20 Questions With AlanaKay Latiolais, Founder, AlanaKay Art

AlanaKay Latiolais is the founder, artist and designer of AlanaKay Art. She’s also a Women in Retail Leadership Circle (WIRLC) member! In this member spotlight, we asked Latiolais a series of questions about both her professional role and personal life, including the woman that inspires her, her leadership style, her advice for the next generation of female leaders, and much more, so that you can get to know her better.

AlanaKay Art will also have products available for purchase at the 2023 Women in Retail Leadership Summit, as well as providing a gift to all Summit attendees — look out for it in the gift box sent to your home!

1. What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
   “Where the Crawdads Sing”. Far better than the movie!
2. What is a tip you have for productively leading a WFH or hybrid team?
   I have only known a WFH hybrid model for my company. It has been a struggle to create blocks of time where I am not working because everywhere I look I see samples or paintings or packages. The best thing I have done to help keep some balance is to stop and do nothing in the middle of the day. It can be very uncomfortable, but I know I will be communicating with my overseas factories late at night and early in the morning, so a 20-minute sunshine break at 1 p.m. should be allowed.
3. What’s a mistake you made early on in your career?
   Trying to plan and control every little thing. Change has been the only constant in building my brand. It isn’t just about keeping your head on a swivel; it’s not letting your blood pressure spike while it’s swiveling.
4. What’s the toughest part of being in charge?
   It is hard for me to celebrate and really feel joy from wins because I know there is so much more work to do and ground to cover. I take a sip of champagne and move my eyes onto the next initiative, goal or project. I do truly want to improve in this area because I have accomplished a lot in a short amount of time and that in itself should be celebrated.
5. What’s the best way you motivate team members?
   I give freedom in the how. I do not micromanage because there are many ways to get to the end result.
6. What woman inspires you right now and why?
   The one who has been silenced but still pushes forward. We all know at least one woman that fits this description or maybe we are that woman. It is still too common in our society.
7. What are you looking forward to the most for the industry over the next year?
   Will consumers start to embrace quality over quantity and maybe even shift toward slow fashion? That is how I naturally design and create and it would be a positive shift for the future.
8. What is one thing you look for when interviewing a potential candidate?
   Creativity. You can bring creativity to every single part of your day both professionally and personally. If you’re willing to be creative you probably have a natural curiosity and I love the curious ones.
9. What’s something that you learned about yourself in the past year?
   I can actually keep plants alive! I always thought I had a black thumb but with a little help and lots of patience I had the most beautiful flower garden last year.
10. What’s your favorite podcast?
    “How I Built This” by Guy Raz.
11. What values are most important to you as a leader?
    Hard work, determination, creativity, curiosity, kindness, and individuality.
12. What’s the most important thing people should know about you?
    Recently, I was given a drawing of a colorful girl that I drew when I was four years old. My grandmother wrote a poem about that drawing long ago and kept it. “Someday I will capture that picture with needle and thread, but how could I do that — it came out of your head,” is a line from the poem. My grandmother put words to an idea she had for my artwork and I unknowingly started bringing those words to life with my brand AlanaKayART. I believe our words are powerful and color can be life changing.
13. What practices or boundaries have you implemented in your personal life to create more work/life balance?
    Slowing down and even stopping for brain breaks daily. Creating an outdoor and indoor work environment that brings me joy and fuels my creativity. Saying NO to things I would formerly have said yes to. Meditate. Eat nourishing foods. Move daily.
14. How would you describe yourself in a single sentence?
    I am a Leo, an Enneagram 3 wing 4, master number 11, and I am fueled by determination and grit.
15. What’s your favorite app?
    Perfect365. It is one of two apps I use to edit personal photos. My favorite feature is adding eyelashes =).
16. What do you do to recharge?
    Sit in my backyard. Work in my flower garden. Have long phone chats with girlfriends. Get out of town.
17. What is your biggest accomplishment?
    Creating AlanaKayART and bringing it to life.
18. What advice would you give to the next generation of female leaders?
    Advocate for yourself. No one knows how to do something they have never done, so try new things often even if you’re scared, and confidence is a muscle that you have to keep working, so you don’t lose it.
19. What gets you up in the morning?
    Every single day is something new for me. Just when I think I have seen or heard it all, a unicorn lands on my to-do list and I have to figure out how to tame it.
20. What do you like most about being a member of Women in Retail?
    I am super new to the group but I already appreciate the caliber of women in the group. I look forward to learning new things and finding ways to challenge myself as I grow my business.