Meet Trailblazer Samantha Suarez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Suarez.

Samantha, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My name is Sam, I’m a 25-year-old San Diego Native, I’m finishing school for Communications with a Minor in Marketing, everything about these fields excites me.

I enjoy connecting with people and building relationships with them as well. I currently have a blog @sunnkissedsam.com where I share my tips, travels and I get to express my creativity in there as well.

I grew up in a middle-class, Christian household with both of my parents who immigrated from Mexico after they married. I am the youngest of five. My father started his small construction business when he became a U.S. Citizen and shortly after got diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Nonetheless, starting a business was something I looked up to my father for and always dreamed of doing.

Around a year ago, my good friend Monica and I sat on an idea of a business and a few months ago, Violet Vox was born, Violet Vox is a project we are so excited to share with San Diego and look forward to seeing it grow alongside us. We are passionate about creating customizable gift boxes for any occasion to share with your loved ones. We just love the idea of gifting joy to those who come across Violet Vox and we are happy to be part of your special moment. Furthermore, we are looking forward to what the future holds for Violet Vox and are so grateful for the opportunity to fulfill our dreams, I’m so excited for this season of life I am currently in and I’m so grateful to be able to share my story.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The journey to getting here has definitely not been smooth. In fact, far from it. After my father (the head of our household) was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, everything fell apart and went downhill for us. He stopped working, we lost our home and his construction business as well. The years after were filled with a lot of moments of uncertainty. We moved around many times and changed schools, my parent’s finances took a hit and so did our education as well as our emotional stability. Everything that could possibly go wrong for us, did. There was definitely several years of hardship. Fast forward to a few years later, I ended up moving out and lived on my own for about a year. During this time my parents were living about 45 min away from me and I was working two jobs and going to school at the same time. That year was the hardest of my life to date. Nonetheless, I would visit them every weekend and I would talk to them every night, which kept me hopeful. A year later, they came back to South San Diego and my brother and I moved to a home together.

We’d love to hear more about Violet Vox.
I’m a creative junkie. Lover of all things fashion, beauty, marketing and art. By day, I work an office job and by night I let my creativity flow through my blog, Instagram and our small business (Violet Vox). My blog, Violet Vox, and creative page are my passions right now! I recently became knowledgeable in Illustration and I do logo design on the side apart from my day job. I love being able to have a platform where I can express myself and put out content to the world that I personally love in hopes of also providing value to others. I love that I get to also connect with a great community of creatives and female entrepreneurs that inspire me to continue to strive for more, I have met great people through social media which I respect and applaud them for their hard work. For the future, I hope to launch my lifestyle Podcast at the beginning of 2020. I’m so excited to be giving entrepreneurs, local business owners, wellness experts, etc. a platform to share their stories ad show what San Diego has to offer. 2020 looks promising!

What’s the most important piece of advice you could give to a young woman just starting her career?
I would tell her to practice gratitude. Be grateful for where you are in life because everyone’s journey is different. Enjoy the birds, watch sunsets, read, love your life with your whole heart. I would also tell young women to support other’s dreams, to help build each other up instead of competing. And of course, to not be so hard on yourself. To realize that your 20’s are literally the best years to go out there and chase your dreams and simply figure yourself out. It’s completely okay to not know all the answers and not have it all figured out. Own who you are, own your individuality and be confident in who you are because, trust me, that time waits for nobody and your youth is so precious! Don’t waste time chasing instant gratification, instead chase long term progress. Go out into the world and show them what you are made of, chase your passions and be the best version of yourself you can possibly be without apologies. And lastly, above all love yourself first, self-love is absolutely necessary. Love yourself so you can then love others.

Pricing:

• $50.00 The average cost of a Violet Vox Gift Box

Contact Info:

• Website: sunnkissedsam.com
• Email: suarezsamx@gmail.com
• Instagram: @sunnkissedsam
• Other: @shopvioletvox

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