029: Real Planner and Real Expert: Lea Stafford of Lea Stafford Events and Ethos West Collective
PLANNER LIFE PODCAST
029: Real Planner and Real Expert: Lea Stafford of Lea Stafford Events and Ethos West Collective
“Be who you want to be and put out there what you want to attract and you’ll see the results ten fold.” - Lea
Hey planners! We have a very special guest on the show who is actually both a real planner and a real expert in the wedding industry. In this episode, you’ll hear about Lea Stafford of Lea Stafford Events and Ethos West Collective. Lea started her journey in the wedding industry after working for a luxury catering company. She shares her journey of starting a business, what her experience has been like as a Black woman in the wedding industry and as a Black-owned business. You’ll get to hear about her latest project, The Ethos West Collective, a platform that helps highlight Black professionals in the refined wedding and events industry. We also chat about networking and what she’s learned about being authentically herself in business.
What’s in this episode:
Her journey into the hospitality industry and how she got into weddings
The biggest surprise she had from starting her own business
Her experience as a Black woman in the wedding industry
Lea’s thoughts on being a Black-owned business
How she learned to be authentically her
The mission behind the Ethos West Collective (EWC)
Problematic Black stereotypes that are in the wedding industry
Why you have to be willing to step outside of your bubble and network with new people
How Black creatives in the industry can join EWC
About Lea:
Lea began her design journey 18 years ago as a luxury interior designer and transitioned to the events industry 6 years later. She began her own production + design company a few years after working for the bay area’s leading luxury caterer.
As a woman of color and an entrepreneur, she has been impacted by the presence of implicit bias within creative industries alike. Having lived this experience for over 15 years in her professional life, in 2019, she felt it was time for her to do something about it.
"I thought to myself, something this heavy on my heart can't possibly be a singular experience, there have to be other event professionals feeling this way." she decided to reach and partner with a couple of industry colleagues she was sure shared this same feeling. This is how EWC was born.
Connect with Lea:
Lea Stafford Events | Lea Stafford Events Instagram | Ethos West Collective | EWC Instagram
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