Meet Antalaya Israel | Business Owner & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Antalaya Israel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Antalaya, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I’m from Brooklyn, NY and I have always seen the adults around me work very hard to provide for their families. I grew up in a family where my mother and father made sure that we would never need anything but would never let us know how little they had. I knew at a pretty young age that we didn’t have much and I always wonder how we still had Christmases, etc. My father was an entrepreneur and I would see him travel for work and meet amazing people. My mother worked super hard and would always tell me “Always do better than me”. That stuck in my head since a young child. My goal was to become successful, move out of public housing and take care of my family one day. As the oldest of 3 girls, I felt that it was my obligation to decide while I was still young what it was that I was going to be later in life. This is where I found my love for fashion and would stay in my room all day creating outfits for myself to match my dolls and vice versa. Life was hard but fashion was my escape.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My brand is named after my legacy; my grandfather’s last name and this is the perfect way to honor him. Knowing I wanted a brand and knowing what to call it were two different things. I thought hard for days and one morning, I had an epiphany. The name has been with me since birth. So, I named it Israel Brand. What makes Israel Brand unique is everything! I hand drew the logo and symbol, I carefully selected the first product to launch the brand and chose to have each item to be named after areas in Brooklyn or things that represent Brooklyn. I launched the Tillary bags first, which are made of vegan leather as all of my bags will.

Diligence has been my key factor in getting this far in my professional career. I witnessed too many people complain about not being where they wanted to be in life but never did anything to change that. Perhaps it was my naive mind but I thought “Why not just do it”. Easier said than done as I now know as an adult, however, I knew that complaining about something for years would never bring any positive changes. Immediately, I did the opposite. Instead of complaining, I tried everything that I wanted to do and if it didn’t work, I would try again.

It was definitely a struggle as I got older and graduated with my Bachelor’s degree. I had no job to turn to because my dream job as an intern at Atlantic Records was no longer available due to the 2008 recession. I was officially a “Temp worker” and needed to get back to the drawing board.

Today, I am proud that I did not doubt that I can create a brand that everyone would love and would be around forever. I’ve learned many lessons and came across many challenges throughout the process that have made me understand how starting a brand is far from easy but worth each tear, sleepless night, etc. Bringing awareness to my brand was a challenge that I assumed I would face but never imagined how it was until I was there. I’m always hard on myself as a way to push myself to go harder but having amazing people in my corner gave me confidence and reassurance that I’m in this marathon deservingly!

Israel Brand embodies culture, positive expression and love for fashion; timeless fashions. I want the world to know that this is not something that I created without significance. This brand is personal to me. What we wear represents us and my intention is to create something for everyone; no matter your culture, gender, sexual preference, beliefs, or heritage.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My best friend actually loves coming to visit me in NY! I would absolutely take her to get some real Pizza and a slushy for lunch in red hook and eat near the promenade overlooking the water. We would visit a few restaurants such as The Chelsea House in Manhattan for drinks, Suede and Footprints in Brooklyn and one of my favorite things to do in the summertime, which is to find a street fair! Then during the evenings that we aren’t hitting the town, we would drink on my rooftop because I can’t hang night after night, back to back, lol. I need to be close to my bed, thank you.

I would definitely take her to see my family because they absolutely love my best friend and if you want to laugh, then you want to be around my family. Laughs galore! I would also take her to meet up with some mutual friends and introduce her to some new ones. We would have to have at least one or two nights of pulling out that “To Die For” outfit and those shoes that aren’t for dancing but to take pictures in! 😆

We would attend any musical, food, or wine fest happening in the city and most importantly, have her experience Coney Island!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There isn’t one single person that I can shoutout for being my motivation for my brand. My entire family; my late grandparents, my parents, my sisters and last but never least, my daughter, have all been my reason for where I am today and why I work so hard toward my success.

Website: www.theisraelbrand.com

Instagram: www.theisraelbrand.com/Israelbrandworldwide

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/theisraelbrand

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/Israelbrandworldwide

Image Credits
IKree8inmotion