Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tay’Laur Ambrene. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Tay’Laur , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
My confidence is a tree with multiple roots that continues to grow. I have a lot of role models in and out of my family that have inspired me through my life. My grandma raised me, my sister and brother after raising my mom and aunt by herself so she’s veryyy headstrong, very bold, enjoys doing things her way. My mom and aunt are the same way. I was a bit more extroverted extra young but ended up more introverted in my teens and grew up around girlfriends who had assertive and bold energy. It definitely made an impact on me being surrounded by women and girls who weren’t afraid to be themselves. Babes in business, make sure to surround yourself with other babes with the mindset you’re looking to invoke in your life, healthy, balanced, confident; continue to learn and be inspired by them.
A lot of my confidence also came from growth. Sometimes when you’re in a low place or used to being treated a type of way, you just get tired. I got tired of allowing people to disrespect me and forgiving them over and over, or dimming my light and happiness because it made someone insecure, I got tired of pushing my feelings, self care, integrity, dreams away for the sake of somebody else, especially after going through family and personal relationships that already made me feel less. I started putting my happiness first and continue to disconnect with mindsets, habits, people I don’t align with anymore, especially if they help dim your confidence. And take care of yourself! Your mind, body, soul, it’s why some people love going to the gym. When you’re taking care of yourself, you feel better about yourself.
Inspiration from pop culture role models helped sparked my confidence too, especially Rihanna. I love her style, edgy fashion choices, the way she’s building an empire, her smooth flow from masc to femme, the way she cares less and less about opinions or what people might say and just doing her. That’s the self acceptance I aim for. Empire builders like Issa Rae, Queen Latifah, Saweetie, Kimora Lee Simmons, Melody Yehsani, Tia Mowry, Megan Thee Stallion and others give me so much motivation. Please watch your role models, watch their content, read their books, listen to their music, buy their products, see what inspires them; it will spark something in your soul with the right mindset.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I, myself am an artist through and through. Call me a Jane of all trades. I love art and expressing myself in any creative aspect I feel drawn to. I model, write, act, shoot, edit, style, read tarot and create content heavily around self love. It was after a heartbreak or two and a start of a spiritual journey that led me to see my toxic habits, patterns and wounds I’d gotten from family relationships and that showed me just how much I didn’t love and nurture myself the way I should with the way I showed up in life. This love for self love led me to create my blog and brand, Passion T, a clothing line + lifestyle online platform that focuses on self love + feminist news for women + queer babes through music, fashion, spirituality, self development, and culture. Passion T is still an online baby, but my goal is to have resources of self therapy, travel, fun, fitness and more for babes on their self love and/or spiritual adventure. My brand is supposed to be fun, bring self empowerment and community to those starting out and those who are already flowing.
Right now, we’re focusing on growing online, our events and streetwear. We had a Y2K Pajama + Pamper Party for Galentine’s and we’re planning for more! Our streetwear mostly consists of hip hop, affirmation + feminist tees but will also be expanding soon. Our WAP Tee recently released and we got a lot planned so stay tuned!
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 in order to be an artist, content creator, entrepreneur, a decent human being and/or all of the above, you always need to be open. That’s important. Whether it’s studying your craft, a new social media skill, a new tech or fashion trend, a new film or music genre, a new life lesson, a new definition or pronoun. It doesn’t mean say no to the things you definitely don’t align with but times are always changing and you need to be open to learning, trying new things and listening, especially if it’s another person, community or culture that you wish to treat with respect. Unless it’s serious toxicity, you don’t get to tell someone you didn’t hurt or disrespect them. If you don’t know something, Google and YouTube are your besties. Read books, listen to music, watch documentaries, go to museums or workshops or the library. Be open to listening, learning and growing yourself for the future.
Second, is not giving up. Whatever biz you got is sure to fail at something at least once. Maybe you don’t get a lot of customers one day or likes on a social media post. I know how it feels to work hard on something and not seeing the results you wanna see. But don’t stop. Do whatever you gotta do in moments of stress, sadness, disappointment or impatience. Feel it, scream. cry, journal, sing to a playlist, break something, give yourself a pity party, be authentic in the moment. Whatever you feel sucks and is valid, even just for the moment. But after that you get your a** back up and keep going, babes.
Lastly, be assertive, especially for my women. Two role models of mine have taught me that as of recently. While it’s cool to pick our battles, don’t be afraid to be a b*tch, stand up for yourself, your self respect, values, integrity and others who cannot fight for themselves. I know how it feels to be the only one standing out with a different opinion, belief, value and I understand the fear of standing alone or being ostracized by others. But sometimes the truth and speaking up is very serious and necessary. And the only opinion that truly matters is yours, remember that.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Passion T’s an eclectic brand focusing on empowering with subjects/topics like feminism, music, sexuality + body positivity, fashion, lifestyle, sistahood + activism. I am alwaysss looking to partner or collaborate with other business owners, artists and entrepreneurs, especially fellow women and queer people of color. I’m looking for rebels, queens, vixens and kid-adults who are in love with their craft, looking to stand out, stand up and break down all of society’s barriers, one wall at a time. We love bold + bad babes at Passion T; intro, extro, or ambiverts.
We’re looking to do more media, events and campaign shoots through our production company Studio Passion for Passion T streetwear so we’ll need models, videographers, photographers who wanna add to their portfolio, editors, marketers, other artists/performers/ speakers/leaders and businesses with similar missions to team up with for day parties, workshops and/ or add into our gift bags. We want our events to also help promote other brands and their products.
Our events are also always in need of a cute venue or space so if there is anyone open to renting out their space, please please DM me Tay’Laur Ambrene (@taylaurambrene) on Instagram or email me [email protected]!
Artists and graphic designers, if you have a dope self love design that you’d like to see on a streetwear piece or product and you wish to collab, send us a pitch, DM or portfolio and follow us @xo.passiont on Instagram.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.passiont.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/taylaurambrene
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@taylaurambrene
- Other: www.tiktok.com/taylaurambrene
Image Credits
Tay’Laur Ambrene + Tai’Leah Paige
