We recently connected with Linda Marcus and have shared our conversation below.

Linda , appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I think it’s important to keep challenging yourself, especially as you age and life gets more comfortable or familiar. There is something about being in that uncomfortable spot where you don’t know what is going to happen or have little control over the outcome. Sometimes it’s how you pivot or how your view the challenge which can lead to the most growth. One of the times in which I did this was when I started a handbag and fashion design company. (I am a self taught designer and artist). I had adolescent kids at home and was looking for an outlet for my creative energy. I live in Milwaukee Wisconsin and there are not many options with regard to fashion. I decided if I couldn’t find something then, I’d make it. That lead to starting my handbag company called LMD, Linda Marcus Design. My bags sold and people kept asking for clothing and so I started making clothing, which lead to a gender neutral line of clothing.
As a challenge I tried out for Project Runway and I got on. It was 2016 and it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I had no formal training and I was competing against people who had been designing for a long time. I was way out of my comfort zone. I only lasted two challenges because I wasn’t “dramatic enough” and I made a few ” rookie” mistakes. Although I wasn’t happy about being kicked off, what it showed me is that it’s good to be in that uncomfortable position. I realized fashion was not my lane, but art was. I realized by taking this big risk it put me on the path to what I was meant to do which was art. It also taught me that the person who was holding me back from accomplishing more was the person in the mirror and I pledged to keep challenging myself from that day forward and get out of my own way.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I think my fearless curiosity is my strong suit. I am constantly creating new relationships with materials and ideas by testing them. It can happen in my studio and/or kitchen.( My kids call it ” the test kitchen”) I am fascinated by combining things which are not necessarily used together and creating something new. I think this comes from my background as a TV new journalist. I think of myself as a story teller. ( I was a working journalist for 15 years before having a family)
In journalism I told stories with words and video, with fashion it’s through fabric and silhouette and with art it is through material, process and form. I’ve always been interested in stories about the body and how the body moves through life.
After I got married, I started my fashion and design company LMD. My handbags sold but following my short stint on Project Runway, I realized I really enjoyed the problem solving aspect of creating. That was when I became a full time artist. Soon after that I became the co-creator and Art Director for an Art Hotel I designed with my husband called ” Saint Kate, the Arts hotel in Milwaukee Wisconsin.The hotel is one of the things I’m the most proud of. the hotel has won several design awards but I think what I am the most proud of is it’s support of local and regional artists. We often have exhibitions and events which highlight both performing and visual art.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I have always believed that women have multiple careers in them. For me my first career was as a TV news journalist. I worked in 9 different TV markets over a 15 year period. I also got to see the country because my job brought me all over. When I met my husband ,got married and started having kids, I had to pivot. The option back in 1997 to work part-time wasn’t available to me, so I had to quit a job I loved. But that lead to my second career, which is to be a mom.( yes I do think being a domestic engineer is a career) and as my kids grew I allowed myself to keep looking for something to turn my brain on and the was fashion design and art, ( my third career). I am in the midst of getting my MFA from the School Of the Art Institute and will graduate in July. I love being a creative because you don’t time out, meaning as along as you are designing and creating you can work. So many careers now are ones which don’t necessarily work as you age, but art is not one of them; in fact the more you do it, the better you become. I think it’s especially important for women to allow themselves the opportunity to continue to grow and look for ways in which to grow.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission now is to two fold, to support other creatives, by providing opportunities to other artists and creative directors and also to show the larger community how important art is to our culture. I deeply believe artists are problem solvers and create new connections to different ways of thinking than the mainstream. My goal is to encourage businesses which are not even associated with art to hire artists and creatives for problem solve. Artists just think differently and it’s though that different way of thinking which will lead us forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lindamarcusdesign
• Instagram: @lindamarcusdesign
• Facebook: Linda Breshears Marcus
• Linkedin: Linda b. Marcus

Image Credits
John Grant Photo John Grant Photo john Grant Photo