Meet Juliana Rabban

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Juliana Rabban a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial drive, even as a kid in elementary school, I was creating and selling anything I could. Experiencing this entrepreneurial fire from a young age really allowed me to see possibilities everywhere. It planted a seed in me that I always knew I’d run my own business someday, I just didn’t know what form it would take. For a while, I actually considered going into law or even engineering, but over time I realized I could combine all of those elements; logic, structure, creativity, and connection, through art. It just so happened that I went on to study these exact strengths, majoring in Advertising Design with minors in Graphic Design and Creative Entrepreneurship at College for Creative Studies. I genuinely use everything I learned there every single day and am expanding upon it daily. Art became the perfect outlet that allowed me to use every side of myself without having to let go of something vital.

Now I run Just by Juliana, a metro-Detroit-based art brand that merges fine art, streetwear, and community. I specialize in creating one-of-one pieces ranging from custom sneakers and apparel to large-scale murals and canvases. Every piece I create, my goal is to make people stop, stare, and look a little closer. My style blends street-inspired energy with bold colors, hidden details, and a mix of cartoon and semi-realism, I pretty much call it my “collage vibe.”

What excites me most is how limitless it all feels. I love the transformation process of simply turning an idea or story into something tangible that people can wear, walk past, or connect with daily. I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with the Detroit Tigers, Pistons, and the NFL Draft over the past few years, and I love how those projects merge art with purpose, whether it’s raising awareness for a cause, celebrating local culture, or simply creating something that just looks cool. Honestly, my favorite part is watching people realize that art can live anywhere… even on your shoes.
This month, I’m especially excited to be releasing new graphic apparel inspired by Detroit sports culture and I’m also introducing new heavyweight sweat sets that bring art and comfort together in a clean, elevated way.

Overall, I’m in a phase of growth, focusing on ways to experiment, refine, and elevate both my art and myself. I’ve learned that the more I evolve personally, the more my art does too, and that’s what keeps me excited for what’s next.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Looking back at my journey thus far, I’d have to say that my most important qualities that have had the biggest impact on my success are competitiveness, self-drive, and curiosity.

I’ve always been extremely competitive, but not in a jealous way. I would define my competitiveness in two ways; The first is seeing the success of others and using it as motivation to level myself up; the second is competing with myself. I know it sounds intense when I say it out loud, but I’m rarely satisfied because I know the potential I have, so I use this to my benefit. This mindset stems from growing up as a perfectionist but overall this trait makes me stubbornly determined to reach my full potential in anything that I do. This is also where I started realizing that passion alone isn’t enough. People joke about the term “starving artist,” but competitiveness taught me early on that you need more than passion alone; you need structure, clarity, and strategy behind the talent and I make sure that I stay well fed because of this. I know exactly what I want, and I don’t stop until I make it happen. That drive pushes me to keep raising my own standards, but over time, it’s also taught me when to be open-minded and to listen when the right advice or perspective comes from the right people. I’d rather be tired now and relax later…. Just sayin!

Self-drive and discipline go hand in hand, especially being self-employed. No one holds my hand or tells me what to do next, it’s all on me, which I like veryyyy much. You have to be your own motivator, your own structure, and your own accountability. This is the part that most people don’t see when they think “follow your passion.” Passion doesn’t wake you up every morning, discipline does. Passion doesn’t organize your workload, your business mindset does. And this is where discipline shows up even when you don’t feel like it. It is what separates progress from potential. We have different energy levels every day, but if you can give at least your 80%, whatever it looks like on that given day, then you are showing the hunger you have.

Curiosity keeps me open, creative, and constantly learning which in turn keeps me evolving as a person and an artist. This is where I truly realized that being an artist isn’t just about creating, it’s about understanding people, culture, psychology, business, communication. Curiosity has shown me that you expand when your knowledge and experiences do. I’m always reading books and articles, watching videos, and doing and doing a variety of things that are and aren’t related to my business, but they still help me grow as a person. It all translates into my work, even when I don’t realize it at the moment.

My biggest advice is to just be absolutely obsessed with what you’re doing and to actively put yourself in situations that will promote you. It’s all about the mindset and how you show up to whatever it is that you do. I’ve gotten every single opportunity of mine because I am constantly telling people about my career, vending at events, networking, posting, creating and always trying to put myself out there as much as possible. All of this plays a huge role in building momentum, not perfection. If you believe in your vision and back it up with action every day, the results will come. It is all action based, not a thought in your head that you keep pushing off until “tomorrow.” People see and feel how excited and motivated I am, and I know this energy inspires not only their life but it also makes them want to follow my journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.justbyjuliana.com
• Instagram: justbyjuliana
• Youtube: justbyjuliana
• Other: Tiktok: julianarabban

Image Credits

Brandon Abro
Allison Farrand
Media District