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

Hi Regina, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
My daughter was and is my inspiration. When she was a toddler she became a member of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated Pearlette youth group. She embodied all of the principles of the group and at age three let me know she needed her own gear for her own organization.

I began searching for vendors in the Greek lettered organization for Zeta youth group items and could not find any so I started designing and creating my own. I procured the required license to become a vendor and created a line for all three of their groups.

From there I began designing items for Zeta Phi Beta and then procured my license for Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority.

As my daughter grew, she fell in love with the sport of volleyball and again I was on the hunt for jewelry for that sport. I was not satisfied with what I was finding so back to the drawing board I went to design volleyball jewelry.

Now, each day I find myself looking for different ways to create different pieces for markets that may be underrepresented. And I proudly credit a little three year old for being the catalyst!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Professionally I’m a Vice President of Human Resources for a nationwide Home Health organization. I started my HR career in 1999 as a HR Generalist for Fujitsu. From there I transitioned to healthcare where I’ve been since 2003. I found in my years that at the end of the day, knowledge will definitely take you very far in life but how you treat people and how you respond to people will take you much further.

My years in HR have definitely helped me as I began my ArmCandyByGinaCo journey. I utilize that knowledge when creating an amazing customer experience from start to finish. I value all of my customers and create a level of loyalty by just being a nice person. Being nice is very under rated and oftentimes considered out of date but it’s not.

My brand both in HR and in ArmCandyByGinaCo is simple, I treat people kindly because it does not cost me a single penny to be nice.

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?
If my friend was visiting for a week here’s what it would look like.

Saturday, honestly, during volleyball season we would be cheering my daughter on at a tournament. This is crucial because in the volleyball community black girls are severely underrepresented. We are super excited to see others who look like us so whenever she’s on the court we are there supporting her.

Sunday, we would worship together and then grab brunch at Ellen’s in West End.

During the week we may hit some of the restaurants downtown like of course Kitchen & Kocktails and one that few know about which is Cafe Momentum!! Check it out! Through theIr Momentum model, they provide a transformative experience through a 12-month paid internship program for justice-involved youth. Their interns rotate through all aspects of the restaurant, focusing on life and social skills, coaching and development. And the food is phenomenal.

Being a mom, I will be brutally honest in saying I’m not up on the most exciting places. My husband and I try to pick different restaurants on our date nights so we often find ourselves all over Dallas.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Definitely have to shout out my daughter, Kendall Alise for lighting my fire and my husband of 13 years Reginald J. Caldwell ( yes it’s literally Reggie and Regina). He has supported all of my crazy, team too much endeavors. He converted our garage to my Arm Candy Shoppe foregoing the opportunity to create his personal man cave by giving me the ultimate She-Shed.

Website: www.ArmCandyByGinaCo.com

Instagram: ArmCandyByGina

Facebook: ArmCandyByGina

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