Tech engineers by day, and twinsetters by night, 26-year-old identical twin sisters, Bria and Brionne Steward are changing the narrative for corporate business attire, and are adding some boldness to a corporate office near you. As the ambitious, young founders of Twinsetter Cosmetics and Twinsetter ProLuxe, a business professional clothing line designed to empower corporate queens to boss up and be their most daring selves from the inside out, these young millennial bosses are making their mark in the beauty and fashion industry.
The Steward twins come from a long line of entrepreneurs. Their grandmother and mother both owned successful businesses where beauty and cosmetics were at the forefront of their brands. Enhancing women’s beauty and building confidence has always been the Steward sisters’ mission.
By day, Bria and Brionne are technology engineers which fueled their passion for the fashion industry. “Walking the streets of major cities like New York, we noticed many storefronts with men’s clothing,” says Bria Steward. “By filling that void, my sister, Brionne and I were inspired to create Twinsetter Proluxe to provide chic and contemporary suits for the everyday female boss.”
What has life been like in general, as twins? Have you both always enjoyed working as a team?
Brionne: As twins, life has been great. You have a built-in best friend you’ve known since the womb, and we’ve done everything together our entire lives. We attended the same elementary, middle, and high schools and college together. We were the same majors at Tuskegee University, and we are both pursuing our MBA at Pepperdine University.
It’s so cool to have this person I’m doing everything with.
Brionne Steward
And yes, we always enjoyed working as a team because we weigh each other out. I’m more robust in some areas she maybe is weaker in, and vice versa. So two is better than one, and I appreciate the relationship.
What were each of you doing career-wise before beginning this joint-entrepreneur venture?
Brionne: So we are corporate queens as well as entrepreneurs. We work in the tech sales industry. I, Brionne work as an Engineered Systems Account Executive, and Bria works as Inbound Cloud Specialist. We’re coming up on our fifth anniversary in the tech space, and we know this is truly a stepping stone for where God is taking us in our entrepreneurship journey.
We started Twinsetter Cosmetics in June 2019 and Twinsetter ProLuxe in November 2021 while working in tech because of problems we saw and felt that we could address with our businesses for corporate women in the beauty and fashion industry. So as stated, we are still working in the tech industry, but our roles are preparing us for full-time entrepreneurship soon.
Who came up with the inspiration and plan behind your brands?
Brionne: So together, we brainstormed when it came to building out our business plans, but as far as the name Twinsetter, Bria came up with that name in 10th grade, looking for a Twitter handle. When we were in school, we had to wear uniforms, but added trends to our uniforms by dressing them up, making them fashionable with jewelry, shoe strings, makeup, and anything you can name. People would always ask us where we get our shoes, jewelry or an item that we were wearing because it would be so cute and then they would start wearing it.
Bria thought about it and said we’re Trendsetters. Then by us being twins and trendsetters she named us Twinsetters, so it’s the combination of the words trendsetter and twins. But regarding business plans, we always brainstorm with God, which is fantastic since he is the ultimate CEO of our business and we follow his direction on new product launches once he reveals it to us.
Was there anything along the way that served as a challenge for either one of you? How did you guys overcome it?
Brionne: The struggle to separate family and work! Not always agreeing with personal issues but not letting it affect the business, but it’s so funny because my aunt sent us the reel of two friends fussing, and then 2 seconds later, they were hugging and loving each other. So it’s essential to know the why is more significant than personal issues and put things aside to focus on the bigger purpose. To stay successful as a team you have to forgive quickly and extend grace because speaking on behalf of ourselves we have a bigger purpose in business, and we don’t need anything stopping us from the ultimate goal of fulfilling God’s will for our lives.
How do you hope women feel when they wear your looks and products?
Brionne: We aim to empower every woman to feel bold, comfortable, confident, and alluring. In every room they step in, they stand out, bringing a “Godfident and About My Business” attitude with a splash of class and fashion, letting her presence speak for itself.
We also call our supporters Tweens, and this is an evolving Twinsetter Queen of any race that’s beautiful inside and out. She has a heart of gold. She is bold, confident, creative, authentic, independent, and goal-oriented. A Tween loves looking fabulous and fly. She’s constantly building up those around her, and making them feel their most daring self.
What is something you wish more business women of color were aware of?
Building relationships is more valuable than money.
Bria Steward
Bria: In this generation, everyone is focused on getting to a bag but doesn’t focus on customer service or building trusted relationships. People buy from people that they either can trust or relate to in a way, so building relationships is vital, especially trusting genuine relationships. This has been beneficial when it comes to our business because we look at it as just crucial as networking. People think networking is selling, but it’s to develop long-term relationships and build a good reputation. It is a super important part of the success of your career.
Building a solid network of people is beneficial because it helps you get to know people. You might be networking with a future business partner with a million-dollar idea. This also enables you to learn more, and it increases your visibility. You all heard the saying before, “it’s not what you know but who you know?” That’s true because, in certain situations, your knowledge and skills are less valuable than your network of people. So building relationships are super meaningful in business.
How do the two of you manage your personal lives in conjunction with business? Do you always find yourselves together, or do you manage to get time apart?
Bria: It’s important to compartmentalize. Creating a schedule where we manage and balance it all in the allotted time to complete each thing is essential, so making a list and getting things done when we say we will is necessary. While also prioritizing our health and not being afraid to unplug. It’s crucial to take vacations/mental health days. We try to create a schedule and split up the task, but if one of us is not feeling our best selves, the other person will pick up the slack. That’s the great thing about having a reliable business partner that you know would be able to get the job done if you can’t. We are together 95% of the time. However, we are dating/in a relationship, so we are apart when spending time with our partners.
What sets your brands apart from the rest in the industry?
Bria: What sets our brand apart is the message behind the Twinsetter brand. Our slogan is “Beauty is Power, Beauty is you x2”. We say beauty is power because, as humans, we are always delighted by beautiful people and things, but as it pertains to the 2nd half of the slogan, I know people probably thinking oh, beauty is you x2 because they’re twins. That’s a part of it, but we came up with x2 because when you think about beauty x1, that has to do with your physical appearance and how you look on the outside. Cosmetics enhance your beauty on the outside, but times 2 for us also pertains to the inside.
Our message to our supporters and target audience are who are you as a person, how is your heart, and are you a light in this dark world? We want to spread positivity, love, and light.
We call ourselves a kingdom business, so we want not only us as owners but our supporters & audience to look at ourselves and display the characteristics of Jesus, and that’s compassion, love, joy, selflessness, humility, faith, patience, and much more. So yes, the message for our brand is being beautiful on the outside and inside as well, and we push for our follower’s personalities to be beautiful too!
What advice do you have for other twin sisters that want to go into business together? What can they expect and what are some things they can do to stay successful as a team?
Bria: Keep God First. Always remember your why. Never be afraid to tap into your vulnerable places and don’t let social media rush you. Don’t get so caught up in comparing yourself to the people around you and feel like you should be way further in life; I’ve discovered the main reason God doesn’t promote you prematurely or give you exactly what you’re preparing for too, is to protect you, it is not to withhold your blessings from you. If the gift of God on you is greater than the character within you, it will destroy you.
The preparation process is necessary to purify our motives and desires. God has not forgotten about you. He’s preparing and building your character for what he has designed for you. Don’t try to bypass or rush the process. Who you’re becoming is worth it. The strength you’re developing and the things you are enduring are crucial for the assignment. Don’t forget God is for you and with you. Continue to stay positive and trust him & everything will eventually work out for you. As stated in question 4, to stay successful as a team give one another grace and forgiveness. Your “WHY” is bigger than temporary feelings/disagreements.
What’s next for you two? And how can our readers keep in touch with your updates and new releases?
Bria: We’re now focused on expansion. Our goal is to make our business a global brand. We see Twinsetter being worldwide. We are also working on our Spring/Summer collection for our luxury suit brand and expanding our cosmetics brand to a full line. We want to be a one-stop shop for all our consumers’ beauty needs.
The readers can find us on IG: @twinsettercosmetics and @twinsetterproluxe
⁃Facebook: Twinsetter Cosmetics and Twinsetter ProLuxe
⁃TikTok: Twinsetter__
⁃www.twinsetterproluxe.com & http://www.twinsetter.com
Photo Credit: Shot by Chareese
Red Suit: Twinsetter Proluxe