Enjoying Life

When it comes to careers, there are the familiar and conventional—and then those that are a little more off the beaten path. These University of Hartford alumni established out-of-the-ordinary occupations in very different ways:

Enjoying Life

From fine wine to travel trailers to fashion design, these alumni have built prominent niche careers.

Diana Delva ’10, refused to accept being an underserved customer seeking stylish and affordable clothing for taller women. So, she did something about it in the most impactful way possible—she started a clothing line of her own.

When Jean-Louis Chave ’90 joined the family wine business, it might have seemed a foregone conclusion simply because the business has been around for 550 years. Today, his father is proud not just because of his son’s success, but because of the advances he built in to ensure the company will be around for a few more centuries.

Kristiana Spaulding ’90, the founder of a camper-trailer design firm, traces her decision to a cross-country road trip she took with her family when she was a child. Now, while her family may be a little confused by what she does, they’re also totally on board with its uniqueness.

Diana Delva ’10

Photos courtesy of Diana Delva

Diana Delva ’10 has created an eye-catching line of clothing for taller women, which was on display (middle and right photos from Nolcha Shows) at New York Fashion Week.

Diana Delva ’10 grew tired of endless shopping trips to try on clothing that didn’t fit. Topping 6 feet in height by the age of 14, she struggled to “shop tall.” It only got tougher as time went on and Delva adopted her own sense of style and fashion. Existing clothing options for tall women were basic, expensive, and limited.

Out of pure necessity for her and countless other taller women, Delva took matters into her own hands. Following her graduation from UHart’s Barney School of Business, Delva created Chèlbè, a fashionable and affordable clothing line that caters to women 5’ 9” and taller.

While a UHart student, Delva interned at the internationally respected design label DSquared2, where she received a valuable introduction into the fashion industry. Little did she imagine that just a few years later, she would be showcasing her own brand at New York Fashion Week while being named a “designer to watch.” Many customers are doing more than watching Delva’s clothing designs today—they are buying. Delva sells direct to consumers through her Chèlbè website, where the focus is on stylish garments at a price point of under $80.

A former standout on the Hartford Hawks women’s basketball team who is entering her 10th season playing professionally overseas, Delva had plenty of opportunities to learn that her teammates had similar struggles finding the same stylish clothing that was readily available for those of regular height. She says teammates would often exchange styling tips and share discoveries of where clothing could be found, but more often than not, Delva and her friends ended up in mainstream stores, forced to opt for plus-sized clothing, the men’s section, or a cropped look.

Photos courtesy of Diana Delva

Delva thus founded Chèlbè to help taller women reach new fashion heights. The name comes from a Creole word that means elegant, chic, or luxurious in dress, style, or design. It is a word that Delva’s Haitian mother used frequently when she saw someone who was well dressed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought mixed results for Chèlbè. On the one hand, Delva has been unable to travel and oversee the manufacturers in other parts of the world who source her fabric. But on the positive side, her sales have risen in recent months as online shopping became, in many cases, the only option for consumers. In addition, one of the larger retailers specializing in clothing for taller women was forced to cease operations, enabling Chèlbè to pick up new customers.

“It has been a transition time,” Delva says of recent months surrounding the coronavirus, “and while I started simple, my next step is to adapt to the new scheme of the world and take Chèlbè to the next level.”

Delva resists becoming a visible face for the brand she created. Instead, she wants the designs and meaning behind them to be what stand out. “Chèlbè is a lifestyle that can be translated into everything you do,” she says. “I just help dress the part.”

Photos courtesy of Diana Delva

Jean Louis Chave ’90

Photos courtesy of Jean-Louis Chave

From the vineyard to the cellars, Jean Louis Chave ’90 watches over one of the world’s most legendary winemaking operations.

Turning from fine fashion to fine wine, another UHart alum is making a mark. “The documented family history that we have dates back to 1481,” proudly reports Jean-Louis Chave ’90, who runs a Hermitage wine vineyard that produces some of the world’s finest and most sought-after reds and whites. “There is so much tradition here,” he says from his home in the town of Mauves, in southern France. “When you live with that kind of tradition your entire life, you don’t always appreciate it. So it’s good to leave, to go away for a while, and that’s how you start to realize just what you had back home.”

With that in mind, Chave asked his father if he could study business instead of wine, and his father agreed. It turned out to be one of the best decisions he could make. First, he studied at a university in France with which the University of Hartford had a credit-transfer agreement, and then he came to the UHart campus for his bachelor’s degree in business administration. After that, Chave went to the University of California, Davis, specifically to study winemaking. He made that choice because, by then, he fully realized the importance of the heritage he had back home. He also realized how the wine business had changed in recent years, what with advances in business finance, logistics, and communications—advancements that would help further fortify and enhance the family tradition.

Photos courtesy of Jean-Louis Chave

Chave oversees several dozen employees at the vineyard in the Tournon countryside. “My father is retired now, so I take care of everything, from the vineyard to the cellars to the office,” he says. “The wine business is about a way of life. It’s a drink that tells you where it comes from. It leads to opportunities to meet amazing people.”

With two young teenagers of his own, Chave still thinks a lot about heritage. Like his own father, he will give his children the freedom to make their own choices—but he also does hope that they’ll decide to go into the family business. “It’s more than a heritage,” he admits. “It’s a way of life. It’s a passion.”

Photos courtesy of Jean-Louis Chave

Kristiana Spaulding ’90

Photo credit: Kodi Hadrick

After taking a jewelry class in high school, Kristiana Spaulding ’90 made a necklace “Trailer Dream.” It represented a promise to herself that she would have an Airstream one day.

While family tradition led Chave to his ultimate career decision, it was a family trip that first inspired Kristiana Spaulding ’90. Spaulding, who grew up in New York’s Westchester County, traveled coast to coast with her parents and two older sisters when she was seven. They visited many historic and magnificent sites, but what she remembers more than anything else are the camper trailers she saw along the way. Spaulding was enamored of the fact that you can take your home with you no matter where you go. “At UHart, Professor Griswold encouraged us to think outside the box when it comes to professional goals,” Spaulding says, referring to recently retired Hillyer College Professor of Sociology Wick Griswold. She took his advice to heart.

But before thinking outside the box led her to a life inside a trailer, Spaulding took a gap year after UHart, then enrolled at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. It was only after she left the city that she jumped into trailers full time; she bought her first one in 2000.

Photo credit: Kodi Hadrick

Spaulding founded a company called Silver Trailer, which today customizes and rents out Airstream trailers. In addition, she works with event and production companies that are in the market for customized trailers for special needs. She also offers Airbnb rentals, and even has a line of customized jewelry that reinforces the trailer motif.

“Now that Airstream has gained so much in popularity nationwide, my family really appreciates what I’m doing,” Spaulding says. “In fact, they even want to get Airstreams of their own,” she adds from her base of operations just outside of Las Vegas. That’s one of two places she calls home, the other being in Northern California, from where her husband holds down the fort.

Silver Trailer is a one person operation, though Spaulding has help from time to time from freelance friends. Still, she seems to do the work of several people at once. In addition to doing the retro-chic customization herself and handling the rental business, Spaulding also writes articles about travel and speaks at various events about the benefits of living small. “I also have a podcast called Home Small Home,” she explains, “based on interviews with friends who are following their own ‘small living’ dreams.”

Living, working, and thinking outside the box—whether in the world of small living, tall fashion, or fine wine—has opened up a gigantic world of opportunities for Kristiana Spaulding, Diana Delva, and Jean-Louis Chave.

Photo credit: Kodi Hadrick