We recently connected with Ashley Johnsen and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally is in 2017 when I was going through a tough time in my marriage. I am now divorced but found out that my ex-husband was unfaithful. At the time, I decided to pour my energy into keeping busy by continuing to pursue my passion – sharing outfit inspiration and affordable fashion. I began to photograph my outfits and contact the PR departments of brands I loved for potential collaborations. I would post my outfits on Instagram and other social media accounts, tagging the brands and using relative hashtags. Slowly, brands/vendors started to reach out more frequently for collaborations. It is now 8 years later and I have formulated my brand into an LLC and work on a continuous basis with some amazing vendors, mostly through Amazon fashion!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am 36 years old and live on Long Island, New York. I have an undergraduate degree in Childhood Education and a Master’s Degree in Special Education. I have worked in an elementary school for over 10 years, working primarily with special needs children. While my passion lies in the education field, I discovered my love for fashion influencing, my latest passion, when I was going through a tough time personally. In 2017, I found out that my ex-husband was unfaithful. I redirected my grief and sadness by seeking the opportunity to use fashion influencing as a creative outlet. I began to style and photograph affordable fashion outfits from brands like Amazon Fashion and Nordstrom. The more I posted outfits to my social media accounts, vendors began to reach out for collaborations. It is now 8 years later and I have formed my brand into an LLC and work with many of the same vendors on a repeat basis. They will send me fashion items such as clothing/shoes/accessories to style and create content with, mostly for posting to social media or creating UGC videos (user generated content). My goal is to always remain as authentic/organic as possible when creating content. I select the items very carefully when working with vendors to ensure that they are pieces I will wear on a regular basis and incorporate into my everyday life. I share my OOTD (outfit of the day) on my social media on a daily basis, so my style remains relative to the occasion/season/time of year. Finding cute, stylish pieces at a pricepoint most people feel comfortable spending is my goal & which is why working with Amazon has been so successful thus far!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a fashion influencer is that the work I put into creating content never feels like work; When you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life! It is very time consuming especially while teaching full-time. It is a 24/7 job where you have to be an effective communicator and quick responder when corresponding with brands/vendors/followers. I also love how rewarding it is to have the creative control when developing content. I enjoy how I can style the item(s) and film content almost anywhere as long as I have my phone and tripod.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The goal driving my creative journey is to eventually become a full-time fashion influencer. I love the hustle in working two full-time jobs now but love that the influencing career has more flexibility. It’s not structured like a typical 9-5 job where most of the work gets done within certain hours. As long as I meet the deadlines and requirements for collaborations, I have the freedom to post as little or as much as I’d like!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleyjennanewyork
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ashleyjennanewyork
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ashleyjennanewy0rk
  LTK: https://www.shopltk.com/explore/ashleyjennaNY/
  Amazon storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/ashleyjennanewyork