We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Destiny Brown. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Destiny below.
Destiny , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?
For painting, my first ever client, that wasn’t a friend or a family friend, was someone in South Carolina. So my first customer was an out of state customer, which completely blew my mind! It was such a big deal and an accomplishment for me! Being able to ship my very first painting off, I just knew I could do anything. Tattooing wise, my first customer was probably this girl that wanted a small coverup. That was my first time ever doing a coverup tattoo. I don’t even think I told her that, but man.. that was a blessing, as well. Even now, it always blows my mind to see people, rather I know them or not, ask for a painting, a tattoo, their shoes costumed, whatever. It’s just always an new experience. A new blessing. I’m always appreciative.
Destiny , 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?
Since I could hold a pencil in my hand, I’ve drawn on everything. Walls, dolls, dressers, whatever. So going into high school, my art teacher suggested that I give painting a shot, but I was already insecure, so painting just seemed like another layer being added onto that insecurity, so I basically ignored her suggestion, but she ended up emailing my mom about it, so around Christmas time, back when I celebrated Christmas, my mom got me a watercolor set, a canvas, and a easel and told me that she believed that I could do. That seemed like all the motivation that I could need to even jump start into the art world. I changed my medium to acrylic and fell in love with the idea of creating. Around junior year of high school, I decided that I wanted to learn and conquer all forms of art and tattooing was a big one. I told my sister, Alexis, around the time that I was 17, that I was going to tattoo eventually. She told me that she’ll be the first person that I tattoo & by the time I was 22, my mom got me my first tattoo machine and it was a wrap after that. I hit a few bumps. A few moments of insecurity slowed my journey down and kind of made me pause from pursing either passion, but with prayer, fasting, and a family full of supporters, I was able to get out of my funk and I was able to get back into what I loved doing. Getting closer to God changed my mindset about a lot of things, but mostly how I seen my self and the pressure I placed upon my own shoulders. I’m able to give people art in different forms & that’s all I ever wanted to do in life. I’ve been able to paint and tattoo things that I couldn’t have even imagined would come from me. I’m able to be myself and do what I love and that alone is a blessing. I don’t compare myself to anyone else, so I wouldn’t know what others do that I don’t, but what I can say about my brand and myself personally is that I absolutely adore what I do. I love being able to create and speak to people. It’s a dream come true.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Having my small business, when I would talk to some of my family and discuss their business and they’ll ask about mine, they would always encourage me to increase my prices. To really tax. They’ll say “If they’ll spend it for Gucci, they’ll spend it on you and your brand”. But I’m not “Gucci” nor do I want to be. The worst thing to do, especially when it comes to your own business and things that people have never done before, is to ask them for advice, especially if they’re not seeking God. Everybody’s business is ran different. People are so focused on making money and keeping up with other’s that they miss out on the opportunity to be a blessing within their own business. I ask God and God only how to run my business, the prices, etc. And keep my eyes focused on him and not on other people’s business.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
To keep in contact with my clients, I usually just message them or text them. I try to keep in contact and have a safe ground for them to reach out if they need anything or have any questions. For my brand, concerning the tattoo area of it, I usually do free touch-ups and give a small bag of things to take care of their tattoo with. Concerning shoes, touch-ups are free. Paintings are a little bit more tricky. I usually give deals after the first painting is bought.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @dessy_vo