Sianna Elise Honors African Style Through Her Clothing Brand

1. One sentence that describes what you do…

I am the founder and CEO of FÀNDÉ, an African inspired clothing brand. Through my clothes, I hope to honor African style and share a piece of Liberian culture with people from all backgrounds.

2. The first thing I do when I wake up…

Find my phone that is lost somewhere in my bedsheets from the night before. I immediately answer texts from friends and family that are an ocean away and others who are right here in Liberia.

Then I call my mother because she motivates me for the day and gets up even earlier than I do! Next, I check my emails, skip breakfast and open my laptop.

3. The quote I live by…

“Do no harm, take no s**t.”

As a woman boss, I find people often want to push me around or pull one over me and I won’t have it! At the same time, I want to leave a positive impact on the people who work for me and the people who wear my brand.

4. My favorite business tools are…

• WooCommerce and WordPress are what I use to operate my eCommerce store shopfande.com.
• I also use Printful, which fulfills all my FÀNDÉ orders while I am anywhere in the world.
• iPreview is the app used by my intern to plan social media posts, which allows us to review them together even though we are miles apart. It also allows us to schedule postings and save captions.
• I also use Google Docs, which is the best collaboration program for documents and sheets.

5. On my bookshelf, you will find…

All of Lang Leav’s poetry books. I find poetry a great way to wind down after a long day. 

6. Every woman needs to try this at least once…

Be single for a period of time. I have been the most productive and focused after a breakup and diving into my work and watching my company grow. I believe investing in yourself will provide the best payoff.

7. My favorite beauty brands and items…

For skincare, I use Glossier for my face and body. Their products are gentle and provide the natural moisture that my face and body need.

I worked at a Bobbi Brown counter in college and her skincare products are underrated. Her soothing cleansing oil not only takes away my makeup but hydrates my skin.

I am a makeup junkie so it is hard to choose only a few brands,  but on a daily basis, I use Fenty Beauty for my foundation, Bobbi Brown for bronzer/blush, and Pat McGrath for eyeshadow.

I have a 4a curl pattern and Deva Curl products with Eco style gel have saved my life!

8. The best piece of advice I’ve ever received…

“Always show up.”

When I was in high school, I would experience migraines that would keep me from wanting to leave my bed because slight noises and light would make my migraines worse.

The thought of going to school with a migraine would stress me out, but not going would leave me further behind in my work. Missing school was becoming a problem and one day my dad told me to always show up in life. I took his advice and I went to school and it was not the nightmare I thought it would be.

Now, whenever I’m worried about an event or an outcome I just show up, and no matter what it is, I’ve been able to handle it. Whatever horrible situation I have imagined never happened.

9. Daily things you do in your business…

Reviewing product inventory, finding new avenues for spreading awareness and communicating with my team.  

Every other day I am also checking on the local tailors who sew FÀNDÉ’s clothes. I meet with them regularly to review finished products or discuss new designs. 

10. List all your social media platforms…

• Instagram @siannaelise, @thefandefeel
• Facebook @thefandefeel
• LinkedIn Fàndé
• Pinterest @shopfande
• Twitter @thefandefeel