We recently connected with Sophia Winter and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sophia, thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
I feel so fortunate to have parents who are immensely supportive and imaginative.
From an early age, I never liked doing what my peers were doing and I think my parents recognized this and fostered my desire to do things differently. Whether it was letting me dress myself from an early age or allowing me to explore non-traditional sports, my parents encouraged creative thinking and worked to mindfully create a home environment that reflected this. They helped me to become comfortable living outside of the “norm.”
However, they never made a big deal out of the fact that I liked to do things that other’s weren’t doing. I think this allowed me to purely explore what my intrinsic desires were rather than needing to then continually identify as the “different” or “unique” one. They never labeled me as being any “one thing.” The narrative in our household was to embrace being more than one thing.
So often, we see parents who stifle their children’s desires out of their own fears; fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, fear of the unknown, fear of financial struggle.
Imagine if some of the world’s greatest visionaries were forced into a profession that sealed their magic off from the world.
Imagine if Steven Spielberg’s mother hadn’t supported his creative endeavors and forced him into a career that cut him off from his creative life source. We would be missing out on some of the world’s greatest cinematic moments.
In my own life, there are times when I let the outside chatter or opinions dissolve the confidence I have in paving my own path. Whenever this happens, my parents are the first ones to remind me that the only thing standing between me and my desires are my own limiting beliefs.
It’s so imperative to have a few close individuals who are always there to remind you of your purpose, your resources, and your infinite capability to thrive in any circumstance. In short, it’s important to have someone who gives you perspective.
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.
I like to refer to my work as lifestyle and brand consulting.
On the lifestyle side, I help clients improve various aspects of their life such a relationships, self-image, diet, wellness, mindset, and style. I evaluate my client’s current circumstances, discuss their goals, and provide tangible steps and support to help make the desired changes. I incorporate creative problem solving, psychology, integrative wellness principles, and much more.
I found my way to this work through trial and error. I began my journey as a holistic health coach focusing primarily on diet, exercise, and integrative wellness.
I then narrowed my focus to being a connection coach: teaching clients how to effectively connect with themselves and others by strengthening communication skills and building confidence.
However, as time progressed, so did my business.
On the brand consulting side of things, I work with business owners to help them launch their product and/or services. My speciality is in the brainstorming phase; I love using what I’ve learned as a wellness/life coach to ask high-mileage questions that allow my clients to arrive at their own brilliant solutions and ultimately see situations from new perspectives.
I really geek out over the creative process of developing a brand. It felt inevitable that brand development would find its way into my professional wheelhouse at some point because it combines so many of my favorite things: visual aesthetics, interpersonal relationships, psychology, innovation, and creative thinking.
In addition to my work as a lifestyle and brand consultant, I also work as an art consultant through a company that a friend and I built called The Artizan Studios. We started as an online gallery, eventually launched an artist subscription program where we offered holistic support to artists of all ages and stages in areas such as marketing, branding, scaling, and so on.
My mom and I also collaborate to produce mixed media artwork that has some gallery representation throughout the Southeast. Our business goes by the name of C.S. Artwork.
Though I do many things that may appear seemingly unrelated on the surface, I’ve found that I get to exist within the same zone of creativity through everything I do.
Each role spills over into the other and I believe my multi-disciplinary background is what gives me an edge in my industries. I’m able to see situations from multiple perspectives and fuse my diverse learnings to ultimately help others achieve expansion. Whether it’s expanding the overall essence of a home by adding a piece of art, helping someone expand into their own limitless potential, or taking a brand from its genesis and expanding it into a market, the work is really quite similar.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I am constantly pivoting.
For so long, I thought I had to pick a lane and stay in it. However, the problem with this is that it doesn’t account for the fact that as humans, we are constantly evolving (ideally). We are receiving new information from countless sources, all the time.
Most of us receive this information, digest it, and come out a little different than before. I took my first job out of college because, at the time, I wanted to scale a career in the fashion industry.
Nine months in, I could see myself scaling a career in an industry I no longer wanted to be in. From there, I pivoted to the health and wellness industry. Working in the fashion industry had left me pretty burnt out so I turned to an industry that could help me heal and find better balance in my life.
Most of society’s narrative will tell you that pivoting means you’re unable to commit. I disagree (and not just because I like to pivot). I think when you are making the conscious and aligned choice to pivot, you are serving yourself and others in a big way. You are also exhibiting an amazing amount of self-trust and self-awareness.
After I pivoted from fashion to the health and wellness industry, I realized it was time to pivot again.
The lesson here, in my opinion, is to continue to listen to the cues you get from your body and your environment. Sometimes, we don’t know why we feel the way we do but if you can’t shake the feeling, it’s asking you to lean in.
I have a belief that our bodies are some of the most complex systems and computers in existence. Even our own consciousness can’t fully comprehend its magnificence.
If you’re in a position where your entire body and being is asking you to pivot, lean into that. Get curious, explore your options, find a way to craft a plan that feels good to your nervous system so that you can pivot into something new.
When I look back at my path and the many pivots along the way, I can see how interconnected they all were. I never would have thought that by listening to my gut and leaving an industry that left me burnt out, I would end up with multiple entrepreneurial ventures.
It’s so important to cultivate that kind of trust with yourself. You don’t have to know where you’re going to end up, you just have to make the next best decision at each turn; taking it one decision (or pivot) at a time.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
While I am mostly a solopreneur, The Artizan Studios was created with one of my best friends, Chloe Campbell.
We first met in 2013 at a SCAD summer camp. My parents encouraged my brother and I to sign up for some summer classes to enhance our resumes so we packed up and headed to Savannah, GA for a few weeks.
I enrolled in a fashion sketching course and a jewelry design course. I met Chloe on my first day in the jewelry class when I saw her from across the room and had a feeling that we could be friends. At the time, I didn’t have many friends back home in Tennessee so I was excited to make some long-distance friendships while at camp.
We became fast friends and I quickly realized she was one of the most creative and talented people I had ever met. The next day, she invited me to come have dinner with her family as she lived nearby.
A few months later, I invited her on a family trip to Maine and the rest is history! We stayed in touch throughout the remainder of high school and when I moved to Charleston, SC for college I drove to Savannah almost every weekend to visit Chloe and her family.
We fostered an incredible friendship over those years and always said that one day we would go into business together. In 2020, we had the idea to launch The Artizan Studios and began building our business during the COVID lockdown.
I am a huge believer in connecting with others by attending local events, finding workshops, joining online groups, traveling, etc. You never know when you might walk into a room and meet your future business partner!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sophiapwinter.com / www.theartizanstudios.com / www.c-s-artwork.com
- Instagram: @sophiapwinter
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiawinter/details/experience/
Image Credits
Laura Saur of LCS Studio in Charleston, SC (credit for 2 of the images)