We recently connected with Michaela Brown and have shared our conversation below.

Michaela , appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

One risk I can vividly remember was the time I went skydiving back in 2021. Backstory: earlier in the year of 2021, the plan was to do something big for my 21st birthday. As 21 is one of those monumental coming-of-age years, I wanted to do something that I’d always remember. So I thought to myself, why not go skydiving? It always seemed so cool to me and like it was an exhiliarting yet anxiety producing experience. Since I knew I wanted to spend my birthday weekend in Charlotte, I chose to go to Piedmont Skydiving. I asked my best friend Kayla if she wanted to join me in this first-time experience, and she excitedly said yes. I purchased tickets for us; then the date and time was finalized as Saturday, October 23rd at 1:00 p.m. would be the day of the “big jump”. The day finally arrived, and it was absolutely beautiful, full of sunshine and an all clear sky. After our gear is on, Kayla and I ride in a mini-bus that’s transporting us to the small plane we’ll be jumping out of. We get on the plane strapped to our flight instructor, and it starts to ascend. My heart is racing, my stomach is turning, my palms are sweating, and I’m smiling ear to ear out of joy and nervousness. After a couple of people ahead of me jump out, it’s finally my turn. My flight instructor scoots us over to the edge of the plane. I look down, realizing what’s in store for me. I took a deep breath, placed my hand over my heart, and allowed myself to let go as I was thrust out of the plane. The free fall was the most terrifying aspect. But once the parachute was pulled, I was just soaring in the sky, and that became the most beautiful part. After what seemed like forever, I safely landed on the ground. I’m so happy for not only making a lasting memory with my best friend but for pushing myself out of my comfort zone. This risk has shaped me into being a more daring and adventurous individual.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Sure! Hi everyone! My name is Michaela Brown. I am a Misa Hylton Fashion Academy graduate. I currently attend Wake Tech Community College, where I’m earning my Associate’s degree in Fine Arts in Visual Arts. I intend to transfer to a university to gain my bachelor’s degree. I’m a true creative at heart. The idea of being able to test, try, and develop new and unexpected works of art excites me. As a kid, I remember always tinkering in creative pursuits like sewing, baking, crotcheting, painting, drawing, and singing. Once I became interested in sports and science, I dedicated less time to developing my skills in my artistic abilities. However, after some deep thought and going through a tough medical program, I realized a career within the arts is what I want for myself. Recently, I’ve decided to pursue a full-time career in fashion as a costume designer and personal stylist. My goal is to become a world-renowned costume designer who creates and collaborates with other creatives to bring visions, meaningful characters, and stories to life. As a personal stylist, I aim to solve my future clients’ problems by assisting them in bringing their style dreams to fruition. My process will include understanding an individual’s wardrobe woes, bringing clarity by defining their style, and developing a look that makes them feel confident every day. My goal is to push my future clients to become more fearless in wearing unconventional pieces that they’ve always wanted to wear but never knew how to style. I’m most proud of the woman I am, am becoming, and am learning to show up as. I want people to know that my brand is all about “pushing the envelope” in your look and yourself. I’m all about being playful and daring while staying true to who you are!

Have you ever had to pivot?

So, I recently had to make a pivot after not doing well in medical imaging school. Before making the switch to pursue a career in costume design, I was earning my degree to become a sonographer. A sonographer is a medical professional who uses imaging equipment that will create internal images of the body through the use of sound waves. This was a difficult program that I’m glad I got the opportunity to experience, but I realized it wasn’t what I truly wanted at the time. After some deep reflection, I concluded that my soul was calling me to pursue my dream career within fashion now and not later. While I was relieved to have gotten this honest with myself, I was anxious about how I was going to accomplish my dream since the original plan for getting there had changed. However, with the help of my faith and my trusted therapist, I’m learning to embrace uncertainty and redirection. So with that, I’ve developed the best course of action to take, thanks to the guidance of my school’s career and success coach. Currently, I am searching for volunteer opportunities/internships/ projects I can get involved in to build my connections and resume, reaching out to resources within my area, reading fashion design-related books, and dedicating time to cultivate the skills that I’ve researched are necessary to be a great costume designer.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

As someone new to the art and creative scene, I feel like society can best support artists in a variety of ways. Some ways can include showing up to events where upcoming artist are showcasing their art and being genuinely interested in learning more about their work, sharing their designs and tagging on social media to make others aware of them, purchasing items made by local creatives so they can earn income, conversing with artists to see if they need help in promoting their business, and donating your space (if possible) to hold events for new artist to share their pieces of art are great options. I recently attended First Friday in Downtown Raleigh, and it was beautiful to see art galleries allowing local artists to present their work to the public. I’m not sure if this is done in other places, but I hope this can become the norm.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mthewardrobegem.format.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/m.thewardrobe.gem/?igsh=MTF4dWpoY2RhODF1bQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaela-brown-749424275
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mthewardrobegem