Meet Your Designer

Fatima is a self-described introvert, with a personality that doesn’t match. She lives for purpose and

enjoys encounters with those who laugh as well as talking about business and creativity. She admits

her family keeps her grounded and drives her insane at the same time.

Fatima spent 25 years in the New York financial services industry, vividly remembering the most

memorable day of her career. It was September 11, 2001 – 9-11. She was in her office on the 33rd

floor of 7 World Trade Center.

That day changed her perspective on life. Her career was a long way from her unsettled childhood

in Newark, her birthplace, and the tragedy of that day was a long way from daily tranquility.

She walked more than eight miles from Ground Zero to Harlem, where she contacted Curtis, the

man who she later married. He and his brother, Devon, picked her up in Harlem. That same day,

he proposed. The ring, purchased a day earlier, was too small, but she said, “Yes!”

At her husband’s recommendation, Fatima decided to pursue her passion in interior design, leaving

corporate America to become an entrepreneur. She received an undergraduate degree in interior

architecture and design from Queens University.

Her earlier degree was in finance and entrepreneurial management from Bernard Baruch College

CUNY.

Fatima is owner and lead interior designer of Charlotte-based Sage & Tima Designs, LLC, a young

firm making its mark in the region.