We recently connected with Brynlee Handy and have shared our conversation below.

Brynlee, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I’ve held a lot of jobs over the years that felt safe, but deeply unsatisfying. For a long time, I couldn’t understand why it felt like I was somehow pretending to be an employee – going through the motions but feeling like, somehow, there had to be more. Taking the leap from a stable, yet boring position can be one of the most daunting decisions for any creative to make, but not enough people talk about the relief and excitement that comes along when you realize you can do it. Turns out, it isn’t asking too much to want to make enough money to survive while doing what you love. I wake up excited every day to connect with new people and express my creativity through the work I do. I feel very lucky to earn a full-time living from creative work. You can do it, if you’re wondering, and I promise it will feel just as amazing as you hope it will.

Brynlee, 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?

My name is Brynlee and I am a content creator and wedding makeup artist based in Oklahoma City! I graduated from The University of Oklahoma in 2020, during the height of the pandemic which made entering the workforce seem daunting if not impossible. I decided to start making thrifting content on Instagram and TikTok which led to my first partnership with Goodwill of Central Oklahoma in 2021. This was also the year I publicly came out and started dating my now-fiancée Dylan, so a lot of my content started being centered around queer visibility and LGBTQ+ activism. Since then, I’ve gotten some runway experience, more brand deals, and started an online secondhand shop – Dirty Martini Vintage. I’m now excited to offer curated vintage style boxes, personal styling services, and personal shopping services in addition to the wedding services I offer through Beauty by Brynlee.

I grew up being scared of what would happen if I was ever to be my true self. That being said, I’m so proud of the growth I’ve experienced as a person, and as a business owner, since moving to a new city and putting myself out there in ways I haven’t ever had the courage to before.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The year I graduated college was when I started asking myself hard questions. Apart from wondering about a post-pandemic world, that sounded like: What do I want to do for money? Where do I want to live? Who do I want to be? And I realized that when it came to gut instincts, mine was gone. Had it eroded over the years or did I ever have one at all? I still don’t know. I had just graduated with a journalism degree, but after working in a related field for my last two years of schooling I was already showing signs of burnout. I was two years into dating a guy I knew deep down I wasn’t in love with. I had just moved back in with my parents after getting used my city-girl life. What did I want, though?

None of it, actually. I got so caught up in playing the part of the perfect daughter, friend, student, or girlfriend, that I forgot who I even was or had ever wanted to be. The pandemic, for me, became about re-familiarizing myself with who I am at the core, rediscovering what I actually liked or didn’t, and how things really made me feel. I started becoming myself when I was able to take off all the other opinions and expectations I had been wearing for 22 years.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

What I hope anyone can take away from interacting with me, my content, or my art is that the purest form of beauty comes from being exactly who you were born to be. There is no shame, and absolutely no mistake, in being yourself. Your art is special because of your story and the experiences that allowed you to create it.

Contact Info:

• Website: brynleehandy.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/brynleehandy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brynleehandy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brynlee-handy-she-her-a08934155/

Image Credits
Betsy Dutcher Photo, Madison Claire Photography, Jessi Chapman Photography, The House Creates