Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Aimee Nielsen. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Aimee, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Quite honestly, learning my crafts of art, fashion, and music has been nothing but hard work and sacrifice. At points in time, I didn’t know how to sketch, sew, or how to play any instruments. For example, less than a year ago, I picked up playing the guitar again starting from almost square one. After countless hours, I am able to play and write songs on the guitar. Learning certain crafts simply takes hard work, passion, and dedication. I subscribe to the idea that if you do something little every day to work on your craft those little things will build into big things. I’ve also always had the mindset that if I set my mind on something I can do it.

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

I am originally from Iowa. I grew up playing many sports and being involved in music at a young age-choir, violin and piano. Some of the creative things I’m doing now, were previously not a thought in my mind and those passions didn’t come to fruition until later in my life. Or at least maybe I thought someone like me from a small town in Iowa couldn’t really pursue some creative things I dreamed of doing. Before pursuing some of my creative endeavors I had gotten a track and cross country scholarship at the University of South Dakota, went to law school , and after that practiced law for a long while in Miami, FL. It wasn’t until I moved to Miami, where I got involved in modeling and creative circles, that I realized I wanted to be involved in creative endeavors.

Regarding my fashion design pursuits, I really couldn’t shake different ideas for clothing I had. I then just started sewing and making my own clothes. I randomly applied to the top fashion schools not really expecting to get in, and I got into all of them. I decided to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City to get a degree in fashion design and art. While I was in New York City attending fashion school I had also started my fashion design businesses. I took every opportunity I could to show my designs at runway shows and to make my own designs outside of my school classwork. Since that time, I built the ‘Aimee Nielsen’ brand as menswear and womenswear mixed ready-to-wear, accessories, couture and custom clothing that I design and hand sew myself. I hope one day to expand into footwear as I attend the University of the Arts in London for footwear design after I had left my legal career in Miami. Most recently, my designs have been shown on the runway at London Fashion Week and have been featured in various magazine publications consistently for the past 5 years. I also design custom designs for celebrities and musicians. My ‘Nielsena Sport’ brand is in the process of being re-launched this fall where it will be streetwear for men and women. I aim to create designs that are different and make the wearer feel good, comfortable, while making a beautiful fashion statement. My favorite techniques in fashion design are hand embroidery and hand draping. I am always inspired by history, art, and music.

Over the years I have also created custom art pieces consisting of paintings and also mixed-media art pieces. Most recently, I completed a custom art piece made of thousands of guitar-picks. When I first went to art school, I absolutely did not know how to sketch. Since then, my art has been featured in galleries such as the Gallery at FIT in New York City. Homing in on my art craft has been challenging, rewarding, and something I will continue. I love seeing a blank canvas and picking up a paint brush or guitar picks to create something new.

I currently reside in Nashville, Tennessee. Before I made the move to Nashville, I had started getting back to my music that I had stopped doing for years. My grandfather passing away combined with a good friend in Miami who encouraged me to get back to my music were the catalysts for me to start up my music again. I initiated writing songs and poems to deal with the loss of my grandfather, who I was very close with. In the full year before I moved to Nashville, I started writing songs and picked back up my guitar, violin, piano and singing. After doing this, I couldn’t believe that I let that part of me slip away for so long. It’s been so healing and rewarding for me to get back to my music. I am currently working on recording a two-part EP, with the first part to be released in early summer called “High Hopes (part I)”. Both EP’s will be in the country/rock genre and focus on themes of love, loss, certain struggles, healing and overall having high hopes for people in different situations only to be let down. I am very excited for this next chapter of creating music.

I will continue to pursue all my creative pursuits as I don’t subscribe to the idea that one should waste talents given. Life is short and I want to continue to create art, fashion, and music when I can and release them to the universe. I am excited for what the future holds in my creating new art, fashion, and music.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think overall society and fellow creatives can be more kind and understanding. Particularly, I see a lot of bullying and negativity on social media when an artist or creative puts their art into the world. Many people do not understand the courage and hard work going on behind the scenes of creatives before they release what they are working on out into the universe for everyone to see or hear. A creatives work is quite literally a piece of their soul being set free for public consumption. Art, no matter what kind, is very subjective and personal to everyone. So, it stands to reason that some art or music is not everyone’s cup of tea. What I have a hard time understanding a lot of times is the extra step some people take to go out of their way to publicly cut down a creative releasing their art. I think every creative has experienced this negativity in some way, shape or form. What a lot of people don’t realize is how much a simple positive comment of encouragement can mean to creatives and inspire them to continue pushing forward on their creative journey.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is bringing an idea or song to life that didn’t previously exist and putting it out there in the universe with the hopes that it will inspire, affect someone in some way, or give a new perspective. Being creative is also simultaneously a kind of therapy for me that allows a safe space for myself alone to be free and create. Being a creative gives me fulfillment in that I am living a full life with the time I have and that I am not wasting certain talents I’ve been given.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aimeenielsen.com and www.aimeenielsenmusic.com
• Instagram: @aimeenielsendesign and @aimeenoriginal
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aimeenielsendesign/ and https://www.facebook.com/people/Aimee-Nielsen-Music/61552886402281/?mibextid=ZbWKwL
• Youtube: @aimeenielsen_musicdesign (https://www.youtube.com/@aimeenielsen_musicdesign)

Image Credits