Life & Work with Tyra Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyra Smith. 

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I had always been an artist, and was always so creative even when I was going through hardships, but never knew that my own creativity could take me places. I always knew I would help people too, but never knew how I would help or that I would help people as much as I do now.

My entire story is full of resilience and perseverance. I came from a long background of trauma from having dysfunctional and then no parents, pain in so many ways, and drug abuse. I talk about my testimony a lot because it’s made me who I am.

I’ve been in the middle of writing the book of my life and my whole testimony.

Which I take A LOT of pride in. I battled drug addiction and won, I survived all forms of abuse, foster care, and even being incarcerated as a juvenile, so even being here today is a bliss in itself.

A month after I was 18, I was released from the system out into an unknown world with hardly any supports and of course, I didn’t have any parents to catch me if I fell. It was a hard battle but from all that I endured, it was my time to finally be free, be alive, have a real chance at life. You can say from the beginning that I hit the ground running. I had came to Clarksville living in a Women’s Homeless Shelter / Independent Living, I didn’t know anybody or anything about Clarksville when I came here. In months I had got my first apartment, a car, and finished up high school to graduate. I then quickly went straight into college at Nashville State. Things were bumpy, it was truly never easy for me because of my mental health and lack of supports, but I took it one day at a time.

Things got bumpy in 2020 when Covid hit. I had a REALLY great job commuting to work in Middle, TN for a Brand Ambassador Job and when Covid came around we all lost our jobs due to safety concerns of us driving out like that to different areas. At the time my current Fiancé was really the only support system I had besides DCS and the state. This is when I realized I had more time to express what I really loved, which was my Art. I had gotten so far away from it, only doing a few things here and there. Covid inspired me tremendously to get back into doing my Art and I started a business out of it. When I first started my business Embellish T it was supposed to be solely about my multimedia art and supporting other small artist. I painted, did fluid art, landscape drawings, oil pastels, and then I got REALLY into resin art. Resin Art is literally LIMITLESS in what you can create. My first year it was rocky trying new things and building my business, but it has taken off to the stars.

In January of this year is when I started implementing the Holistic Living Part into my business. I had started my spiritual journey for months before, getting into energy work by making Orgonite Pendants and Pyramids for people. I started buying a lot of crystals for the purpose of creating these energy devices, and then the crystal collection just kind of expanded. I started implementing crystals, smudging items, and other spiritual items into my business. My business took off more than I could imagine. I started getting so many supports and connections. I was so grateful, I was building a community and a family.

This year has been full of amazing transformations.

I graduated from Nashville State with my Associate’s Degree in Psychological Science, started my Bachelor’s Program at Austin Peay State University, and am slowly but surely pursuing that Ph.D. in Psychology in hopes to have my own Holistic Therapy Clinic one day healing people with art therapy, plant medicines, and a Holistic life. I have a whole plan of how I’d like to help the world in different natural ways. After I graduated with my Associates, my fiancé and I bought our first house. This is only at 21 years old, 3 years after being released from the system, more than 3 years being clean off drugs, and I can really say I’ve made it very far from who I used to be I never gave up and spined my life into a whole 360. Only 2 years into business, and this business is bigger than I ever could imagine.

Embellish T Art & Holistic has its own shop now on State Line near Fort Campbell in the Clarksville/Oak Grove area. I have broadened my art horizons so much, and have implemented spiritual items for all spiritual lifestyles. I have connected to over thousands of people across the people, and am now an international business as well. For a little while, I had to take a break from art because of how busy everything got, but in 2022 I am coming back with bigger and better as always! It all comes back to the steps I took to get away from my pain and my past and truly heal as an individual. Forever Grateful.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road at all. Especially when Covid took our jobs, money was tight, but the Universe somehow made a way for things to happen for me so I didn’t have to go back to work and could focus on the Art and my business. My fiancé was my only support at first, on those nights I would cry making a painting, he would tell me it was perfect every time and that I was going to be big one day. He always supported me, he helped me at vendor events, business trips, live sales, and all other times I needed help. When things started to really take off, I realized how demanding the work was, every waking moment besides when I was in class or working on classwork, I was working for my business. Some nights I would have to package 20 orders by myself and it may take me 7 hours while trying to reply to customers and do everything else. It was hard for just 1 person to handle so much work, but eventually, I did establish a team and got more organized with everything.

Transparency is knowing that I may look like I have it all, and look like I have it all together but the reality is that it has always been a bumpy road. I deal with my mental health, my chronic neck disorder, and I’m also a full-time college student. Before we bought our house, my whole kitchen/dining room in my small apartment was my shop. It just kept growing and growing to the point we had no room at all. When we moved into our home it was a hard transition, I was selling crystals out of boxes until I got my shop shed. No matter what I never had excuses, and I’m proud of what I have created and accomplished. There will always be obstacles but those obstacles always make us stronger! You must go through pain to get to peace, and being in those uncomfortable stages reminds you to be more grateful for how far you’ve really come every day.

I put my all into this business, and that’s what is so hard about being an entrepreneur is having confidence in your small business enough to know that when you put your all in, it’s going to give back. ALWAYS!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
One big thing that sets me apart from others is that I have a real connection to my customers. It’s not some automated business-type exchange, I believe the exchanges I have with customers whether it’s creating art for them or selling them crystals, is always so important and energetic. I’ve met lifelong friends through this business, and I’ve really helped people in so many ways that I never thought possible. It’s not always about the money, it’s more so an energy exchange for me. I’m known for being a Spiritual Teacher here in the community and for certain people across the US, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you believe in, I hold space for all. 💜  I am really open-minded to the world and it’s all its wonders, and you never know who you can meet if you accept all people with no judgment.

When it comes to my art, my ideas are limitless especially with my Epoxy Resin Creations everybody loves. I can create small things like jewelry, keychains, etc. up to large things like tables, tray sets, pyramids, and custom orders, and one day I am working towards doing epoxy floors and more. It has been a while since I’ve done a finished painting or bigger art piece besides resin, but that’s where my love lies is in the paint. I do anticipate more paintings coming out in 2022.

Most proud moment?
Currently what I am most proud of, especially this year, is when I was a Vendor for a week in the Appalachian Mountains for the Ascension Conference at Unicoi State Park, My Carved Labradorite Crystal Anatomical Heart started blowing up on Instagram. It now sits at 1.8 MILLION views on my Instagram!!! That was in August, it is now one of my bestselling crystal carvings, and brought even more traffic to my business. I was so excited because something like this has never happened and still don’t know HOW it happened! I am super grateful and am REALLY proud of how my Crystal collection continues to grow.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://linktr.ee/Embellish.T
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/embellish.t/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lineay.smith.3

Image Credits
Ahj-Tariq White