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

Catherine, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

As creatives and entrepreneurs, every project we embark on has some form of significance to us, some sort of connection to what drives us, what fuels our creative souls. When that connection is missing, finding the energy to power through the hurdles and obstacles we will face on any large project can seem overwhelming and daunting.

The most recent project I completed for Lighthouse Styling and Beauty Consultants was a runway show for the Let’s Do This Fashion Show. We partnered with Sadidi Wear Designs to highlight styles utilizing the 2023 Viva Magenta color scheme. I’m not a stranger to the fashion runway, having styled jewelry and coordinated the presentation of more than 10 previous runways and three motion pictures utilizing her unique style sense with Lighthouse Styling and Beauty jewelry acquisitions. What made this runway unique was that I exclusively designed all of the jewelry pieces, and the groundbreaking partnership with Sadidi Wear Designs to create unique fashions to highlight the jewelry designs. In all, we showcased seven pieces; each with its own creation story from inception to runway.

But the significance of this runway runs deeper than just the creation of these unique styles…for me, this was an introduction of my own talent, strength and tenacity to the rest of the world, transitioning from sales and styling to designer and creator. This showcase would mark my first successful presentation after breaking free from a lifetime of narcissistic relationships. This showcase was an exploration of the creativity that has been confined, controlled, bullied, belittled, and hidden for more than 20 years. The accomplishment of our successful runway was in direct contradiction to everything I had been told about my talents in the past. It was a rebirth; the butterfly emerging from her cocoon, and a re-definition of who I am and who I am capable of being.

Catherine, 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 venture into the fashion and jewelry industry began as a direct sales representative in 2015 with a company focusing on making fine jewelry affordable for the everyday woman. Their focus was on creating pieces in line with the most recent trends out of the highest quality materials at a price that the average working woman could afford. I learned a great deal about the materials involved in the products I was selling through company training, and how to identify high quality pieces from those made with lower end materials. I often attended different in person events as a direct sales vendor and loved sharing my knowledge of the level of quality of our pieces. People were often so impressed by my knowledge of the products that they would ask if I had made them; my response was always that “I leave that to the professionals” because I did not feel I had the artistry or knowledge for designing and creating my own high quality pieces. I found my heart breaking as I watched customers, driven by their pocketbooks and their own value systems, fall in love with a high quality piece at my table only to walk to another table selling lower cost items. I have always believed that as women, we associate our value with the experience we have with our jewelry. We often tell ourselves that it is acceptable for our jewelry to tarnish, break, or have imperfections because we don’t deserve the higher quality, can’t afford it, or worse yet, it’s just not what “people like me” wear.

As luck would have it, one event coordinator reached out to me after I signed up to be a vendor and asked if I would be interested in styling for a runway in addition to my booth. As a direct sales vendor, it didn’t violate any rules, allowed me to showcase the designs I was working on, and sounded like it could be a lot of fun. I took a leap of faith, styled a runway with the pieces from my table, and had an epiphany; I could use the styling not only to sell the pieces, but to empower other women by giving them access to my inventory without having to purchase the pieces outright. I began to do two to three runways a year and monthly multiple photographer/multiple model photoshoots in addition to all of my vendor events.

Lighthouse Styling and Beauty was initially conceived to allow me to build upon my own styling talents to serve my community with not only my current direct sales inventory, but additional inventory pieces that I might find along the way that resonated with me. It also allowed me to rent pieces to individuals, not just sell. I was able to “safely” create art by partnering with area photographers, models, and hair and makeup artists. It even allowed me to begin styling jewelry for motion pictures. Yet I still did not feel I had the talent, skill, or resources to create my own pieces.

In 2019, I walked away from a failed marriage and a lifetime of manipulation and abuse. I had to redefine my sense of “self”; everything I thought I knew about myself was stripped away. I found myself rebuilding my knowledge of who and what I was and could do. It was at this point that a close friend put my first jewelry making supplies in my hands; and the result was amazing. It challenged the perfectionist in me. It challenged all the knowledge I had in my head of “high quality materials”. It created a launching point and the courage to reveal my creative spirit I in ways I would never have imagined before:

-Three motion pictures where my styling was highlighted
-The honor of making history as the host of the first Fashion Hub in the state of Arizona for Arizona Fashion Week 2022
-Featured on multiple podcasts and TV shows
-Styling and custom jewelry published in magazines in Great Britain and France

The rest is now history….with the best yet to come.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Two of my greatest passions are empowering others and creating art that reveals the beauty in everyday items. My jewelry designs and styling business bring me great joy by allowing me to combine these two passions into one focus. Not only do I have the honor of creating pieces that use high quality natural materials that highlight the beauty I see around me in the world, but I also have the immense pleasure of being able to use these jewelry pieces to empower others around me.

Jewelry is often the last piece added to a style. It can transform an outfit to a different era, it can embolden the wearer with confidence, or be the “finishing touch” to a special memory. While all of these are true of jewelry, as a society, we often minimize its impact on the individual wearing it. One of my greatest joys is watching the “transformation” after handing an individual a piece they never imagined wearing (whether due to cost or style), and seeing the complete attitude or confidence change come through in still or motion pictures. Those are the “magic” moments that make all the hard work, long hours, and blood, sweat and tears worth it.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My personal and business pivot was making the decision to walk away from a failed, toxic marriage and narcissistic relationships. I had been living in the shadows of narcissism for so long that I had absolutely no confidence in myself. I was trying to pour into others and empower others from a completely empty cup. My health was suffering, my business was suffering, and my personal life was non-existent. When I walked away I left many of my jewelry and business supplies because when you are trying to escape you only take what you can carry. I am blessed to have landed in such a nurturing environment. Now, armed with new jewelry tools, and a new sense of self, I am finally beginning to share what is in my cup again.

I am incredibly blessed to have had an amazing support system that immediately jumped into action when I walked away. They stood beside me and held me up as I fought to regain my sense of self; constantly holding a mirror of truth to all of the lies and manipulation that had taken root in my mind.

At each step of the healing process, they have helped me hold tight to the little victories, and encouraged me to find new ways of re-exploring my talents and passions to create new positive coping strategies and ways to rebuild from the ashes. Without the love and guidance of this beautiful support group, I am certain I would not have made it through the fire and devastation that ensued.

Successfully creating and showcasing my own work on the runway was a major victory in my journey. It stood in stark contrast to all of the negative things I had been told about my creativity and the sustainability of my talents outside of the “corporate” world.      

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lighthouse-sbc.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/lighthousestylingandbeauty
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/lighthousestylingandbeautyllc
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lighthousestylebc/

Image Credits
Photographer-Chriss Lay Media Models- Image 1-Catherine Dickson Image 2- jewelry Image 3-Yanellis Linares Image 4-Catherine Dickson and Anitra Ray Image 5-Yanellis Linares Image 6-Zoe Nicholas Image 7- Gabby D Barbosa