Two local teenagers know exactly what it means to put their talents to good use.

Tyrus and Myla Mosley, brother and sister, have become regulars at markets and fairs around the state. Under the guidance of their father Tarik, the siblings have learned how to turn their passions into profits.

Tyrus, a 17-year-old student at Eastside High School, has always been an artist. In 2022, he began to refine his skills by taking classes with Elise Hammond at Southern Heartland Art in Covington.

“My art teacher, her name’s Miss Elise, and she introduced me to pastels,” Tyrus said. “And I went and bought my own kit, and I basically just fell in love with them.” 

Myla, a 13-year-old student at Cousins Middle School, received her first bracelet kit in 2022 as a Christmas present from her grandma. She began to sell her creations to family members, and a business idea was born.

“She was already selling,” Tarik said. “And then just looking at what Tyrus was doing…he’s got this God-given gift and he’s been refining it. Well, what can we do with it? Why were you given this gift?”

Together, Tyrus and Myla travel the state visiting craft fairs and markets and selling their creations. 

Though they keep expanding and traveling to new cities, the entrepreneurs try to set up shop at local events—like the recent Mistletoe Market—since Covington is where they got their start.

The 2023 Christmas in July pop-up on the Square was the siblings’ first attempt at selling their work. Tyrus displayed his artwork, and Myla showed off her bracelets, and now the rest is history. In the years since, as profits have come in and their business model has grown, Tyrus and Myla have been able to improve their setup.

“As we progressed, as we started getting better, that’s when we started to start investing in ourselves,” Tyrus said. “So she [Myla] got new stands, I got art racks.”

Despite the business becoming more serious, both Myla and Tyrus have stayed passionate about their creations. Both have a favorite product to put out, and for Myla, it’s her glass bead bracelets.

“I feel like they have a wide range of colors and I like mixing and matching them,” Myla said.

 Tyrus’s favorite piece to display is his cherry blossom.

“I try to keep at least one with me every festival that we go to,” Tyrus said.

The core of the siblings’ entrepreneurship is their father’s wish to see his children successful and self-reliant.

“I’ve just got a mindset of an entrepreneur,” Tarik said. “And so I wanted to push them to see what they can do because at the end of the day, I believe you’ve got to be able to use your own ability and not necessarily rely on somebody else to find opportunities for you. You’ve got to find it for yourself.”

As the siblings learn business skills, interpersonal skills have been a huge bonus. Tarik said he was more hands-on when they first began selling, but he has been able to back off as Tyrus and Myla gained the needed skill and confidence to sell their products.

“[At first] I wouldn’t really like talking to every single person who walks by, or I’d sometimes just watch them when they’re looking at my stuff because I wouldn’t really know what to say,” Myla recalled. “So that was definitely a big thing for me that I now do a lot to this day.”

Though the siblings spend significant time honing their entrepreneurial abilities – having attended around two dozen shows in 2025 – they stay involved in other pastimes as well.

Tyrus has participated in basketball and track, and has enjoyed learning about CAD softwares as he aspired to be an architect. But art is his “sweet spot,” Tarik said.

Myla is still trying many things. In addition to participating in chorus, stage plays, drama club and an upcoming math competition, she has cultivated a passion for baking. She hopes to incorporate baked goods into their sales next year.

“I had a class party yesterday and I baked cookies for it, and I would say it turned out as a success because a lot of people were telling me about how good it was,” Myla said. “And then I also tried going to farmers’ markets and selling them, and it’s been a pretty good journey for that, and I’m trying to experience more into that.”

Tyrus will soon be graduating from Eastside High School and will take on more of a planning role in finding and applying to festivals. He said he plans to eventually purchase his own truck so he can travel to more shows himself.

With nearly three years under their belts, the teenage entrepreneurs are just getting started. Tyrus’s artwork can be purchased online at www.pastelswithtyrus.com and Myla’s handmade bracelets are available at www.braceletsbymyla.com.