Meet Noelle Bonus | Entrepreneur

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

Hi Noelle, what principle do you value most?
I’d have to say that the principle of staying 100% true and honest with yourself matters most to me. You can only get so far doing things for validation and impressing other people until you lose yourself at some point and end up in a place where you didn’t mean to be. Whatever business you’re building or art you’re creating, staying true to yourself from the get-go will allow the long term results to be more authentic to you and more gratifying.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I do an array of different things. I started off working in the music industry as an artist manager, then I became a singer. When I first started singing, I was also working as a fashion coordinator for GAP Inc and that’s where I learned A LOT about the fashion/retail industry. When my singing career started to take off, I made the decision to quit my job and pursue music full time. I did that for about 5 years and decided to get back into fashion and start my own apparel business. With starting my own business, I made a promise to myself to do things my way on my terms without others telling me what to do and how to run things. All my life I’ve been told what I can and cannot do and I wanted to challenge myself to trust my decisions without having any opinions interfere. I didn’t tell anyone I was starting a clothing line – I purposely kept it to myself until a month before I launched everything. I’ve never done anything like this and I did everything on my own from shopping around to find the right material, creating the tags, logo, packaging, website – EVERYTHING. I learned a lot and I’m still learning. I was able to prove to myself that I can do it. I am capable. I can do it my way on my terms and be successful at it.

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?
For breakfast, I’d take them to Breakfast Republic or maybe do brunch on the rooftop at Hotel Republic in downtown. After that, we might as well explore the beautiful city and walk around downtown and see if there are any farmers markets going on. San Diego has the best farmers markets and I love that there’s a different one somewhere everyday of the week. On another day, I’d definitely take them to Balboa Park to show off it’s gorgeous scenery, museums, and maybe have a picnic or eat at one of the cafes or restaurants there. For dinner, I’d bring them to one of my favorite spots called, Rustic Root. They often have live music and the food is so delicious! As for drinks, there’s so many places to bar hop in the city. Altitude is a rooftop bar that overlooks the stadium, The Pendry is a cute boutique bar that has amazing cocktails, and Sidebar is a great place to end the night if we want to get some dancing in. A few days would of course be dedicated to beach days! I’d take them to Mission Beach where we can explore Belmont Park and maybe have a late lunch at Cannonball to catch sunset. They have THE BEST views of sunsets and there’s also live music on most nights as well. La Jolla is another great place to take my guests. We’d walk around and find the sea lions lounging on the rocks by the water and maybe check out all the cute boutiques nearby. Herringbone would be a great place to have dinner in La Jolla – delicious food and great cocktails! Can’t forget tacos! My favorite tacos of all time would have to be from Tacos El Gordo! The Adobada and tripas tacos are my faves! There’s just way sooooo many amazing places to see in San Diego!!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d have to say that ever since I started my fashion venture, I’ve randomly found this amazing fashion designer, Anine Bing. I loved what she was all about, and the clothing she created was so true to her and embodied her story. It was so cool to read about how she got started and I learned that she too didn’t tell anyone she was starting a clothing line and basically started from her garage. Her effortless essentials with edge is so classy and simple but looks so strong and empowering, and I absolutely love that. She’s been my muse ever since.

Website: www.1linewonder.com

Instagram: @1Line.Wonder

Facebook: 1 Line Wonder

Image Credits
Ian Maxion Tori Campbell Noelle Bonus