Ajani Truth

Dana Greaves' Georgetown shop, Artaya, caters to the "bohemian boss."

Fashion With a Smile

Dana Ayanna Greaves is ending the year on a high note. Just two months ago, Greaves, 29, opened her first retail space inside Georgetown boutique NIDO after many years of selling her handmade jewelry and clothing via artist-centric events and her website.

But, as the song goes, it’s been a long and winding road. For starters, the
fashion-forward artist was nearly a dermatologist. “I was actually studying chemistry,” she admits with a quiet laugh. “But I was doodling on the sides of my lab notebook and plastering my wall with sketches. At night, I used to watch the Style Channel and fall asleep to the runway shows.”

During Greaves’ sophomore year at the University of Maryland, she kicked
pre-med to the curb.

She pursued an interdisciplinary degree combining costume design, visual art and cultural studies and launched Artaya—formerly called Artistic Aya, a play on her middle name and an artistic eye.

Greaves, whose family roots are in Trinidad and Barbados, says her line suits the “bohemian boss,” or a woman who balances whimsical style with sharp tailored pieces. But the multitalented designer’s stars are her paper bead jewelry, a technique passed on from mother to daughter beginning with Greaves’ great-grandmother, who used to string them up as curtains.

Greaves instantly latched onto the art, experimenting for years in her college dorm room with different papers and techniques to create unique beads. Now, anything from magazine pages to Japanese washing paper to flat gift wrap is fodder for her designs.

After she was invited to display her wares at D.C. pop-up store Temporium, Greaves decided it was time to open a shop. Though previous attempts to find a retail space had failed, she tried once more and found a 150-square-foot venue to call her own. Lavender walls frame a life-affirming spot filled with her products, many created after countless all-nighters.

“It’s a roller coaster ride,” Greaves says of her profession. “This path, it’s crazy, and it has its amazing moments along with its terrifying moments. But eventually, I’ll either get used to the roller coaster, or there will be stability.”

Find Greaves’ work at Artaya; 1425 Wisconsin Ave., NW (middle suite); artisticaya.com.