Nicole Trunfio is a model who has been in the industry since 2001 when she was scouted by Christine Fox in Perth, Australia. The next year, she won the title of Supermodel of Australia while in the international version, Supermodel of the World, she came second. That was her breakthrough moment after which she moved to New York at the age of 16.
She now lives in Texas with her husband Gary Clark Jr., and her three children.
Now, at the age of 35, she is still in the business. However, her focus shifted to other venture. She has her own venture called the Trunfio Universe. Bumpsuit is the recent product she launched which is the maternity bodysuit. She also launched the jewellery brand which gives clever concierge and virtual ear curator. With this, you can give a shot to piercing from your home.
Childhood
She was born in Dubbo and grew up in the Merredin in Western Australia. She was practically raised by her grandmother and grandfather with whom she went riding every weekend so as she would say, she basically grow up on the dirt bike. She has the Italian origins, so she was raised in this way as well. Growing up was closer to the Italian child than Australian. They would eat generally the Italian food, from sausages, pasta, and later on, drinking wine. The vacations were mainly organized in order to visit the vast family. When we’d go on holiday, it would only be to visit our gigantic extended family.
Where did the passion come from
Even the living standard was not that great, they never felt poor as she would say in one of the interviews. There was never lack of food on the table so there was not reason to consider themselves as a poor family. On the other hand, when the reality strikes, they were a poor family. This is something the drive and motivation came from. Having seen her parents fight a lot due to lack of the finance, she had made herself a promise that she will ever fight about money. For her, the money was never a motivation. She was going forward in gaining the independence. As she stated in one of the interviews, her husband is very successful but she never asked him a penny and that this is what really drives her.
What was the turning point in teenage days
She never wanted this for her. Her dream was not to be a model. However, this is what the life have prepared for her. She was only 16 when she moved from Australia to New York, on her own. At that point, she had $5000 in the bank. Her father was the reason she believed in her self as he did not say things like “do not do this. Do not do that. Do not get into vice. He just said that he has no problem with her leaving as he knows that she is smart enough and that she will do the right things, as she confirmed in the recent interview. It was the true parental lessons she is trying to pass to her own children.
In the point of the switch from modeling business to being sole proprietor she claims that all you need to do is to take one step at a time. Of course, you will make certain mistakes and in order to succeed, you need to learn from them. The key factor in all this is the self confidence. People usually back down at the first obstacle but what is needed is the confidence and great will to go forward and not to back down. It is the key for a success.
What lays behind the concept of ERTH
This was not sudden move. She was very interested in this. When she moved to New Yoirk she would often visit jewellery stores where she worked with the jewellers and conduct many lessons. At one point she started making the jewellery by her own. At the beginning, those were the presents to her friends for various occasions such as the birthdays, anniversaries and other events. After the time moved on and she started making these better and more quality, people started ordering these in a bulk. Some of the friends proposed her to sell these as a line and that is how ERTH was born.
How it was funded
With this, she took one step at a time. She never had the donor for this, nor she used the money from modelling to support the jewellery line. She was of the belief that if she would get funded or use the money from other business, it would just go away. She was confident that the brand will sustain on its own. This is how she went with the Bumpsuit as well. She believed in her customers, in other words, if she creates something that will satisfy the loyal customer base, it will all be well.
What does she seeks in the employee?
First of all, it is important that the person who she will hire needs to be obsessed with the job as she is. Then, the person needs to show the initiative, not to wait for the orders. She also likes those people that are not “lonely rangers” but rather team players. Of course, this can be difficult in the beginning, but if they are all that is mentioned above, they will just reap the fruits of the hard work at the end.
Is it important to have support from the surroundings
This is highly essential. One needs to be organized and needs to have the support. Her brand is actually the people behind it. She is not alone in this. It takes a lot of people to get the job done. This is one of the things she enjoys. She enjoys if she inspired someone to start something.
Did the success jeopardized the personal life in any moment
What you need to do is to find a balance. That is exactly what Nicole did. In the recent interview, she confirmed that her husband is never around as he is on tour for eight years. It was probably the reason why she is doing all of this. She wanted to keep herself busy.
How important beauty in her life
She uses basic stuff. She would rather just go to work, without putting any products. However, due to her position, it is not quite doable. So, it is very simple, she uses only the basic products. From the products she uses are La Prairie when she need to treat herself.
I have a really expensive line that I’ll use when I feel like I need to treat myself and that’s La Prairie. She loves its scent. Recently, she found out the line she is very fond of. It is January Labs. According to Nicole, it is the pure beauty. She also uses the Revision, the tinted sunscreen. Additionally, she uses the bronzer everywhere, mascara, eye shadow and liquid eyeliner, and at the end a color on the lip.
