Meet Tea Montgomery | Style Architect and Owner

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

Hi Tea, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My business started organically. I was at a pivotal place in my life where I was not fulfilled with anything that I was doing or had done. Climbing the corporate ladder was leaving me stressed, exhausted, coming home angry and no matter how hard I worked I still did not make enough money. I needed to figure out how to make a living using my actual talents and gifts. I knew that my purpose here is to inspire and empower, but every position I held and everything that I sold was not giving enough to the world. I thought about my son and how much I was missing by clocking in to a day job. I thought about my legacy.

I realized that people pay you for what they know you for. I was known for my personal style, being a creative, personable and my general character overall. As an overall creative, my thing is taking an idea and bringing it to fruition. My mind works like an engineers would, constructing and deconstructing things in order to make them work better. Also, I was never into fashion and I dislike shopping. It was frustrating that whenever I did need to shop for clothing, I could not find anything in my size or that inspired me. This frustration led me to start making my own clothes.

From people stopping me on the street and talking about what I was wearing, I began to receive requests to make other people clothes. Far too often people would feel that they could not wear what I wear or take risks with their personal style. Again, with the focus of inspiring and empowering, I realized that this would be a perfect way. Now the business has grown to the point where I do not have time to make clothes for myself anymore, which is a good problem to have.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Threads by Tea is wearable art ( clothing and accessories) handcrafted with the mission to inspire and empower. One of my key strengths would be the way I mix patterns and fabrics together. What I am told is that I do it in a way that no one else would even imagine, but it just makes sense when I do. Comfort and quality are two of my pillars. How we look and what we have on our bodies directly affects how we feel about ourselves. Throughout my life, whenever I need a boost in confidence, I take a risk with what I wear. Much like art decorates our homes and adds value. the same lies true with our clothing.

My clients are able to feel the energy that I make my art with. I recommend wearing my garments when you want to feel your best.

The largest challenge that I faced was being self-taught. To this day, I have not had one sewing or design lesson. I would say that this challenge also makes me as good as I am. The entrepreneurship journey in itself is a constant challenge, but this is also what drives me and makes it exciting. Knowing that everything that I am building is mine and by my own merit. I want the world to know that they can achieve anything that they set their minds and hearts to. Anything is possible.

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?
I have a thing for being by the water and I love view spots. One of the spots I bring my friends is called Sperry Park. After taking a short hike through the woods, we find ourselves at a waterfall and a grotto where we can relax, listen to the water flow, take a dip if we would like and even light the grill and make some food.

Another outdoor spot of mine is a hidden cliff overlooking the ocean. The view is perfect at any time of day.

Near my studio, there are a few great restaurants to hit for happy hour. Camacho Garage makes a really great spicy tamarind margarita. 116 Crown is one of my favorite upscale restaurants/lounges in New Haven. The owner is a friend of mine and is one of the best mixologists in the state. Another friend of mine just opened a spot called Jazzy’s Cabaret. There chef there is also a friend who I follow to every restaurant he’s a part of. They have events every night from comedy shows to karaoke.

When I want to be around art, I just call my friends. I am proud to say that all my friends are dope and interesting people. I love to introduce people to them.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents, first and foremost, deserve the fruits of their labor. They have always provided an environment where I can be myself, learn, grow, explore and try things. This freedom to be myself directly attributes to my personal confidence today.

Along the journey, I have been able to take advantage of entrepreneurship accelerator programs like Collab New Haven and KNOWNPreneurs. Each was dedicated to providing resources and mentoring to underrepresented individuals and minorities. I would also like to show my appreciation for Mistina Hanscom. She invited me to be a part of the community where my design studio is now. The people that I have been able to meet, the media attention from Art Walks and Open Studios, have been pivotal to where I am today with my artist entrepreneurship journey.

I am grateful for my network and support system.

Website: threadsbytea.com

Instagram: threadsbytea

Twitter: threadsbytea

Facebook: facebook.com/threadsbytea

Image Credits
Eliezer Santiago – Phocused Mistina Hanscom – Lotta Studio Corey Lynn Tucker – Corey Lynn Tucker Photography