On a bright September afternoon in the middle of New York Fashion Week, Issa Rae is sitting on a rooftop patio at Soho's 11 Howard Hotel showing off her latest project: a 22-piece jewelry line produced with Cast, the San Francisco-based fine jewelry business. The collection-called “Braeve,” a play on her last name-marks a new chapter in her life as an actress, producer and entrepreneur. She is finally creating something tangible.

“Even with [my TV show] Insecure, I can’t hold it. Other people own it, and all I have is I know that I made it in the 40-year-old Rae,” she says. “Whereas this comes from me. Someone can wear it. I’m wearing it, and it represents me in a way that I think is less fleeting.”

Her career has been anything but ephemeral. In 2011, Rae, then a cash-strapped office temp worker, created the YouTube series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. She crowdfunded more than $56,000 to finish its first season, then partnered with Pharrell Williams to produce a second. Three years later, HBO greenlit her next series, Insecure, which continued her awkward adventures. The show, which ran for five seasons and rang up multiple Emmy nominations (including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actress) led to an estimated $40 million, five-year deal with Warner Bros. Discovery that included first-look rights to Rae's movie ideas.