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Archive of ‘interviews’ category

How I Ended Up on Television

I kept a secret for a couple of weeks.

Last month, I got an email from a producer from the local ABC station here in Philadelphia. The station caught wind of my holiday cards being sold by Marmaxx, and wanted to interview me about my illustration business.

WHUUUUT?

This was surreal. I worked in media production for a long time, but never was I the subject of a television interview. But I guess that’s the beauty of letting people know about your passion and your product — someone’s going to notice! And now, a trio of someones was scheduled to visit my place and interview me about my work.

I had to get my studio ready for visitors — and cameras, and lights, and microphones too. Before I knew it, veteran broadcaster Lisa Thomas-Laury arrived at my house — MY house! — with a producer and cameraman in tow. Set-up took awhile, as is the nature of broadcasting, but it wasn’t long before Ms. Thomas-Laury was asking me about my process and my dreams of being an illustrator when I was a little girl. Oh, and the camera man convinced me to pull out a few, slightly-embarrassing childhood photos, (so just pretend you don’t see them in the video below.) I had a hard time keeping my face straight through the whole thing, and my guy, a Philly native, was a bit star-struck by the veteran anchorwoman sitting in our house. :-)

Before I knew it, it was over, and the crew from 6ABC was packing up and heading out. But it was such a great and fun experience. And a few weeks later, I got the email letting me know that my segment was airing as part of the station’s “Visions” special on local entrepreneurs.

Seeing myself and my work on TV is… well, surreal! When you’re simply doing work in your office (or in my case, my studio), you never quite imagine that someone is going to come interview you about it. At least I didn’t. But I’m super excited that it happened.

Check out the segment below and let me know what you think!

Interview with the Philly Inquirer

This is me on the front page of the Inky's Home & Design section. Whuuuut?! :)

This is me on the front page of the Inky’s Home & Design section. Whuuuut?! :)

Just a few weeks before Christmas, I sat down with Elizabeth Wellington from the Philly Inquirer. She and photographer Charles Fox stopped by my apartment to talk to me about illustration — specifically about my “Fabulous Brown Girls” holiday cards.

I have to say, as a former journalist, I’m used to being on the other side of the interview. But I had so much fun talking to Elizabeth about my cards (and nerding out about the journo biz) and posing for a few pictures with my illustrated gals.

This was easily one of the most exciting moments of the past year — being featured in major newspaper for doing the thing I love. I made sure to send several copies to my parents back in Pittsburgh.

But the best part? Elizabeth captured the whole reason I focus on women of color in my personal work:

In a world where public images of black women often teeter between miserable and maudlin, these cheerful holiday greetings seem right on time.

“If you went solely by what you see on TV and in the media, you would think that black women are devoid of joy,” Miller said. “The women I know laugh a lot. They love fashion, they work hard, and they are successful… And there is a lot of joy in our lives.”

You can check out the interview and slideshow here. And shout-out to Alex McKechnie at Drexel University for snapping a photo of the feature.

Veronica on the Radio: Talking Louboutin With Latino USA

Veronica Talking Shoes

Here’s a fun fact: before I started working as an illustrator, I had a cool day job as a producer for NPR. I was responsible for finding interesting guests to talk about cool stuff on our talk shows, and every now and then I got on the mic myself.

Last week I got the chance to head back into an NPR studio and chat with Maria Hinojosa, the host of Latino USA. We talked about Christian Louboutin’s new line of “nude” shoes for all colors, and why it’s game-changing. (I’d written about the new product launch a few weeks back for xoJane.)  Maria and I also talked about why it’s important for designers to acknowledge and embrace the diversity of women who love fashion.

Check out the interview below and let me know your thoughts! What do you think of nude Loubies for all ladies?

Interview with A Minted Life

A Minted Life

Last week I had a fun chat with Jamila St. Julien, who runs the blog A Minted Life.

Jamila interviewed me for her “Minted Life” series, in which she profiles other women of color in creative and entrepreneurial pursuits. We talked about the T.J. Maxx deal, how I started drawing in the first place, and where I draw inspiration. My favorite question was when Jamila asked, “How do you life a minted life?” — meaning how do I ensure beauty, joy and happiness in my day-to-day living.

Check out the interview here. And be sure to follow Jamila on Twitter too … you can find her at @JamilaStJ.