Juanita Kelly Designer

Juanita Kelly is unlike any other designer that exists in today's fashion world. She was raised in Plainfield, NJ where she learned to sew from her grandmother at the age of three. Over the next several years, her skills and eye for fashion continued to evolve to the point where she now holds the distinctive status of being one of only a small number of master seamstresses in the United States. She lives, breathes, and understands fabrics, textiles, and patterns in and out, an element that gives her and Goddess by Juanita Kelly the definitive advantage over the competition.

Juanita Kelly is a highly educated woman. In addition to being a master seamstress, she also holds multiple degrees from Rutgers University. She is also well versed in the fashion and entertainment industry. At age 10, Juanita pursued professional modeling, dancing and acting for the next 14 years, and from which she eventually retired in 1999. She then launched her own modeling and talent agency, which realized tremendous success. During this time, Juanita launched her first clothing line, ETC Fashions, which specialized in making one-of-a-kind custom garments, some of which have been featured in major films and television shows and worn by several A-List celebrities.

In 2000, Juanita was forced her to give up her lucrative business endeavors when she was diagnosed with cancer. She fought back, enduring rounds of chemotherapy, radiation, and brain surgery. During this time she met and married her now husband Nicola and has a beautiful daughter Clarissa. Juanita persevered and went into remission a few years later. Now she is not wasting a single minute and she is delving right back into what she loves.... creating stylish, comfortable, supportive garments for the plus size woman.

Many traits separate Juanita Kelly from the rest of her competitors. While she is a master seamstress, she is often hard at work in the studio designing and constructing the garments. She doesn't just sit behind a desk and say what she likes and what she dislikes. Being a plus size woman herself, Juanita understands what the curvy woman wants in a garment. Juanita also believes in giving back to the community. She has served as a mentor for pregnant teenagers at Plainfield High School and has also opened up her home to host support groups for battered women after she herself escaped from an abusive relationship. Juanita plans to donate garments to battered women foundations which can be worn for job interviews to aid abused women in getting their lives back on track.

Although this is a summary which highlights Juanita Kelly’s journey, it is not the sum of her life and experiences. We hope that this has provided better insight and understanding as to who she is.


Juanita is truly an inspiration in all respects which separates her and her company from other designers and will undoubtedly take the fashion world by storm with Goddess by Juanita Kelly. Juanita Kelly also has embarked on her own radio show called Goddess Talk which airs weekly on Blog Talk Radio and the premier of her own online magazine Goddess Magazine.


Websites:
www.goddessbyjuanitakelly.com
www.myspace.com/goddessbyjuanitakelly
www.modelmayhem.com/goddessbyjuanitakelly
www.twitter.com/goddessbyjkelly
www.blogtalkradio.com/goddesstalk
www.facebook.com/goddessbyjkelly

Here are the links to our media kits...

Goddess by Juanita Kelly
http://issuu.com/goddessbyjkelly/docs/media_kit

Goddess Talk Radio Show
http://issuu.com/goddess.talk/docs/goddess_talk_with_host_media_kit

Goddess Magazine 
http://issuu.com/goddess.magazine/docs/goddess_magazine_media_kit

Illeanna Chavira

Illeanna's favorite quote is "never let your past determine your future" and I can see why, as I spoke with her I can hear this great energy and enthusiasm coming through the phone and to was so refreshing to hear her share with me her story and how it all began and what drove her to were she is today.  


Illeanna is a force to be reckoned with, when it comes to sharing beliefs in empower women and letting them (us) all know how valuable we are and precious individuals. And that our size is not our character but a beautiful accessory and that we can accomplish everything and anything we set our minds to. 


 Here is Illeanna Chavira story in her own words:

"Illeanna is not your stereotypical "plus" size woman....She is strong and secure with the person she has become and continues to grow into. Growing up heavier than her peers  and surrounded by people who constantly expressed the "you have such a pretty face" & "if only you lost some weight" notions.

She was left to find her own positive self esteem and bigger than life outlook. She has made it her mission to reach out to young women and teach them coping mechanisms that not only raise self esteem but save lives. She has worked in conjunction  with companies that cater to ALL women but more specifically women of size.

Illeanna continues to make strides in the plus size industry as a past model and current Director of Empowerment and Columnist for SKORCH magazine. She has also teamed up with Dove and is a facilitator of "Dove self-esteem fund" and "uniquely me" with girl scouts of America.  Her ambitions and dreams will persevere through all obstacles as she fights not only for you but WITH you."

Many years ago, before 'Americas Next Top Model 'and before the plus size craze, I began modeling and did fairly well during this time. Although I wasn't the typical size 0, 5'10 model,  the rate at which I booked work slowly increased over the years. 

However, I noticed that many other plus size models weren't as fortunate and I heard horrible stories about encounters they've had with photographers or people portraying themselves as photographers.

I then made it my mission to ensure that, not only would these women book more work but they would be treated with respect. So I opened IMMA (Illeanna Management & Marketing Agency) to help all models and also to help promote plus size models. 

IMMA was an agency with a rolodex full of photographers, make up artist, hairstylist and all necessary entertainment needs. With times evolving and the acceptace of plus size models changing, there was no longer a need for a liaison as myself. I like to think that my stance helped mold some of today's views.

Yet and still, with that need met I found myself still wanting to help women. ALL women, of all backgrounds and walks of life.  I wanted to help empower and teach them coping skills that they would find useful in todays world..

So began Royal Fabulosity - a place filled with empowerment information, services, products, and seminars glitzed with fashion. Royal Fabulosity can be found at: www.RoyalFabulosity.com

In all the great work and cause's Illeanna is involved with she shines a light for a lot of others to follow and to see that your dreams can come true, to just keep going on no matter what life may put in your path, and to succeed you must continue believing in who you are not what the world thinks you are.

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