She Curates the Feeling: How Natasha Wong Turns Spaces Into Stories

Featured Interview: Natasha Wong

Introducing Natasha Wong, a creative tastemaker and retail leader working at the intersection of design, storytelling, and strategy.

Her career spans fashion, retail, and hospitality—from merchandising roles at Fortune 500 companies to opening her own shop in San Francisco and co-founding a wellness start-up. Today, at Auberge Resorts Collection, she leads the creative vision for guest-facing product and retail across a global portfolio, ensuring each property’s soul of place comes through in a tangible, memorable way.

Follow Natasha on Instagram @natasha.k.wong

Across every chapter, she has been guided by the belief that beauty, story, and intention shape connection. The details people see, touch, and feel reveal who we’ve been, who we are, and who we’re becoming, and that’s the lens she brings to every project.

We interviewed Natasha on creative leadership, building brands with intention, and translating vision into experience:

If you’re escaping for the weekend, what’s always in your bag? 

My packing list is pretty consistent regardless of destination or length. My travel essentials:

• A tiny travel incense kit to ground me and any space

• Gua sha in the morning and my red-light mask at night (I’m currently using Monastery’s)

• Running sneakers and workout clothes; I move my body on almost every trip to clear my mind, even if it’s just a 30-minute run or a yoga or pilates class

• Lucas’ Papaw Lip Balm, my one non-negotiable comfort for over a decade

• A soft, cozy sweatshirt, because growing up in San Francisco taught me you always need an extra layer

From Lululemon to Auberge, you’ve built an inspiring career journey with some incredible brands. What advice would you give to someone who wants to break into a new industry or step into a role at a company they admire?

Get clear on what matters to you in the small, ordinary rhythms of a workday. In my experience, careers aren’t linear, and the perfect title doesn’t always exist, so sometimes you have to create it. Start with your values, what energizes you day-to-day, and the environments where you feel most yourself. Roles and industries shift, but knowing who you are and what you want your work to feel like becomes your compass.

When I’ve made transitions, I’ve asked myself questions like:

• How would I describe my future boss and colleagues to a close friend?

• Who do I want to collaborate with daily, and what do I want to learn from them?

• What pulls me in without effort, or what activities make me lose track of time?

• If I had a week off, how would I fill my time?

• In a perfect day, what am I actually doing hour by hour?

• The more honest I allowed myself to be, the more aligned opportunities found their way to me.

What’s been one of the biggest challenges you've had to face, and how did you push through it?

My fertility journey. It’s the one chapter where effort, control, and grit haven’t yet delivered the outcome I want most. Instead, it’s invited me to soften into trust, to honor timing, and to loosen my grip on how things “should” unfold.

When I look back, the most meaningful parts of my life have always come from something bigger than me. This journey has deepened that knowing. It’s taught me to surrender and stay open, especially in the moments when I long for certainty.

What’s a productivity tool that’s helped you achieve your goals?

I’ve learned I work best when my personal and work lives live in one place. Blending the two creates ease, simplifies my days, and gives me enough structure without the pressure. Mimestream keeps email clean and fast; Notion holds everything from notes and project tracking boards to my Substack newsletter drafts; and Notion Calendar helps me map out my days and lets Zac and my colleagues stay connected to my schedule when we need to sync.

Who or what inspires you most on your creative journey?

Human connection. I’m lucky to be surrounded by friends who evolve, stretch, take risks, and share their lives honestly, both the wins and the messy parts. Whether it’s in-person, virtually, or on a long walk on the phone, these conversations are what keep me inspired creatively and committed to expansion. 

Do you have a manifestation practice or mindset ritual you swear by — something that’s helped you call in the life and opportunities you want?

When I feel at a standstill or between chapters, I revisit my 10-year vision. Sometimes I write a “day in the life” scene. Sometimes I pull old magazines and collage. Sometimes I scribble thoughts into circles on a blank page.

The practice is really about letting myself dream without rules. I try to remove expectations and loosen constraints, release old versions of myself that no longer feel true, and let go of the stories that keep me playing small. It always reminds me that becoming isn’t a destination but a steady unfolding. And that the vision I’m creating is simply my way of coming back to myself.

Big Ideas No Chills is an interview series spotlighting real stories of ambition and reinvention—everyday people pivoting careers, taking bold risks, starting new chapters, and chasing big dreams.