Kia Steave-Dickerson: Difference between revisions

Kia Steave-Dickerson was born and raised in [[Philadelphia|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="Source1">{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/person/kia-steave-dickerson?filter-options=tv|title=Biography|publisher=[[Metacritic]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111151303/http://www.metacritic.com/person/kia-steave-dickerson?filter-options=tv|archive-date=January 11, 2018|dead-url-status=nolive|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Her father worked with a theatre company,<ref name="Source1" /> and he was the first African-American member of the local chapter of the [[International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees]].<ref name="SourceHappy">{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2003/12/08/focus21.html|title=Steave-Dickerson happy at 'Trading Spaces'|last=Baldino Bonett|first=Jennifer|date=December 8, 2003|work=[[Philadelphia Business Journal]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040417012755/http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2003/12/08/focus21.html|archive-date=April 17, 2004|dead-url-status=nolive|df=mdy-all}}</ref> As a child, Steave-Dickerson worked with him and learned about [[scenic design]].<ref name="Source1" /> She became interested in design, and accompanied her father on [[dumpster diving]] trips in search of materials. About her youth, Steave-Dickerson said: "My early memories are of the smell of sawdust."<ref name="SourceHappy" /> She earned a bachelor's degree in textile management and marketing from the [[Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science]].<ref name="Source1" /><ref name="SourceHappy" /> Although Steave-Dickerson had considered a career in [[dry cleaning]] (given her interest in clothing), she decided to pursue [[interior design]].<ref name="SourceHappy" />

Steave-Dickerson's early designs focused on window decorations and fabrics.<ref name="Source1" /> After graduating from college, she worked in [[retail]] for several years (including at Maen Line Fabrics). After her father's death, Steave-Dickerson used her inheritance to found the design company K.I.A. Enterprises (also known as K.I.A. Design and Construction and K.I.A. Design & Construction Enterprises).<ref name="SourceHappy" /><ref name="Source2">{{cite web|url=http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/trading-spaces-cast-128925/photos/kia-trading-spaces-242956|title=See What the Cast of 'Trading Spaces' Is up to Today!|last=White|first=Tiffany|date=March 30, 2017|work=[[In Touch Weekly]]|deadurlurl-status=nolive|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403010510/http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/trading-spaces-cast-128925/photos/kia-trading-spaces-242956|archivedatearchive-date=April 3, 2017|df=}}</ref><ref name="Source6" /> The company expanded across the United States<ref name="Source2" /> and does work in interior and theatrical design and [[construction]].<ref name="Source6">{{cite web|url=http://www.blackprwire.com/press-releases/2231-bprw_wells_fargo_and_the_national_black_mba_association_honor_distinguished_african_american_entrepreneurs|title=Wells Fargo and the National Black MBA Association Honor Distinguished African American Entrepreneurs|date=October 8, 2009|publisher=[[National Black MBA Association]]|deadurlurl-status=nolive|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015062309/http://www.blackprwire.com/press-releases/2231-bprw_wells_fargo_and_the_national_black_mba_association_honor_distinguished_african_american_entrepreneurs|archivedatearchive-date=October 15, 2017|df=}}</ref> Critics have called Steave-Dickerson's approach simplistic yet bold.<ref name="Source1" /> According to Jennifer Baldino Bonett of the ''[[Philadelphia Business Journal]]'', Steave-Dickerson relied on furniture and fabrics made in Philadelphia for her company's projects. In 1998 and 2003, she received awards from minority businesses in the city for her contributions.<ref name="SourceHappy" />

She began her career as a set designer and property master in 1993,<ref name="SourceLinkProfile">{{cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/kia-steave-dickerson-37586917/|title=Kia Steave-Dickerson|publisher=[[LinkedIn]]|accessdateaccess-date=October 26, 2017}}</ref> working on [[Men in Black (1997 film)|''Men in Black'']] (1997), [[Beloved (1998 film)|''Beloved'']] (1998), ''[[The Sixth Sense]]'' (1999) and [[Signs (2002 film)|''Signs'']] (2002).<ref name="Source1" /> A property master's assistant for ''Beloved'', Steave-Dickerson refurbishedforged a slave collar for the film. As part of the film's production, the props crew looked for real items used during [[slavery in the United States]] to maintainpreserve historical accuracy. Steave-Dickerson kept the collar as a reminder of "black women back then and the strength they needed to persevere".<ref name="Newspaper1">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/357233937/|url-access=subscription|title=''Beloved'' embraces historical accuracy|last=Goldsmith|first=Diane|date=October 31, 1998|work=[[Austin American-Statesman]]|access-date=July 4, 2019|location=|via=[[Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]}} {{subscription required}}</ref> She also helped design commercials for [[Chrysler]], [[Bisquick]], and [[Betty Crocker]], andas well as for musical-theatre productions such as [[Grease (musical)|''Grease'']] and [[Cats (musical)|''Cats'']].<ref name="Source1" /><ref name="SourceHappy" /> Steave-Dickerson was a set decorator for the 1998 [[crime]] [[drama film]], ''[[Gunshy]]'',<ref name="Film1">{{cite video | people = [[Jeff Celentano]] (director) | title = [[Gunshy]] | type = Film | publisher=[[Periscope Pictures]] |year=1998}}</ref> and a scenic artist for the 1998 [[comedy-drama]] film ''[[Wide Awake (1998 film)|Wide Awake]]''.<ref name="SourceHappy" /> She was an assistant property master for the 2000 films ''[[Animal Factory]]'' and ''[[Unbreakable (film)|Unbreakable]]'';<ref name="SourceHappy" /><ref name="Film3">{{cite video | people = [[Steve Buscemi]] (director) | title = [[Animal Factory]] | type = Film | publisher=[[Franchise Pictures]] |year=2000}}</ref> the former was her third time working with [[Indian American]] film director [[M. Night Shyamalan]].<ref name="Source1" /><ref name="SourceHappy" /> In ''Unbreakable'', Steave-Dickerson appeared as an [[Extra (acting)|extra]]. Shyamalan praised her designs, calling her "the funk diva".<ref name="SourceHappy" />

In 2002, Steave-Dickerson first appeared on the American [[reality television]] series ''[[Trading Spaces]]'' as an interior designer;<ref name="Source2" /> she was added to the program around the same time as fellow designer Edward Walker.<ref name="Source3">{{cite web|url=http://www.today.com/id/3130945/ns/today-today_entertainment/t/can-trading-spaces-redesign-itself/#.WeLoJhNSxE4|title=Can ‘Trading'Trading Spaces’Spaces' redesign itself?|last=Reed|first=Kim|date=October 20, 2003|work=[[Today (U.S. TV program)|Today]]|deadurlurl-status=nolive|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328204518/http://www.today.com/id/3130945/ns/today-today_entertainment/t/can-trading-spaces-redesign-itself/#.WeLoJhNSxE4|archivedatearchive-date=March 28, 2017|df=}}</ref> She appeared on the show from 2002 to 2004 as part of a rotating cast of designers.<ref name="Books1">[[#brooksmarsh2009|Brooks & Marsh (2009)]]: p. 1419</ref> Calling herself a "theme queen", Steave-Dickerson based a room makeover on an idea around which she accessorized.<ref name="Source1" /> SheThe ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''<nowiki/>'s Pamela Sherrod wrote that Steave-Dickerson had a "flair for the dramatic".<ref name="Newspaper2">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/233918716/|title=Mining 'Spaces'|last=Sherrod|url-access=subscription|first=Pamela|date=March 23, 2003|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=July 4, 2019|via=[[Ancestry.com#Newspapers.com|Newspapers.com]]}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Steave-Dickerson appeared twice on the show's [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]], ''[[Trading Spaces: Family]]'', and in ''The Best of Trading Spaces'' [[clip show|special]] in 2005.<ref name="SourceTVGuide" /> According to ''[[E! Online]]'', Steave-Dickersonshe left the series voluntarily.<ref name="Source4" /> In addition to ''Trading Spaces'', she participated in the [[game show]] [[Pyramid (game show)|''Pyramid'']] in 2004.<ref name="SourceTVGuide">{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/kia-steave-dickerson/credits/250604/|title=Credits|work=[[TV Guide]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019112728/http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/kia-steave-dickerson/credits/250604/|archive-date=October 19, 2017|dead-url-status=nolive|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

After ''Trading Spaces'', Steave-Dickerson hosted the short-lived American reality television series ''Renovate My Place''.<ref name="Source2" /> Airing from 2005 to 2006, it focused on helping African-American homeowners with renovations.<ref name="Source5">{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/renovate-my-place/432833/|title=Renovate My Place|work=[[TV Guide]]|deadurlurl-status=nolive|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208175813/http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/renovate-my-place/432833/|archivedatearchive-date=December 8, 2015|df=}}</ref><ref name="SourceRenovate">{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/renovate-my-place/episodes/432833/|title=Episode Guide|work=[[TV Guide]]|deadurlurl-status=nolive|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015062308/https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/renovate-my-place/episodes/432833/|archivedatearchive-date=October 15, 2017|df=}}</ref> Apart from these appearances, Steave-Dickerson has largely avoided television work to focus on her career as a property master.<ref name="Source4" />

In 2007, she gave birth to a son and took a seven-year hiatus from her career; although she was approached to help with the props for ''[[30 Rock]]'', she refused the offer to raise her child.<ref name="Source4" /> On October 8, 2009, Steave-Dickerson received the [[NBMBAA]]-[[Wells Fargo]] Entrepreneur Excellence Award. As part of the award, K.I.A. Design and Construction Enterprises was given [[United States dollar|$]]5,000.<ref name="Source6" /> Steave-Dickerson returned to work on the 2015 film [[Creed (film)|''Creed'']], and was an assistant property master for the third season of ''[[Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt]]''.<ref name="Source4">{{cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/839746/trading-spaces-cast-where-are-they-now|title=Trading Spaces Cast: Where Are They Now?|last1=Heller|first1=Corinne|last2=Mortello|first2=Alessandra|date=March 29, 2017|work=[[E! Online]]|deadurlurl-status=nolive|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170401222950/http://www.eonline.com/news/839746/trading-spaces-cast-where-are-they-now|archivedatearchive-date=April 1, 2017|df=}}</ref>

* {{imdbIMDb name|id=0225432|name=Kia Steave-Dickerson}}

[[Category:Living21st-century peopleAmerican women]]

[[Category:PhiladelphiaThomas Jefferson University alumni]]