On Her Own Wayve: Reyna Noriega

AROUND THE WORLD, THERE ARE WOMEN STARTING BUSINESSES, TURNING THEIR PASSIONS INTO PROFIT AND INSPIRING OTHER WOMEN ALONG THE WAY. WOMEN UPLIFTING AND SHINING A LIGHT ON OTHER WOMEN IS WHAT WE’RE ALL ABOUT AND IN THIS SEGMENT, WE’RE FEATURING ARTIST + ACTIVIST, REYNA NORIEGA.

At A Glance:

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?

It was more so encouragement to take myself serious and title myself accordingly. "I decide who I am when I decide I want to be and I am working towards it.

Where is your favourite food to eat? Addicted to quesadillas and sushi lol

What’s the last book you read? Things Are What You Make of Them: Life Advice for Creatives

Reyna Noriega is an artistic force and pillar in the Miami art community and beyond. The 25 year old Afro-Latina entrepreneur is not only an illustrator, but also an author, educator and truly enjoys helping other women build their businesses and brands. Like many artists, Reyna allows her culture to inspire her as she continues to inspire other women. We were able to catch up with her and learn more about how she got her start, what inspires her and what she wants to be remembered for most.

A+P: I absolutely love your artwork and how much you use your platform to inspire women. How did you get started and what was the inspiration behind it all?

Reyna: I've always wanted to be an artist lol even before I knew I could draw, my dad is a very talented artist and so it started off being like "cool" to me lol. I wanted to walk around with a sketch book, capture moments in time. I took an intense 2 year art class in high school on a whim lol it was IB Art or AP psych, and art was giving out free sketchbooks and promised photo walks lol. I figured out pretty quickly there was some skill there. I got accepted into a few colleges as a visual arts major, but ended up changing my tract to psychology to be "safe" lol never ended up using it. I continued painting, thought that was what I wanted or what I was best at, pursued freelance photography, and became a teacher. Teaching art at the high school level really allowed me to enjoy art again, creating alongside my students brought the joy back into it and took away the feelings of stress and competition within the art world. Teaching them digital art propelled me into the world of illustration where I saw I was able to convey my thoughts, feelings, and messages I wanted to get across to my audience.

A+P: What are some of the hardships you’ve faced while building your business?

RN: Getting over the fears, developing confidence. A lot of what holds us back can be combated by doing the work and aligning your purpose, when you achieve that, no one can question you because you aren't perceptive to questions or doubts YOU KNOW who YOU ARE, you're not waiting for acceptance and validation. You are walking in your purpose.

A+P: What inspires your art?

RN: My experiences, my journey to finding internal happiness. Things that anger me, things I want to change, things that bring me joy.

A+P: What advice would you give other female entrepreneurs who are just getting started in their businesses?

RN: Seek alignment and confidence in what you are doing first! Choose the path of least resistance. This stuff is hard, or more so challenging. You don't need to have all the answers at the start, but you need to love it enough to be willing to put in the work and to persevere.

A+P: One of the things I love most about following you is that you really use your platform to inspire and educate when it comes to being an Afro-Latina. Why is that so important to you?

RN: Paying it forward 100%. I know what is possible for me because of women that came before me and shared their experiences. It is also so necessary to use my privilege to help the more marginalized communities I belong to. I like to create art that makes black women feel beautiful and use my ability to navigate different spaces as a way to uplift those women.