We were lucky to catch up with Adryana Walter recently and have shared our conversation below.

Adryana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I wish I could have gotten a head start on my career much sooner than when I did. Unfortunately for me I did not have a very supportive family. I was the kind of kid that enjoyed cutting my dolls/Barbie’s hair, putting on their makeup with markers, painting their hair with paints, etc. which always led me to getting into trouble, and I never understood why. Jump to few years later when I was a teenager and I started exploring different looks on myself, whether it be with my hair or makeup; once again the family was not amused. My family made it very clear from the start that “there is no future in the arts” so I ended up trying to work at “normal” jobs, but I either hated them or I was never any good at them. I waited until my late 20’s to finally seek out a career that I enjoyed doing, I muted all negative comments from family, and went on to do things my way. My very supportive husband gave me all the motivation I needed to start this journey. I am very proud of where I am today, but I sometimes wonder if I could be further in my career had I not listened to family and went with my gut instinct.

Adryana, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I began my journey in 2007 at Netherworld Haunted House doing special effects makeup and learning from several classes taught by Roy Wooley (Face Off season 3 & 5). In 2009, I began working for Kellyn Willey of PinUp Girl! Cosmetics which specializes in the many looks of traditional 40’s and 50’s style hair and makeup. This led me to doing hair and makeup for The DVI Group for several commercials, as well as many other movies that were being filmed in the Atlanta area.

In 2013 I expanded my talents by registering at The Paul Mitchell School and graduated in 2014 top of the class. I obtained my Master Cosmetologist license and began working at ULTA. After only one year, I decided to run my own business and started DarkSide Shears, which was an on-call service that catered to disabled people incapable of leaving their house. By far, my favorite part about being in this industry is being able to help men and women from all walks of life feel confident and beautiful.

Throughout my journey, I worked in other salons like Toni&Guy and Mae Magnifique and also taught a specialty class about Pin Up style hair and make-up at The Paul Mitchell School in Atlanta. As of 2020, I have been part of the MarieMarie Salon in Candler Park and their amazing team of talented stylists excited for new adventures, to transform more people, and to always learn all that I can from this industry.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal one day is to teach creative colour for stylist that may be struggling with patterns, color theory, lightning process, placement, etc or for stylist that want to continue their education with creative colours.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Word of mouth is so crucial for creative careers, sure there is social media, but unless people search specific artist very rarely do the ones that don’t have over 10k followers get the recognition they deserve. Talking to people will create more networks than you can ever imagine, supportive friends that help spread the word for you is always a plus. Give out as many business cards as you can, I always carry a stack with me, if anyone ever compliments my haircut/colour I just automatically give them a card and tell them to check out my IG page or to come and see me at my salon.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viol3tgrimm/

Image Credits
All pictures taken by me