We recently connected with Alisha Jones and have shared our conversation below.

Alisha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I’m the happiest and most anxious I’ve ever been and I believe most creatives + freelancers will say the same!

I thanks my stars regularly, but I’m happiest when I get to collaborate with fellow mongers, artists, and other creatives. Many moments of joy come from brainstorming new pop ups with chefs (unleashed from their kitchens and ready to play/cope during the pandemic), talking about color + composition with photographers, and advocacy + justice with florists. The life of a creative is one of the few paths (that I can think of) that allow the mind to meander and permit adults to play.

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’m a freelance cheesemonger by trade, but much more than that it seems.

Before becoming a cheesemonger I was a member of Americorps, an underground party organizer, a Religion + Anthropology major at Depaul University, and all sorts of other things before my first job working with cheese at The Publican + Publican Quality Meats in Chicago. I fell in love with the meditative aspect of cheese care, a welcome respite from busy 300+ cover brunches.

From The Publican I went on to work at a few well known Chicago restaurants, had a stint behind the counter at Whole Foods + Beautiful Rind, started my own cheese program at Marz Community Brewing, competed in The Cheesemonger Invitational, judged for the ACS Judging & Competition in 2022, dipped my toe into sales, and created an underground cheese plate business under the name Immortal Milk. There’s a bit of food styling, tarot writing, and teaching in there as well but I think you get the drift.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My social media following is small by comparison to other influencers (I’m at about 5k)- but my audience is incredibly engaged. I’ve organically grown my social media presence by following other folks I’m interested in (in *and* outside of my industry), reposting work I enjoy- and writing *authentically*. Folks these days are incredibly sensitive to pitches, clout chasing, etc- and are much more into the idea of engaging with a *human* rather than a brand. Give them that.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

In March of 2020 I had to pivot from heading a cheese program at a bustling Chicago Brewery (where I also managed at) to selling cheese plates + experiences through underground channels and Instagram. Having my main source of income vanish (Chicago was one of the many cities to shut down indoor dining and extend bar curfews) was a head trip- and ultimately the push I needed to create Immortal Milk.

Contact Info:

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

Image Credits

Alisha Norris Jones
Jack Li
Alex Wallbaum
Eileen Tjan
Timothy Musho