Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Lilly.
Samantha, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I always enjoyed fashion as long as I can remember. I just love the idea of being able to stand out & have your outfit do the talking. Therefore, I knew I wanted to have a career in fashion. I did intensive research on certain fields within the industry such as; what classes I needed to take in college & what internships I needed. I finally set my sights for visual merchandising at my first job at A’GACI. It does not require sewing, drawing, & stable if the economy were to dip. What made visual the most appealing is that I still felt like an artist as I created outfits for customers. It warmed my heart when clients bought the whole outfit. And I knew this is what I wanted to do forever.
Fast forward to my junior year of high school, I was in sewing class when Karl Marshall, from the Dallas Market Center, came to talk about fashion camp at the Galleria Mall. I could not go since I was taking summer classes to graduate early. He left after his presentation & I jumped out of my chair to chase him down the hall to ask for an internship. Half out of breath, I explained my situation & we exchanged emails. I started to intern for him two weekends after & two years after that.
I went to college at Oklahoma State University to study Apparel Merchandising. Then, I went to intern for Dillard’s as one of the first students to only do a summer internship as visual. Staying with the company, I have bounced around from Tulsa, Oklahoma City, to finally back home in Dallas.
I finally had my own store to create my visions! As so I thought… Dallas was a very different district than Oklahoma which resulted in less creativity & more clean/crisp look for the store. Which is fine, but I preferred to glue flowers on the wall for the Free People floor. My creativity started to become more limited, which led me to become more rebellious & resentful. So to keep my income flowing I had to come up with another creative outlet. Thus Bonjour Chérie was born!
Bonjour Chérie is French for “hello darling”, I am a quarter French & I wanted a name that resembled me. This, my darlings, allowed me to post, rant, & to give helpful tips to those who related to me. I had the privilege to share my journey of “No Spending January”, new yoga tricks I learned, & to meet wonderful people that also blog.
What keeps Bonjour Chérie alive is that we all know the age of the mannequins is coming to an end. You, the people, want real reviews TODAY! You want to know how that skirt fits on different bodies & where you can just drive through to pick it up. Finally, you want to know how to save time.
To tie in my talent in creating outfits, I use my own body as a mannequin. I create meals that can save you money. Then I invite you to come do yoga with me to save time for yourself. I am humbled to still be able to help people by tying all these things together. And it all started by dressing a mannequin.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
If this road were smooth, I would not take it. To me, a smooth road means one is following the pack & not making their own changes or dreams. I also subconsciously choose to make things way more difficult than they should be, so here we are. With that said, no it has not been easy. I started from scratch to create something big. It is hard work & you have to hustle. I had to get creative on how I was presenting products, use what surroundings were available to me, & get used to hearing “no” from brands.
What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
I work for a corporate retailer. On the side, I run Bonjour Chérie & teach yoga on the side at CorePower Yoga. What I am best known for is delicious timely meals or doing yoga somewhere. What I am most proud of is that I did not stop when things got really tough. I did not let losing followers or less profile views get me down. I am here to prove you can do it all without going totally insane. Just kidding. What sets me apart is that I do have a lot on my plate, but they are all my passions. Though I have so much support, I am doing it all on my own.
Who have you been inspired by?
Definitely, my mom, she passed her wild & curious heart to me. She also taught me that at the end of the day, I am my own boss.
Then Coco Chanel & Lady Gaga. Odd pairing I know, but both of these women pushed boundaries. Chanel created the first pants for women, which at the time was out of dress code. Lady Gaga, in the beginning, was so dramatic & in your face with her music. But once she had all of our attention she had a lot to say about rape, mental disorders, & bullying.
Pricing:
- Off-Grid Yoga
- Posture Focus: $55
- Private Lesson: $75
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bonjourcheriee.com/
- Phone: 9728418015
- Email: samililly6@gmail.com
- Instagram: @samililly
- Facebook: Sami Lilly
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