We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Domonique Bechtold . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Domonique below.
Alright, Domonique thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been 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? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
Yes, I have been blessed to make a full-time living from permanent makeup. From the start, I was dedicated and driven. When my mind is set to something, I am pretty consistent until I reach my goals but that is not to say the road was easy and without struggle. Any artist will tell you, it is hard to make a full time living off of your art. You have to find passion and purpose in what you are doing, without that – it will be harder to be successful and nearly impossible because you wont have the desire deep within to keep pursuing your dreams. I often like to say “You can have anything you want, it just depends on how bad you want it.” Ive also had someone very wise say to me in the past, when i needed it most, “When you love something the money will follow.” I know it is rare that one finds they’re passion within a career, that is a blessing and it is okay if a job is just a job because some people find their passion and drive in other aspects of their life. I have been blessed throughout my career to maintain a steady business and a do not ever take that for granted, I think consistency is extremely important in building any brand, business or passion.. I think for me my success can be attributed to maybe and hopefully that people can see my passion in my work, can feel that I care when I speak to them, and believe that its more than just permanent for me and many others. If you are in a season of uncertainty or doubt, lean into yourself and find what truly fuels your fire, I think that is always a good place to start and I oftentimes remind myself of my why as well in times of struggle.
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?
For as long as I can remember, any element of “beauty” has captivated me. Ive always had a deep love for makeup and as a young child and teenager found it as a creative outlet to express myself. I have always loved the challenge it brought to me to better my my skills, and the satisfaction it brought me when i looked in the mirror and was proud of my art. For some, makeup is a symbol of vanity, or an act of trying to cover up imperfections but for me, it has always been art. After high school I decided to go to college and pursue a more traditional career because I felt like it made the most sense for me. I was never someone who struggled in school, I loved to learn and excelled in academics but that side of me never felt like it was a true representation of who I was and what I was passionate about. When I was in college, I struggled to find peace in any career path I tried to imagine other than beauty. I truly took a leap of faith and decided to leave college and go to cosmetology school in hopes of being a makeup artist or doing something in the beauty industry. After cosmetology school i did a little bit of everything, makeup, skincare, waxing, spray tans, hair, you name it, I tried it all. Then, one day back in 2015, I saw Microblading online, it was the first time I had ever heard of it and really didn’t know much at all about permanent makeup. I had this feeling in my gut that I wanted and needed to learn how to do it, I had a strong feeling I would really enjoy. It. From there, I took a class and from that moment on I was hooked and completely obsessed with the permanent makeup industry and art of it all. This career changed my life financially and blessed me in so many more ways. Doing microblading and permanent makeup is very challenging and there’s so much background knowledge that goes into it, I remember feeling like I wanted to know every ounce of education I could possibly learn. From there, I felt like I found my passion because not only could I be creative but I could also lean into my love for learning to better my craft, and best of all I was able to make people feel beautiful. Shortly after starting my career in Permanent Makeup i was able to become an educator for one of the most well known companies in the industry, Everlasting Brows. This new layer to my career fulfilled me in so many ways but the fact that I could now help others find their passion and learn about the services that brought me so much fulfillment was completely and totally full circle. I was an educator for Everlasting Brows for 5 years then, almost 2 years ago went on to open a Studio, Academy and Distribution company called íZORA. I tend to forget to feel proud of myself but I am proud of my accomplishments and proud that my clients, students and colleagues see me as someone who is trustworthy and have continued to support me. Community is a blessing in itself and this career has brought me to so many different places and allowed me to meet so many different people which I will always be grateful for.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
In my opinion, I think artists and creative people should be given the time of day to be noticed and feel appreciated. In a world full of busy people being dominated by social media and instant gratification, it is easy to walk past or scroll past beautiful creations that took artists time and thought to create. It could be any form of art, traditional art, digital art, beauty industry professionals, developers, architects etc. All of these people keep the creative ecosystem thriving and they all bounce creativity off one another. Next time you come across any form of creativity, notice it and pay appreciation to its beauty or uniqueness. I think we can all find inspiration when others display their passion and talents. Consider shopping small in the world shopping, rotating businesses you are shop[ing with, supporting artists by giving thoughtful recommendations to friends and family. Sometimes it only takes one persons support to keep someone’s dream going. Having a creative mind is amazing but it also has its struggles and can be hard to keep you passion and purpose alive. We should always be kind, show love and respect those around us because you never know what someone is going through and how much that could mean to them.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
The position I am in with my career right now is a very new space that I am still navigating but with that I am developing more goals I am working to meet. I am still a permanent makeup artist and educator but I am also now a business owner. I have a beautiful studio called íZORA Studio, with my business partner housing amazing artists who are like my family and i truly love and care about. I want the best for them and I want them to all be happy. Owning the studio has ignited a new passion inside of me to want to see these other women succeed and experience the same blessings within the industry I have. I truly am thankful for such an amazing team of loyal and talented women. Additionally, I have an academy called íZORA Academy where we teach all aspects of cosmetic tattooing. My goal for the academy is to continue to work hard and create a space that is well known for top notch classes thar being offered to help people find their passion and learn these amazing services. I have some other unspoken goals for the academy as well and look forward to where this journey will take it. Lastly, I have a distribution company called íZORA Distribution which houses all of our íZORA brand professional products that have been created as well as other brands in the industry that I love and trust. My mission for this aspect of my business is to continue to grow the customer base and continue to create good quality and loved products that artists around the world can use. I fell thankful for the position I am in and feel inspired by all of the possibilities.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.izorabrand.com
- Instagram: Www.instagram.com/Domonique.izora
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glambardomonique/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@domoniqueizora88
- Other: Tik Tok: Domonique.izora Booking: https://www.vagaro.com/izorabrand
Image Credits
Photo credit: Heather Poole