We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Vanessa Barnes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Vanessa , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?

I do manage my day to day activities on Social Media. When I work on special projects for fashionmixtape.com, I do hire a digital marketing specialist. I have had success with Sakura Marketing (www.sakuramarketingfirm.com).

Andrea Romero, and her team, helped tremendously on brand awareness. As a result, the site received the first social media verification on Pinterest. Having an indie luxury eyewear brand, your items are set at a higher price.

The precision of quality counts, our eyewear frames takes a few days to make. If lenses are colored, they may take up to a week!

Having a verification solidified, the built trust of our consumer demographic. I am looking forward, to when I reach the goal, of having my social media managed fulltime!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I got into fashion by simply learning the curriculum. I decided to take an introductory fashion class as an elective in college. After learning about the overall business structure, of the fashion industry. I decided to major in retail marketing.

Everything else fell into place. I have had the opportunity to work on music videos and local tv. Which would further me into visual merchandising, to assistant buying. Starting the fashion blog, helped in assisting my passion for growing my career.

The work experience, would then eventually lead me into having an eyewear company. Which is something I never intended on doing. It’s funny where life leads you.

What I am most proud of is our ethics! @shopfashionmixtape, is an indie luxury boutique eyewear made in the USA , with transparency. The eyewear is made slow, sweatshop free.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I built my audience simply through blogging. I started out locally in San Diego, and grown my audience into fashion capitals in Europe and currently budding into Asia.

My advice is to keep going, most brands who want to work with influencers on a social media platform. Will begin to see results, in a few years play the long game. I think people who want instant gratification is partly to blame.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

To be quite frank, the entire journey has been resilient. If I would’ve listened to anyone who doubted me from my early beginnings, I wouldn’t be where I am.

I did not have any connections in fashion. I have been fortunate to learn from mentors. Now the eyewear is just launched, on a UK platform with London Accessory Fashion Week.

Contact Info:

• Website: fashionmixtape.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/shopfashionmixtape, https://instagram.com/fashionmixtape
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/shopfashionmixtape, https://facebook.com/fashionmixtape
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/fashionmixtape

Image Credits
Getty