Lauren Sharkey is a Chicago-based stylist and wardrobe consultant. She began her business, Styled by Lauren Sharkey, in an effort to educate and empower women to curate a closet that authentically resonates and grows with them. Lauren has an active social media presence where she shares daily outfit ideas, seasonal forecasts, trend reports and more. Prior to starting her own styling business, Lauren worked at a business consulting firm.

We chat about her career growth in the past year, what it has been like transitioning from the corporate world to the creative world and how she has defined her own unique approach to styling.

Renata Gasparian Lima is the owner and co-founder of RENATA by Renata Gasparian, a women’s ready-to-wear collection based in Charlotte, NC. Renata draws inspiration for her brand from her native country of Brazil and the vibrant culture of India. All of her pieces are handmade and boast beautiful colors, patterns and textures.

Renata gives us a glimpse into her life growing up in Brazil and eventually landing her dream job at Daslu, a luxury department store in Sao Paulo. At the time, Daslu was considered by many as the mecca of fashion.

Renata ultimately moved to the U.S. with her husband where she had to, in many ways, rebuild her life. She stayed in touch with her Brazilian connections and began selling their clothing lines in the states. Ultimately, it was her husband who urged her to start her own line of clothes. In 2020, she launched her clothing label and has continued to grow it over the past four plus years.

Isobel Mills Prescott is a textile designer and fiber artist. In 2018 she opened her eponymous business ISOBEL and launched her first collection of luxury interior fabrics, which she sells to the trade in showrooms across the country. Fusing her love of shape, scale and surface design, she creates fabrics and wallpapers with both visual and physical texture. Her brand is known for being playful yet sophisticated.

We hear about Isobel's lifelong passion for creativity and the arts. She speaks candidly about the challenges she faced in the workforce early on, feeling as if she didn't have a purpose and the long journey to finally believing in herself. We learn the importance of a few key people along the way who noticed her talent and inspired her to never settle.