Today we’d like to introduce you to Gia Hensel Carrey.
Hi Gia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was a competitive figure skater for San Diego figure skating club in my formative years. I then spent my teen years in North Park where creativity was everywhere. As a young girl, I was designing my own Barbie clothes. I always loved clothing and fashion perhaps that had a lot to do with my very chic and stylish grandmother and my years of skating and ballet. I am no stranger to adversity and pain, when I was still skating competitively, my father was in a serious accident in Mexico and life flight had to bring him back where he was in a coma and his recovery took years. My skating then stopped, I was good enough for sponsorship but didn’t have the tools or guidance to seek it – We then moved from Mira Mesa middle class to the ghetto in East San Diego. When I was 16, I was a witness to one of San Diego’s most tragic events the shooting at Grape Street Park. Shortly after that, I was raped at gunpoint while living in San Diego. All of this thrust me into an early marriage at just age 16. And my first son was born at age 18. At that point, I went to San Diego City College and later went to cosmetology school through the ROP program and later did hair in Hawaii and also taught figure skating in Hawaii. In my early 20s, I also worked as a Cosmetologist doing hair and makeup on the deceased at Nuuanu Mortuary on Oahu.
During my second marriage, I moved back from Hawaii to San Diego in my 20s. I had a daughter with a Persian man whom I loved and after that fell apart I worked for Nordstrom at Horton Plaza until I met the final father of my last three children, a wealthy businessman. I have five children… all three of my children’s fathers died. My last three have the same father and when I was pregnant with the last child, he died three months before she was born. They didn’t even get to meet. Tragedy struck again but I pulled myself together with all of my children and moved to the hills of Idaho to be close to my parents. I recovered there just enough to move them all back to Hawaii. We lived in Hawaii through their childhood and returned back to San Diego five years ago. Ten years ago I met the love of my life in Hawaii and we married. John, helped me raise my kids and during this time when I had spare time, as my kids took up most of my time and energy I would paint. I’ve had five art shows in Seattle and Hawaii and sold 33 paintings. I started painting to deal with my pain from the death of my children’s father. I took sewing and design classes in Hawaii and began making Kimonos and Kaftans and while my children growing up we traveled the world. I went back to school and got my high school diploma at age 49. Today with my kids all grown and moved away. I sell my used personal fashionable clothing on the PoshMark platform @giafabulous. And I will soon be selling my Kaftans and western sarees currently under design and production.
For me, art and fashion have saved my life, given my focus and creativity. I have traveled to countless countries in the world and my favorite country is India and my design that I will patent soon is a saree that is premade and pre-stitched. Making it easy and simple for women who want to travel to India and wear a traditional dress but don’t have to go through the lessons to learn to wear one.
I am proof that with hard work and dedication and a lot of love, one can make it over many adversities.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Smooth roads do not make skillful drivers. Life is not cured; it’s managed. Life is very sad if we accept that, we will be much happier. There is much joy to be found on the other side of the sadness. I always walk on the sunny side of the street.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am currently working on a patent to patent a western-style saree. Beautiful fabrics hand-selected by me, making it easy for women to wear Indian traditional dresses when they travel to India
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I see big things in the future because India is on the rise.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Giafabulous
