“Every precious gem has facets. When the light hits one just right, those facets make it sparkle brilliantly. Look closely for a little while longer; there is more to me than meets the eye, and the light is just about right.”–TDFloyd, Author
Tonya Dwan was born August 23, 1970 in Washington, DC. She grew up in the inner city, graduated from Theodore Roosevelt Senior High in 1988, and briefly attended the University of the District of Columbia before transferring to UMUC, where she studied Psychology, Communications and Business Management.
Tonya comes from a large family, anchored by three younger brothers, and now her three children. She still resides in the Washington, DC area. Her hobbies include diy building and design projects, cooking, eating, bowling, watching football (How ’bout them Cowboys?!), basketball (Go Wizards!), working puzzles, playing board games, and of course, writing. The most rewarding hobbies are those which include creating something from nothing.
“I absolutely LOVE cooking and baking. Building beautiful, tasteful creations from simple ingredients has become an obsession for me. I have also become rather fond of interior design. I’ve found that I have a knack for reinventing things, giving them renewed purpose, and I make magic with pennies. It doesn’t always have to cost more than you have. I learned that while redoing my own home. It’s very rewarding.”–TDF
Tonya has written editorials on various topics for the Prince George’s Post newspaper. She is truly a versatile woman. In 2005, Tonya published her first book, From Where I Stand, It Is What It Is. She felt there was much work to do in the field of interpersonal communications, and she could help.
Tonya continued publishing books on relationships and self-awareness, and was a contributor to the blog Colors of Women in 2009 and 2010. There she discussed a variety of issues from her unique woman’s perspective. She has brought that information home to her own blog, tackling thoughts on the human condition, women’s issues as well as other topics with truth, perspective and a bit of ridiculousness where needed. No topic is really off-limits.
Tonya’s belief is that people have more in common than we realize, and through open communication and sharing we can bridge those gaps, help each other, and expand our learning potential. She published her first novel, Nothing New Under the Sun, in 2011, and began publishing her compilation of Timeless Thoughts… in 2012.
In 2013, mirroring a character in one of her books, Tonya created the Signature Moves podcast using the Spreaker platform to lend her actual voice to many of those issues near and dear to her heart, “because sometimes what you need is just another perspective–to look at things in a completely new way. I’d be lying if I said I have all the answers, or that life is ever easy. Yep, I document my own struggles, fears, successes, and so forth in an attempt to reach those who can relate.”–TDF
In 2014, Tonya published The Signature Movement–a humorous chronicle of a divorcee’s struggle to balance parenting, personal life and business. She coined the phrase “single mama saga” as a description of how things were going at the time.
Other books include The Sun Hasn’t Set and It is What it Is–Epiphany. You can find them all here on our Bookshelf. As they say, art imitates life. Tonya D. Floyd has no problem using her art to tell the story of her own life. Hopefully, you can find something you can use too. Maybe you’ll want to tell your own story.
Shortly after publishing the book with the same name, Tonya named her company The Signature Movement to inspire and encourage others to be the best version of themselves, to lead by example, employ integrity in every action, to produce quality work, hold ourselves accountable, to forge lasting relationships built on mutual respect and admiration–to be great, be unique, be driven, be brave. We encourage you to take up that charge now and follow/interact with us on social media so we can continue to encourage each other. Iron sharpens Iron.
In 2015, Tonya needed additional income, so rather than looking for work outside the home, she took a family recipe and grew it into a full-on baking and delivery business–Signature Sweets. Other items join the delivery menu for special occasions like roast beef or baked chicken dinner with sweet potatoes, greens, mac n cheese, garlic mashed potatoes and fresh-baked dinner rolls and so on. Dessert included, of course.
In 2017, Tonya decided it was time to step out on faith and become a completely independent businesswoman. She focused her attention on renovating, designing, styling spaces and building custom pieces like barn doors, tables and bed frames for those spaces. Signature Lifestyle Solutions was born.
It only made sense that the business should eventually evolve, so Tonya got her real estate license in 2018, because real estate and design marry so well, and because the future would no doubt hold opportunities for building and renovating properties on a larger scale.
Days after passing the real estate exam in 2018, Tonya said goodbye to her federal government job of 30 years. That was no doubt scary, but it had to happen because Tonya felt like she was wasting her talents in a world where she’d never be recognized or appreciated, and she had hit a ceiling long before. It was time to grow some more.
2024: “The Signature Movement” didn’t really seem like the right fit anymore, nor did the movement really take off. People just don’t seem to value good work ethic, or professional relationships or trust anymore. So Tonya decided to hold herself to that higher standard and changed the name of the business to Signature Lifestyle Solutions. It’s far more appropriate.
So that’s how we got here. Let’s see where all this talent and passion take us next….
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