The Shiva Tamara Story
Between countries
Shiva Tamara grew up between countries, the daughter of German-French and Persian parents. Growing up across cultures taught her to adapt, to observe and, above all, to build. An art class she took by accident in Berlin set the course of her life. By twenty-one she had earned a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from the University of the Arts Berlin, and a bachelor’s in Theatre Arts. Her work was shown in Berlin, London, Paris and Amsterdam, including Galerie Thomas Schulte and the Goethe-Institut.
Two suitcases and a vision
At twenty-one she moved back to California with two suitcases and no roadmap. She designed for firms whose clients included Universal Music and USC, but the credit carried someone else’s name. So she set up a table on the Venice Boardwalk and sold her art directly. Then three artworks sold in a single night, and everything changed. She carried her canvases along the boardwalk on a skateboard, turned her paintings into prints, patterns and apparel, and sold out almost every weekend.
From canvases to buildings
When the pandemic emptied the boardwalk, she asked a local store if she could bring its faded mural back to life. That one wall led to murals across Los Angeles, from Venice to Hollywood, and later to six stories of a new building painted by hand. Seeing how spaces change the people inside them led her into real estate.
The dealmaker
Today she is a licensed real estate agent with listings up to $5.295 million, and a licensed mortgage loan originator specializing in hard money and commercial loans for investors nationwide. She brings an artist’s eye and an investor’s numbers to every property, and holds a Wharton certificate in commercial real estate investment and analysis.
The founder
She designed, coded and launched her own apps, including Vented, a social emotional support platform now on Google Play. She founded Veradia, a mixed-use housing venture in Los Angeles in three parts: Foundation, Collective and Capital. And she founded Shiva Luxury, her real estate and lending brand.
“Not taking a risk is often the bigger risk.”Shiva Tamara, Bold Journey
On camera and behind it
She began modeling at seventeen in Berlin, and has worked on camera across Berlin and Los Angeles in fashion, editorial, music videos and premieres. She designed the cape worn by director Gabriela Tagliavini on the Netflix red carpet for Christmas With You (2022), starring Freddie Prinze Jr. She sings, writes, and shoots, directs and edits her own films and music videos.
The mission
Art, design, technology, real estate and finance look like separate worlds. For Shiva Tamara they are one practice: creating value where none existed before, and bringing beauty into the spaces where people live.