Toni Reece: Hi there. This is Toni Reece, and welcome to Berks County Living’s Get Inspired! Project. Today I have the gorgeous Stephanie Rado Taormina with me. Hi, Stephanie.
Stephanie Rado Taormina: Hi, Toni.
Toni: How are you today?
Stephanie: I’m great.
Toni: Good. Stephanie, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Stephanie: I am the Founder and CEO of a new fashion apparel and accessory line called Have Some Fun Today. The line was inspired by my late father. That was his favorite saying. I wanted to spread that energy through fashion and accessories, and that’s what I’m doing today.
Toni: I love it, by the way. I am a big, big fan. Let’s go into the Project. What does inspiration mean to you?
Stephanie: Inspiration is that little spark of energy that can be something visual or something you hear or something you smell that sparks an idea.
Toni: Do you think you can feel it?
Stephanie: I think you can feel the energy, yes.
Toni: So do you feel it in your gut? When you think about the last time you felt inspired, do you remember what that felt like?
Stephanie: Exciting. I get inspired pretty much every day.
Toni: Really?
Stephanie: Yes.
Toni: Give me an example of the last time you were inspired.
Stephanie: I will be inspired, for example, in a conversation I had this morning with a good friend who was mentoring what I’m doing with my project. We will have conversations about projects he’s working on. It excites me to see people trying to create things out of nothing. It just makes me excited, and it makes me think of how I can apply new ideas and how I can learn more. It’s just a very exciting energy.
Toni: It almost sounds like a definition for the word “possible.”
Stephanie: Absolutely.
Toni: That’s what that reminded me of. That would be the word “possible” or “possibilities” definition. That’s pretty cool. How do you take that excitement when you’re inspired and put that into practice here in Berks County?
Stephanie: For one, I started my new business here, and I have also been working for 20 years here as an artist and a designer. How I do that in Berks County is when anyone is interested in my vision, whether it be to make their home more beautiful or functional, or if they want to wear a piece of Have Some Fun Today, I find local retailers or local clients or stores or businesses that actually want my input with helping to create their vision.
There’s so many ways. It’s the people you’re surrounded with. I have a lot of friends and clients and people who believe in what I’m doing here.
Toni: So when you become excited, what I’m hearing from you is that not only are you inspired, but you also then have to be inspired for a client you’re working with.
Stephanie: Oh, sure.
Toni: I would imagine they have to be inspired in order to execute their own vision, right?
Stephanie: That’s always nice. It doesn’t always happen that way. Sometimes they’re looking to you for the inspiration. Not everybody is visual. A lot of people aren’t. I think that’s when they reach out to someone who is or who has professional expertise in whatever area. My job is to try and make those inspirations become possibilities and for the client to be able to visualize what I’m inspired by and what I see for them.
Toni: And you bring that to life.
Stephanie: Yes.
Toni: How does that apply in Berks County with Have Some Fun Today? I just love that whole thing.
Stephanie: In Berks County, that’s where the brand was founded, and that’s where my father worked and influenced people for over 35 years as an employer and a community service contributor. That’s the basis of that. Whether I’m sharing on social media to all the local people that I’m networked with, I think it’s inspiring, the whole positive energy of Have Some Fun Today. I think in general that’s making an impact on Berks County.
Toni: You would imagine that people wouldn’t need to be inspired to have fun, but yet, they do, don’t they?
Stephanie: It’s just sort of a reminder. I think the energy of today’s world is into looking deeper into the meaning of life, and life is short, and why not have some fun?
Toni: I agree with you completely. Who in Berks County inspires you?
Stephanie: I would say off the top of my head, the teachers. The teachers that teach my children have inspired me. People I’ve worked with, whether it’s a doctor, or I’m really into fitness, so if I’m working with a trainer, I’ve worked with amazing trainers who go deeper beyond just lifting weights. I’ve worked with yoga instructors, and a lot of their message is about spirituality.
So many people in Berks County. The farmers at the Farmer’s Market. Their living is giving us organic food. The artists – we have so many artists in town. Some of my favorite artists live here and persevere amidst an economy that isn't always receptive to funding art. Musicians – I know a lot of musicians. There’s so many people who are doing creative things, and that’s inspiring to me.
Toni: What do you want your legacy to be?
Stephanie: I would like my legacy to be that I tried to spread some positive energy and let people know that their dreams are possible, and that you can do anything you set your mind to.
Toni: And that they should Have Some Fun Today!
Stephanie: Absolutely – while they’re doing it.
Toni: Absolutely. Thank you so much for showing up for the Get Inspired! Project.
Stephanie: Thank you, Toni.
