SMiZE & Dream - Dubai

What is the story behind your business' name?

Whenever I tell people I have an ice cream company, before they ask to taste some, they go “Wow, Tyra! Why ice cream?” Well… When I was 6 years old, my parents got divorced. Mama, my brother and I moved from our three bedroom home in Inglewood, California to a tiny one bedroom apartment in Leimert Park. My mom gave my brother and I the bedroom to share. Before she got a pull-out couch, she slept on the floor. family 1.png Our first night there, my Mama vowed that in 1 year, she would move us into a two bedroom apartment. I remember her working double time to make her two bedroom apartment DREAM come true. And in a year, it did. No more living room couch. Mama now had a bedroom to call her own. familly 2.png On the first night in our new two bedroom pad, as Mama kissed my brother and I goodnight, she promised that in a year we’d have a three bedroom one. During Mama’s hard working years, every Friday night after homework and dinner, we’d have girls night at the Häagen Dazs ice cream shop in Hollywood! While licking our chocolate (her fave) and coffee (my fave) ice creams in her white Honda Accord, in her cray-cray-in a-good-way style, she’d school me on her laser-focused one-more-bedroom goals and more. We’d laugh, cry and DREAM our biggest, most outrageous CREATIVE DREAMS... together. car.png And in that car, My ice cream DREAMS were born! Over the years, some of my biggest dreams came true. But a helluva lot of them didn’t. You won’t hear me saying “Those failures led me to where I am now” because performing in concert arenas is still a dream, but I know I can’t sing like Taylor or Beyoncé! singing.png But what I do know is ice cream. The science of it. The creative art of it. The nerdy technical and the yummy, tasty parts. I‘m like an ice cream sommelier. But running a business is hard work. I live and breathe SMiZE & DREAM so I don’t sleep much. I wake up every night and work. Cuz ice cream is on my mind 24/7/365. Especially at 2:30 am. Launching a business ain’t easy, especially one that started during the pandemic. We’re still overcoming some of those setbacks as well as obstacles and challenges that arise daily. But I rise and I Smize every day, because even though it’s hard as hell, things are looking bright (and tasting phenomenal!) I am living my biggest CREATIVE DREAM. Even though my keeps-it-real Mama still loves her Haagen Dazs (can you blame her?), she still coaches me on how to keep my DREAMS burning bright. And when those special, “I’m so proud of you, Ty” moments come ‘round, they make me shed happy tears…sometimes while collapsing in her arms. no sleep.png I dedicate SMiZE & DREAM to Mamas and Mama figures everywhere. Cool Mamas. Quirky Mamas. Turn’t up Mamas. Single Mamas. Foster Mamas. Working Mamas. New Mamas. Stay-at-home Mamas. DIY Mamas. PTA Mamas. BFF Mamas. Creative Mamas. All the Mamas! She kinda embarrasses us when we’re out in public. Total cringe. But gosh, we love her sooooo damn much! Because she’s our Mama. The best Mama in the whole wide world. This time, she bounced between three jobs. And in a year, she moved us into a three bedroom DREAM apartment. Gosh, it was nice and I had my own room! Together, we all painted the walls my favorite color.