Unleash your anointing onto the world. We need you!!

Where can the readers find out more information about you, your career and your businesses?

Definitely have your readers check out my website at www.MyLifeKeys.com. My bio and e-mail can be found there. You can also follow us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/MyLifeKeys, as well as our You Tube Channel at www.YouTube.com/MyLifeKeys. To stay up to date with all of my clients, you can subscribe to the Wise Owl Mangement You Tube channel at www.YouTube.com/WiseOwlManagement.

Thank you so much Stephanie. I too am very inspired by you. Keep Living In Color!

The Magic Man!

Fork Magic - wide from Paul Spenard on Vimeo.

Living In Color with Steph Jordan Ep 3

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Lots of silly fun and more. Music by Setra, learn to create fun fruit bowls, see Art by Julee Hermann, visit a Fine Art Gallery and get a few laughs. Steph does the Robot

Episode 2 Living In Color with Steph Jordan

A Living Doll! Gina Gabriell

I’d like to introduce you to Gina Gabriell, Artist, Entrepreneur, Writer, Doll creator, and so much more. Gina owns a beautiful colorful Artful spot in Dublin, CA. She majored in Sculpture at The California College of Art and wrote a children’s book called Pink Sky. You can find her art in her shop ‘Tangerine’ and recently her dolls were featured in Art Doll Quarterly.

  Hi Gina, How are you today? What have you been up to lately?

I am actually terrific, the weather is absolutely beautiful! The Big Trees in front of Tangerine are full of little white blossoms and the petals are falling everywhere, it looks like snow on a sunny day, I love spring.

So let’s talk about your shop. Your shop is full of Art much of it created by you. What motivated you to open a shop?


My daughter Stevie and I always talked about opening a cute little shop full of odd, cute and yummy things. She had an eye for things that made you want to squeal… We talked and talked about it and after she died in April of 2007 I decided it was up to me to make it happen. A friend of mine had a little bit of space to sublet and after a few nights sleeping on it I signed on the dotted line. I have no retail experience and I didn’t have a business plan I just borrowed my daughters ideas, my husband’s credit card and crossed my fingers. This store has a life of its own, it attracts the people who are meant to be here and it fills me up, my daughter would have loved it.

 

What was the experience like when you could sit back and realize that you had accomplished opening your own shop?

I am not sure it has sunk in yet. People will ask what I do and I usually say “I’m an artist, and a mom, and I when I grow up I might be a rock star” Now I say “Oh I own a little shop in town” and it feels like I am talking about someone else (I still wanna be a Rock Star).

Were you as creative as a young child? What kinds of creative things do you remember doing?

I think some people are just born this way…I ate crayons (just the red ones) drew little pictures on everything including the wall under my bed, I made dolls out of yarn, I drew cartoons of the kids in my class in the margins of my school work, decorated everyone’s PeeChee folder in fifth grade, made my own punk rock t-shirts, and made horrible costumes for my little brother.


You wrote a children’s book, ‘Pink Sky’. What is it about? Will there be more of them?

After my daughter died I felt like the best parts of me did too. Art was something I just didn’t think I could or would ever do again. My brother (also an artist) came over one day to help me clean my studio out, we went down to the bare bones, I threw everything away or donated it. He told me I would make art again and this would be a fresh start when I was ready. Several weeks later I woke up with a book in my head. I locked myself in my studio for five days to write and illustrate it, just for me.

The book is about a little girl who begins as an idea and who begins again as idea realized. The book has been donated to families who need help opening a dialog about what it means to have cancer and not get better. The truth is that too many children will die from this disease and they have to know that death is not an ending and it isn’t failure, it is a process. There is more than one way to survive, sometimes that means without a body.

It’s serious and sad but it’s real. People who need the book find me and the first 500 copies were donated by a local group of artists (ZNE) who had an art auction to raise money for a Memorial, the book became the memorial. The books have been donated to oncology clinics, Hospice, and hospital/organizations that treat children with cancer.

That’s beautiful Gina. What is your favorite ‘Act of Art’?

Pink Sky.

What are some of the different creative things you do?

There isn’t much left I haven’t done. At the moment I am working on a graphic novel that has been following me around for a while. I run the store, make some happies now and then to share with my shoppers, teach classes, and enjoy meeting all kinds of artists.


You also teach. What types of workshops do you hold? Are you having a lot of fun with them?

Oh there are too many to list, you will just have to go to the Tangerine website and see for yourself! I am working on a few video workshops that I hope to have completed by fall.

I love working with other creative souls…it always feels like having family over.

Where do you get inspiration?

Just being who I am and living fully in my experiences. It is never dull, not always pretty, but there is always beauty to be found in between all the everyday stuff. My daughter to this day inspires me every day, not sure how she manages it from where ever she is now but I wake up smelling fruit and flowers and thinking about playing in the studio.

My mother always told me I should never leave the house without clean underwear I tell my kids you should never leave home without a sketchbook. You are more likely to be hit by inspiration than a bus.

LOL I love that!

You recently had your Dolls published. It must be so exciting being published. Where can they be seen?

I was published in Art Doll Quarterly, and yes it was fun. It didn’t seem real until I was in a bookstore and picked up a copy and there I was!


What is the motivation behind these unique handmade creations? They are very detailed, whimsical and dressed!

I think doll making is left over kid energy. I like to create little worlds that I fit in to, working without a plan or an agenda is real freedom. I make these little girls and they remind me of cousins, my daughters and myself, they are sweet but in an honest way.


Any fun thoughts, news you would like to share?

Make Art = Be Happy

Thank you for a wonderfully candid and fun interview Gina. Your Artful spirit is a treasure and an inspiration.

You can find out more about Gina and her shop by visiting Tangerine

Living In Color With Steph Jordan

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Hostess Steph Jordan celebrate life with a show about everything, for everybody!