Meet Sané Raina | Designer

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

Hi Sané, why did you pursue a creative career?
I received my Bachelor of Science in Merchandising from Western Michigan University in 2010. I was always more of a creative as a child but at that time I think society portrayed the ultimate American dream as going to school and eventually working for an already established company for the remainder of your life. I found myself living out that perspective after graduation by working in corporate purchasing as a Buyer. At that time, I remember watching TJ Maxx commercials where they glamorized the role of a Buyer lol. It wasn’t until I experienced my first official job as a Buyer that I realized the role was primarily sitting in an office setting processing purchase orders among many other repetitive tasks. There was little to no creative input. However, along my professional career I never stopped creating. Creating my first suit for my mom at around the age of 13 being creative has always been a hobby. It wasn’t until recently that I have decided to turn that passion into a business. I think after being in the corporate world for over 10 years I realize my happiness is what I aspire to daily. For me, creating just happens to spark that joy. With age you just start to realize life is short and you have to just do what you love. Most days you’ll find me sewing women’s wear, doing upholstery or interior design.

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.
As I mentioned; I’m really just starting to turn my creativity into a business. Most of my work is on Facebook (Sané Raina Egege) but I have been migrating to Tik Tok (Sane Raina) and Instagram (S_Raina). I have a couple videos on Youtube (S.Raina) as well. Business wise I upcycle and sell vintage clothing but on occasions I do Interior Design and a bit of furniture making. I don’t have it all figured out yet so I’m just creating, I plan to see where it takes me. For now, I’m just sharing my creativity with the world from social platforms more consistently. Feel free to check me out so we can travel the journey together.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was visiting the area I would probably take her to the Fondren and Richmond area to visit some of my favorite local fabric stores. Then I would make her a really cute dress so she can feel her best & look unique. You know…set her up for compliments all night. She likes to eat so I think our first spot should be Kiss restaurant. From there we would go downtown as well as a couple clubs to see if we still got it lol. Maybe end the weekend with Kemah boardwalk, some poetry or live events depending on what we find on Eventbrite.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would say my mom has been a big encouragement. I remember as a child I told my mom I wanted to make some pants after watching a runway show, she said I’ll take you to the fabric store. I never knew you could just go buy fabric so for me I was amazed and inspired. She took me to the local fabric store which was Hancock Fabrics at the time which have since went out of business. I purchased some blue fleece which I handsewn into pants. Wow, that’s such a great memory for me. As I got older my mom continued to support me as she would always buy me every craft kit I would see in the stores. Even throughout my teenage years I was able to just be creative and express that creativity. Regardless to how crazy my ideas were, I would brainstorm with my mom and we would figure out “the look”. My mom gave me so much room to express myself…. trusting me to reupholster her entire sectional in high school and letting me wear Britney Spears inspired clothing while every other black kid was into Hip Hop and R&B. I consider myself an empath so self-expression is really important to me and gets me out of that sensitivity zone. I’m really blessed to have her and she gets me. She’s always gotten me.

Website: saneraina.com

Instagram: s_raina

Facebook: Sané Raina Egege

Youtube: S.Raina