You must know at least one person in your circle who’s an overachiever. No? Well, look to Gayel Pierre to fill that void. The founder of G’s Addiction, a clothing line, Gayel (also known as Cutiega) is also a fashion and image consultant for bands like Kreyol La and Akoustic. Her latest achievement is the creation of Living Hart, a collective for creatives of Haitian descent. The graduate of the prestigious Art Institute of Lauderdale with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion Merchandising might surprise some with this initiative, but then again, they might root for her. Creatives of Haitian descent are scattered all over, and Living Hart is going to be the project to bring them all under one artistic roof. The project will launch on April 24th in Haiti, and from there expand into the United States.
Kreyolicious: So, you have yet another venture. How did you come up with the idea for it?
Living HArt came to me out of the blue. I was trying to think of something new, another form of entertainment and all of a sudden it came to me why not have a live show/ fair where everything is being done live and people can just walk in, browse, appreciate our youth’s talent and purchase their work.
Kreyolicious: You have your own design line, you do custom-design for artists, and now Living Hart. You’ve made so many of your ideas happen. What advice would you give to others who are having a lot of success with coming up with ideas, but can’t seem to do anything concrete with them?
It’s important to always try to innovate, keep on thinking and coming up with new ideas. However, sometimes it’s hard to materialize them—truth be told. I have had so many other great ideas that I was not able to make happen. So the important thing is to always push forward, and have tenacity because there will always be obstacles and you will always find people to discourage you. You just have to be patient, surround yourself with people who share your visions and network! Always network. As much as we’d like to think that we can do everything by ourselves, it’s not always true.
Kreyolicious: It’s surprising, but then again, it’s not surprising that you are drawn to visual art.
It may seem surprising because the public never got to know this side of me, but those who know me won’t find it surprising at all. In fact, I also studied interior design, therefore I am familiar with visuals and find them quite inspirational.
Kreyolicious: G’s Addiction will always be your baby. How do you keep your passion and drive for it, while coming up and managing all these other ventures?
My dream for G’s addiction is what drives me to push forward. I have a vision I have yet to [fully] accomplish. Therefore, I always focus on the objective no matter how hard things can get at times. In that sense, all my other ventures are all part of the big picture…my dream for G’s Addiction.
Kreyolicious: Life is all about growing. Can you think of anything that you weren’t too good at…say two, three years ago that you’ve mastered or have at least gotten twice as good at?
I have gotten better at everything I’m doing—whether it’s the jewelry, the designs. I have been growing ever since I started G’s Addiction, [so] I can’t think of just one thing! The list would go on forever. However, I think my most impressive growth [area] over the course of my journey, has been my personality. I have grown so much as a person, a businesswoman. This life has taught me a lot and I am grateful for every step I take.
Kreyolicious: What will people be surprised to see from you in the future in terms of new ventures?
People can expect so much more from G’s Addiction. Like I mentioned earlier, I am not done growing and innovating! Even I am still surprising myself with new ideas, [whether it be] new clothing line [ideas], new apparel and so on! I have so many exciting new projects coming…So stay tuned!
CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW GAYEL “CUTIEGA” PIERRE. |CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW LIVING HART ON INSTAGRAM
