In Conversation with Ana Rosales-Boujnah
Tell us about your background:
I was born in Lima, Peru, my family moved around in South and Central America during my childhood, and settled in Florida for high school. I studied finance and graphic design at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with a year abroad at Central St Martins in London, where I fell hard for fashion (Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, and Tom Ford specifically), exhibitions, and photo art direction. My first internship in design was at British Vogue in the art department, one of my jobs was to organize used/unused images in magazine stories, I learned about photo markups quite quickly. When I look back on it, that entire year away made a huge impact on my impression of the endless opportunities in my future career.
I moved to New York after graduation for a job as an integrated designer at the Rubin Museum of Art working with Milton Glaser’s studio, learning as much as possible about the design industry, and trying to match up my impressions to the self-imposed expectations of working in my chosen profession. After the Rubin I ended up working at boutique design firms specializing in architectural wayfinding, branding systems, and environmental design until I decided to work in beauty for Tom Ford. It was a natural fit as the brand at the time was very new, and systems oriented, and the job incorporated everything I loved: spatial design/visual merchandising, branded systems, a bit of digital, packaging, makeup, fragrance. A lot of hard work, very formative, and after almost five years I decided I needed a break. There were so many other aspects of being a creative I had not explored, and the timing felt right. I thought I would take a year of introspection, until I was offered a freelance project at Sotheby’s in the luxury division for watches, jewelry and wine, the project turned into a full-time opportunity, and I went back into luxury, experiences, and art. The work I do today is a combination of all different skillsets, from virtual galleries, production/budgeting, to art direction and branding, all within the intersection of art, fashion, luxury and commerce.
What do you wish you’d known when you started out?
To be flexible in your expectations of your career path and be kind to yourself if it doesn’t go as you originally planned. I thought I would follow in my father’s footsteps and be a financial analyst or a consultant, I almost did it. I took a risk by staying to finish my design degree, and I do not regret my decision no matter how hard it has been to not follow the original plan. I know that being flexible has allowed me to seize opportunities I would have otherwise overlooked. Each one of my career stories has been uncannily built upon the skillset of the previous one, regardless of the industry.
Best career advice you've ever received?
It’s actually recent. One of my friends/former mentor and I were speaking on the phone, and this isn’t new to me at all, but there was a sense of poignancy given the current circumstances we live with in this conversation: would you rather be remembered by “oh this person worked really hard” or “this person lived life to its fullest?” I want to be the latter, hands down. I still work hard, its who I am, yet this pandemic has given me time to pause and become more efficient, so I can spend more time doing what I find fulfilling.
What leadership qualities are important to you?
Being intuitive about your setting, your group of collaborators, and appreciative of the qualities everyone brings to the table. Resourcefulness and fairness are also important to me, especially giving credit where credit is due.
What has been the biggest challenge in your career so far?
Being my own advocate in a factual manner, and having a fair work/life “balance.” I am a work in progress. As a parent of three young girls, I serve as an example of endless possibilities, so the stakes are high on a daily basis, not in terms of material success, more so in terms of self-confidence, and mindfulness.
And for fun, what is your favorite wardrobe staple?
I love shoes, they are my full-on weakness, and gravitate between a good pair of Melissa heels and sneakers whenever possible. I can spruce up any t-shirt and jeans with a good set of heels.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luciarosales/
