We’re looking forward to introducing you to Tia Lorraine. Check out our conversation below.
Tia, 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. What is a normal day like for you right now?
My cat wakes me up too early, but I’m thankful for it. My husband and I have separate bedrooms and it’s one of my favorite things about our relationship. It gives me slow and early mornings, quiet coffee, and cat snugs. After my first cup, I go downstairs to my windowless studio.
I keep it pretty tidy, but it if feels a little chaotic, I’ll do a clean to clear the space and prepare it for mockups or gluing or finishing touches on frames. If I have photography to do, I’m in the spare bedroom by 10AM for the good light. I bounce back and forth between these two rooms in my basement until I make lunch for my husband and I at noon. We eat together every day, as he works as a therapist in the room between my studios.
After lunch is when I head into the resin room. I spend the rest of the afternoon there if I need to. I can’t wait to stop dealing with resin within Golden Preserved. I work on it in the afternoon so I can just be done with everything once it’s time to head back upstairs to make dinner.
Yep, that’s my day. I go up and down the stairs a dozen times, drink a lot of water and coffee, am trying to incorporate a workout in the morning before I start working. I do a “9-5” in the comfort of my own home, but I’m making art with wedding bouquets.
It’s the most mundane and magical thing and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Tia Lorraine and I started Golden Preserved in the summer of 2022. Flowers aren’t meant to last, but we can’t deny the effect they have on us and I’m here to save a little bit of those memories for the golden years.
I have been working on my craft and style since and when Golden Preserved turned three, I decided to dissolve resin preservation from my offerings. Due to this newfound freedom, creative space and opportunity has allowed my husband and I to open up a record shop in our neighboring small town. We welcomed Papertown Records in Canton, NC to the family in June!
And we hope to move to a larger space to share with…a bakery, my first passion.
It’s not just about Golden Preserved, or the sentimental flowers, or how magical having a third space is to share music at, but it’s about growing with our local community, it’s about building the life I can’t wait to keep living.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
So. Many. People. But…
Two women have been my light for twenty years, and that’s my best friends Kayleigh and Meredith. They prepared me and taught me to love myself. Nothing I did was ever a failure to them, but a stepping stone to my final form. Female friendships can be so empowering and yet safe and nurturing. They are both my sisters, my mothers, my teachers, and loved me so much that I was able to be loved by my husband.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I don’t believe in giving up, it’s called moving on over here. Some things just no longer serve your greater purpose and that’s okay.
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?
The public verison is like a lacroix version of me. To be candid, the real me wouldn’t be online at all, but it’s 2026 and social media is a wonderful tool for a small business.
But I wouldn’t have any of those eyes online if I didn’t show up in person. The real me is why the public version continues to be…successful? Successful enough, ya girl is never trying to be “viral”, just known enough in Western North Carolina so I can continue saving bouquets and making beautiful art.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
My husband and I are currently investing our energy and time into our little neighboring town of Canton. I know opening a record shop may not seem like much, but you’d change your mind if you sat on the couch for an hour and saw how many people stopped in just to chat.
We are building relationships with the community in hopes to expand and open a bakery. I have so many plans for this, including ways to give back. I can’t wait to bake for this town, but it’s going to take us a while to get there. It’s an aging town with buildings sitting for sale that need a lot more work than I can afford.
So for now, I bring in free baked goods every Saturday and we play Name That Tune Trivia at the fly shop across the street on Thursday, and I’m the secretary for the Canton Merchant Partnerships, and one day I’ll serve a cinnamon bun to the mayor and he’ll say, “I’m so glad y’all moved here.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.goldenpreserved.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldenpreserved/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088827027242
Image Credits
Abby T from Mirror Mirror Photography
