We were lucky to catch up with Donna Feldman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Donna , appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I believe my parents instilled a lot of positive things that helped show me the importance of work ethic, of having integrity, surrounding yourself with loyal friends, and always putting family first.

Donna , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started in this industry when I was studying fashion marketing and business management at FIDM. I became a fit model for many fashion brands, and that was a good way to get an inside look at the process of making an item of clothing. I had an agent that wanted me to do print work as well, and once I started it ended up being a full-time career where I traveled doing editorials, catalogs, ad campaigns, TV, commercials, TV, hosting, and acting projects as well. At the start of Covid I had a lot of brands reach out to me wanting me to create content, and I realized that with my years of experience as a model and with all the shoots I basically produced for many clients without realizing it, it made so much sense to start a production company. I have always recommended the best, Makeup Artist, Stylist, photographers, post production, people to clients, and often came up with a creative direction for their campaigns. It was a natural fit for me to start to help brands with these things since I had been doing that anyway for so long.
I realized that a lot of my modeling portfolio pics and inspiration shots that clients used to show creative team of what they want the pics to look like were often photos from shoots I produced and was creative director of. I knew I was on to something and this is where Straw Hat Productions was born.
I absolutely love creating, I love helping to elevate a brand, grow their sales, and see the creative vision come to life!

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Rich Dad Poor Dad was one of the books I read that inspired me greatly. I remember after the first big national tv commercial I booked I ended up investing in a house in Texas. I’m also greatly inspired by Tony Robbins and have been to his seminar before which was very motivating for me business wise

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is that every day is different which I love! It’s never boring because you never know what new opportunity will come your way, you never know what exciting new part of the world your work will bring you to, and you never know how much positive influence you will have in helping to grow a brand’s image and exposure. It’s exciting to experience all of that.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @donnafeldman and @strawhat_productions

Image Credits
Photography by Michael Blank/Straw Hat Productions
Fashion styling by Angelique Salzmann @whitemonkeystyle and Hair by Coco Alexander @cocoalexanderlive