To Kyah Hillis, Sleeveless isn’t just a premium accessory company: it’s the embodiment of her professional interests.

Kyah launched Sleeveless in 2009 as a way to provide the celebrity clientele of her Nashville-based wardrobe styling business with quality accessories that looked great and were built to last. In the process of fulfilling her right-brain desire to create, she ended up satisfying her left-brain impulses as well. “Before I became a stylist, I worked in business in Los Angeles,” she says. “So building a company that combines that skill set with my work as an image consultant made total sense. Plus, it’s like that old saying: Stick with what you know.”

That doesn’t mean the Washington state native’s into playing it safe: as chief designer for Sleeveless, Kyah is constantly pushing herself to come up with products that challenge the status quo in terms of design and functionality.

“Whether I’m designing a new bag or putting together an outfit for a client, my goal is to help people show a creative extension of themselves,” she says.