Meet Sonya Grant | Gullah T’s N’ Tings, CEO

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

Hi Sonya, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
In my culture, there is so much history in the mind and tongue of the elders. Stories I’ve listened to at the feet of my grandparents and great aunts and uncles. I wanted a way to time capsule this history through fashion and apparel. I wanted to create a brand that would both honor the ancestors and captivate the younger generations. Gullah T’s N’ Tings was created to spread knowledge and proudly display Gullah/Geeechee pride. My entrepreneur spirit is that of those that came before me. My great aunt handmade and sold sweetgrass baskets, my grandparents owned one of the first restaurants on Hilton Head Island and my mother owns a real estate company. So naturally I followed the calling.

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.
Gullah T’s N’ Tings tells a story of a people that have kept a culture alive and relevant through dialect, food, art, storytelling, music and more. Being able to share knowledge about the culture is what excites me most. I am proud to be a direct descendant of the very first village of freed slaves, a people that governed themselves and made a life for their families through their knowledge and hand skills.

My family and my community have made my success possible. I have learned through my journey thus far that no matter what everything always works out for the greater good. Literally nothing is for nothing. I believe I am doing a great thing but to have the support of my village means more to me than anything. I always say that Gullah T’s N’ Tings is so much for than me for it had to be in me before i could wear it on me.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate this shoutout to the women that raised me. My grandmother Charliemae, my mother Terry and my aunt Carolyn. Any and everything I’ve ever wanted to do I had one in front, one behind and one the side of me. They have allowed me the freedom to become my truest self in whatever form it manifested over the years and always let me know that I could achieve whatever I believed in and worked hard for.

Website: www.etsy.com/shop/gullahtsntings

Instagram: @gullahtsntings