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

Ashley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I still remember being a teenager and being enthralled by fashion magazines. Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, I’d never seen the fashion displayed in these magazines in real life. I loved the way the editors captured words so beautifully about the people in the images and how the stylists created such amazing looks. I knew at my age and being in a single parent household, I couldn’t have the exact things to create those looks, but I could use my imagination to create looks inspired by the images. I would thrift and go to local affordable stores to create fashion looks. I went on to college to major in Communications and Professional Writing and I just knew after graduating that being an editor was on the horizons for me. Reality hit me like a ton of bricks after graduating when I couldn’t land my ideal job and I went on to work in a call center. I learned that everything has a purpose, though. I befriended a woman who encouraged me to share my love for beauty, fashion and writing online via my own blog. The idea of a blog was new to me, but in 2010, I went for it. I started the blog and just over two years later, I received my first payment for a brand campaign with Hanes. A few years later after working on various paid campaigns and seeing other bloggers I knew go into making this a full time career, I started to wonder if it could be a possibility for me as well. As time went on and payments started to increase from brands, I realized that I could do this! I took a major leap of faith in 2016 and I’ve been going ever since!

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 started FabEllis in 2010 as a place to share encouraging words along with affordable lifestyle, including beauty, travel and style. My mission has always been to show women how they can look and live fabulously on a budget. I grew up having a love of fashion, but having a limited budget allowed me to really foster a level of creativity that I wanted to show other women. My love for affordable style includes me showing how to save on retail products, how to incorporate affordable, thrifted items into your wardrobe, free/affordable things to do when you travel, etc. I also love showing items from Black Owned Businesses in my outfits as well.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I really enjoy my audience on social media. I enjoy them so much because I really feel like we are a community and I think that’s one of the best ways to build an audience online. I feel being personable, asking questions, and responding to comments and messages is the perfect way to foster a growing audience. Outside of that, realizing that your content doesn’t have to be perfect is key. People need authenticity more than anything online these days so I feel like it’s important to just be yourself. Have fun with it! Post images, videos and even memes that are relevant to your audience and brand. I would also say that being consistent is another important aspect. Consistency is different to everyone. For example, I do not post everyday on my social media; however, I try to consistently post 3-4 times a week. Your audience wants to see you and what you do. Don’t go so long in between posting that they forget who you are.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I feel that the most rewarding part of being a creative is being able to share what inspires me with people. I can’t tell you how good it feels to have an idea in your mind and bring it into fruition. Also, when people share how much something has helped or inspired them feels like such a reward. It’s indescribable.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.fabellis.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/iamfabellis
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/iamfabellis
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/iamfabellis

Image Credits
Tammy Torres Photography