Meet Emary Uzomah | DIY Doer & Accountant

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

Hi Emary, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
From a very young age, I’ve been interested in creative designs. I love working with my hands and being able to express my vision in a creative manner. I was conflicted when I started college as to whether I should choose a design career or a fail-safe career. I chose the latter, accounting. Although I do like aspects of accounting, I found myself daydreaming about design a space or doodling a design I’d like to later execute on my time off. I had many co-workers and friends who encouraged me to showcase my creative design process online but I was too frighten. I would see other women Instagrammers who would do DIY (do-it-yourself) projects around their homes and use these power tools that you’d typically only see men use. It was so inspiring to watch them turn their Pinterest ideas into reality. I figured, I could do that, what’s stopping me. Once COVID hit, I saw my peers pursuing their passion projects and starting their business. That was such an inspiration and motivation to have the guts to showcase to the world what I had been working on during my spare time. This lead me to pursuing my passion project and being part of the diversity challenge that the home design world needs.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I feel as if I equally share a left and right brain. I can switch from number crunching when I’m doing taxes and accounting and then to designing and styling when I’m working on a project. I love the balance that I can achieve by doing both. Professionally I’m a Certified Public Accountant and I work as a Senior Tax Accountant. I’ve been doing accounting for about 5 years. During my professional career I found other aspects of my life that were more rewarding, which lead me to taking the leap of faith and deciding to work Part-Time. I also started my own small business doing taxes and business consulting on the side. This allowed me to dive into work that is really meaningful in my personal life and to work on my passion projects which is home decor and design. It was definitely a challenge to walk away from working Full-Time and giving up that corporate career. However, with prayer and much consultation it was definitely the right decision and very much fulfilling! I love having the time to myself to pursue what’s really important to me and being able to use my creativity in such an inspiring way. Recently I started an Instagram page @youhadme_atdesign where I’m showcasing my journey of learning how to use power tools and turning my Pinterest dreams into reality. I’ve learned a lot of lessons during my journey. Some of those lessons include figuring out what makes you feel the most fulfilled out of life, what is truly important for you, and what impression do you want to leave on someone else. Always remember that it is never too late to get started as long as you’re alive. Even if you have to start over, remember that you’re not starting from scratch but you’re starting from experience.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I absolutely love Houston. I’m a Houstonian, born and raised. When I have friends visit from out of town we definitely have to go out to eat. There are a couple of staple restaurants that every one should visit while they’re here. A couple of those places are The Breakfast Klub (chicken and waffles), The Turkey Leg Hut (best turkey legs ever) , Whataburger (better than In-N-Out), Tiger Den (Japanese Raman), Love Buzz (pizza) and Taqueria El Charro #3 (tacos). I think its a must to visit the Galleria Mall, its unlike any other mall. We definitely have to get some hipster vibes by checking out Montrose and walking down Westhiemer to visit some of the thrifting boutiques. For entertainment I’m always down for the museums and some art shows. For some bar life, I like something chill like Z on 23 which is a rooftop bar and Axel rad because they have hammocks.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Honestly, my family and friends collectively deserve a shoutout. My mom is the driver behind my creative inspiration. I received my talent from her. She loves to sew, design and put things together. She definitely spurred the creativity. My dad is my cheerleader, he is the ultimate hype man. He’s always so amazed and praises me for my creativity. Also, he’s the man that does the heavy lifting when I need extra man-power. Lastly, my friends give me so much encouragement. When they tell me that they’ve been inspired to try something new whether if its design, picking up power tools or organizing a space, it really warms my heart that I played a little part in motivating them.

Website: www.evtaxandconsulting.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/youhadme_atdesign

Image Credits
Downtown shot of me by Ricky Davis – “Champagne.riqo”