WALK A MILE IN HER SHOES: HOW TIANNIA BARNES WENT FROM IT TO SHOE DESIGN
Most women can relate to Tiannia Barnes’s love of shoes. But what’s extraordinary about Barnes’s love of footwear is how she turned into a career, and in the process left behind a career in IT with no regrets.
Barnes, who grew up in Oklahoma City, holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and industrial engineering as well as an MBA, but she’s always had a passion for designing –she designed her own prom dress. Today, she is a footwear designer and owner of the Tiannia Barnes luxury shoe brand,
Barnes’s shoes are Italian made and have names like”Jackie, which was named in memory of Barnes’s mother and is a 4-inch stiletto decorated with fringe. Or “Reign” a pump that can go from office to happy hour and comes in cobalt suede and black patent leather. And Barnes’s shoes are for serious shoe lovers–the prices are run from $350 to $595.
The sassy to-die-for heels and cute flats in her line have already made her popular with celebrities such as Tyra Banks. The brand’s success is more than Barnes dreamed of when she left her 9 to 5 as an IT Program Manager. Barnes, who lives in Connecticut with her 11-year-old son, debuted her line in fall 2015. Read on to see how she made the exciting and risky leap from Corporate America to entrepreneur and footwear designer.