Afi Like Taffy of Scottsdale, AZ on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Afi Like Taffy. Check out our conversation below.

Afi Like, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
Cheers for having me on here lovely jubblies! I was 1 out of 5 emerging fashion stylists selected out of the entire United States of America by Edelman, one of the largest PR companies globally whose clients consist of companies you may of heard of like Nike & Tj Maxx among many others. I was selected to participate in Tj Maxx’s incubator program last year to create a 5 style showcase looks for Runway by Tj Maxx -their luxurious line, was mentored by celebrity fashion stytlist Micaela Erlanger (Meryl Streep & Kelly Clarkson’s stylist) & was flown to NYC to present to People Magazine & other prominent publications. It made me feel so proud as it’s the most challenging, fruitful & hardest I’ve ever worked & the most I’d cried ever in my life in awe of it all. It helped me live by my daily mantra of “I am capable & can do hard things”. You are capable & can do hard things too friends.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Oi Oi my full name is Afiniki but I go by Afi or Afi Like Taffy which is my buisness name. I was born in west Africa, Nigeria, raised in North london, UK & I fell madly in love & married an American man & we’ve lived here in Scottsdale, AZ for 18 years!
I’m a Luxury Fashion Stylist, Fashion Contributor for So Scottsdale! Magazine & a Style & lifestyle Content Creator. My love of fashion began at a young age seeing the transformative side styling had on my international Businessman father & how he became more confident & commanding once he donned a customized suit after picking out the fabric, pattern & cut. I knew early on it was what I was meant for. Today, I create one-of- a-kind luxury styling experiences that empower people to step into their main character energy.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child my mother passed way during childbirth so at 6 years old at that time, I remember feeling abandoned, not understanding where she had disappeared too. I would search for her face everywhere calling out her name & wondering what I had done that had made her leave me. Not knowing she had moved into God’s Kingdom in heaven. After she passed away, my brother & 3 sisters were sent off to school abroad so i was left alone with my new twin set of siblings & a child minder, my dad traveling for work frequently. I learnt to be independent & rely only on myself & even though I eventually joined my siblings abroad, I chose not to trust anyone completely. Overtime I’ve learnt that we as humans are stronger together & in sharing ourselves & our stories, we open up our hearts & learn new ways to see & experience things. That loneliness I felt as a child is not how I feel now. Those limiting beliefs as a child show up on occasion but through acknowledging them & breaking them down with therapy, I try to lead a more mindful life.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
When I worked retail as a brand ambassador at a luxury retailer for almost 10 years & was was furloughed during the pandemic for 6 weeks, I utilized the bullying & micro- aggressions as well as phenomenal skills as a stylist I’d experienced during that period to free myself from my corporate job. I created a business plan, pitched to an investor & emailed my clients asking them if they would come with me. Majority of them said no as they thought the world was ending, we all did to be honest. I started utilizing social media to create style videos showing people how to put outfits together in a fun way using my quirky sense of humor & bold use of colors & prints. I began sharing my experiences in interviews like this, being transparent to my supporters & community & turning my pain into power trying to inspire others like me not to suffer in silence.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Lovely jubbly, to a certain extent yes! It’s important to be your authentic self, everyone else is taken. I’m weird & quirky & we all have things, that’s what makes you uniquely YOU! I try to share my full self, flaws & all with my community & supporters on social media as were all more similar than we think, we all go through ups & downs in this life & people can relate, none of us are perfect.
My family however are extremely private so out of respect for their privacy, i cant share everything.
Styling on TV stations, fashion contributing for magazines & on my Instagram & Tik Tok social media Afi Like Taffy accounts, I share myself, my auto immune condition of type 1 diabetes which i’ve lived with for 15 years. I share that I have early on set arthritis in my left knee, that I’ve had emergency eye surgery with a sceleral buckle put in my left eye as I almost went blind if untreated 4 years ago. I’ve been pretty much an open book over here!
What I love hearing from people when i meet them for the first time is that i’m exactly the same person online as i am in person. so if you going to over share, like me, then do so as your unique self!

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
People want to be seen more then anything in this world, they want you to see them & listen to them. That’s what i’ve understood meeting thousands of people i’ve come across in the 3 continents i’ve lived in over 4 decades of my life. That’s why I love what I do & have made it a big part of my business, to listen more than talk. I create one-of-a-kind luxury styling experiences that empower people be step into their main energy, to be seen & in turn be heard. It’s important to always remember that. Thank you for highlighting me, i appreciate it, Cheers & Cheerio!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://afiliketaffy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afiliketaffy?igsh=MWZ2enJkZmJqbGR1Yg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Linkedin: https://www.instagram.com/afiliketaffy?igsh=MWZ2enJkZmJqbGR1Yg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1FpXNU6MPW/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@afiliketaffy?_t=ZT-8ybn34cIMbl&_r=1

Image Credits
Hannah Lorsch Photography & Film