Joen Garnica
After a self admitted less-than-average GPA from Lakewood High School, Joen graduated Cum Laude from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising — after two jobs during a full-time school schedule — which overrode that upset. Her keen eye for interior led her to create her own design firm at the age of 28, Garnica Interiors Inc. After nine years of success, it has become one of the most recognized commercial and residential design firms in Long Beach.
Having spent her entire life in throughout the Long Beach area, Joen recognizes her humble beginnings. “I was raised by a single mom and I could have easily become a statistic. I’m the kid who attended Long Beach Day Nursery on the low income program, got free lunches at school, and one of the only kids who was working at 15 (haven’t stopped since). Today, I can recognize my fortune for being underprivileged by financial standards only.”
She claims to have never been a dreamer, even as a kid. However, her adventure into adulthood altered that and awoke within her dreams that were perhaps latent in their development — and, in her words, “dreaming for all the years I didn’t dream and more.”