We were lucky to catch up with Tanya Wilson recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tanya, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I believe my resilience comes from my parents. My parents instilled in me throughout my life that unfortunate events happen; but, they also expressed that how you handle these events will determine the kind of person you will become. My parents basically drove home the, “never give up mentally”, even when you want to give up. One event in particular where resilience came into play for me was when I wanted to choose the career path of becoming a police officer because I wanted to help people.
I completed my B.A. in Criminal Justice at Point Park College, I completed and passed the written portion of the police exam and was on track to do the physical agility test. My plan was to first become an officer, then get promoted to detective and then work in Internal Affairs. During that time, I was also playing pickup volleyball games in and around the city of Pittsburgh, Pa., and one particular night when playing; I jumped up to spike the ball and I tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The recovery time for that type of injury is about six to nine months, so long story short, I couldn’t complete the physical agility test and that basically ended my career choice of becoming a Police Officer, but my desire to work in law enforcement didn’t change, so I pivoted and became an Allegheny County Juvenile Probation Officer.
While working as a Juvenile Probation Officer, it allowed me to obtain a Master’s degree in Psychology from Chatham University. I am now retired after 21 years of service, but during that time, I counseled and helped many children become law abiding citizens, and encouraged them to obtain their high school diplomas, GED’s and college educations, while at the same time becoming an advocate for parents.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Currently, I am a retired Allegheny County Juvenile Probation Officer and entrepreneur living in Pittsburgh, Pa. The area in my life that I am focusing on now is something that started out as a hobby while employed as a Probation Officer, but has since become my product line Secret Saks under the LLC of Tanya L. Wilson Designs. Secret Saks were created from a dream that I had while going through menopause and working as a Juvenile Probation Officer.
Now this is uncomfortable for me to share, and some may say it’s TMI, but it’s my personal story and it tells the story of how Secret Saks came to be and hopefully it will help someone who may be going through the same thing. When I was going through menopause, I would never know when that time of the month would come; so I would carry feminine hygiene products and a spare pair of undies in a plastic baggie, in my purse for just in case emergencies, especially while I was attending court hearings ( I liked being prepared for the unknown).
The dream was, I was attending one of those court hearings and my purse fell to the ground and my personal belongings in the plastic baggie fell out, and everyone saw what I was carrying and I was so embarrassed in the dream, that it shook me awake. Because I was awake, I found a piece of material and hand sewed a sak and used a ribbon as a tie. I transferred the items from the plastic baggie that I carried in my purse and I put those items in the newly created sak and tied it off. As I was going back to sleep I said to myself, “now that’s my secret, that’s my secret sak, and that’s how Secret Saks was born.
A Secret Sak is a personal, decorative lined sak to carry one’s personal items in a discreet way and they are designed for women, men, girls and boys. The Secret Sak closure are color coordinated cordings (strings), that when pulled closed, they are kept in place with spring cord locks which keep personal items secure until open. Secret Saks can be utilized for feminine hygiene items, incontinence products, maternity pads etc. It really just depends on the individual. I love Secret Saks because I can transport my personal items discreetly. What I am most excited about is being able to share something so personal, that derived from a dream and previous customers who have told me that they have been utilizing their Secret Sak for years.
As part of the Secret Sak line is the Swim Sak for transporting bathing suits, the Spirit Sak for transporting wines and spirits (comes in single and double carry), and the Shoe Sak for transporting shoes.
I currently sell my products mostly at vending events throughout Allegheny County and Washington County. I do not have a website as of yet.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secretsaks
Instagram: secret_sak
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think the three qualities that are the most impactful in my journey is persistance, vision and creativity. Although Secret Saks started out as a dream, then a hobby, I remain persistent in creating my products because I know that they really do help people.
Sewing provides me with a great deal of peacefulness; and to be honest, I don’t think I could’ve worked as a Juvenile Probation Officer during stressful times without sewing because it gave me a sense of balance.
At times, persistance comes in handy especially when I try to utilize social media skills and marketing tools. I continue to incorporate those mediums, but they are not my strong qualities and I am still learning. Using vision and creativity have enabled me to add products to my line that are stylish, useful and fun.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
The challenge that I am currently facing is finding a manufacture in the Pittsburgh area. I was working with a woman who was in charge of the Sew Forward program by the East End Cooperative Ministries, but they closed their doors several months ago.
The Sew Forward program provided community members sewing skills and training who were interested in finding employment in the textile industry. They were a great asset in assisting me with my line of products.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: secret_sak
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secretsaks
- Linkedin: Wilson Tanya
