Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lindsay Soules. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Lindsay, thanks for joining us today. One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

I’ve wanted to design clothing since I was little and I started sewing and making clothes in middle school. Once I got to high school and started doing photoshoot events and runway shows I got advice from other designers what things I needed (or didn’t need) to continue growing. One thing I needed was a serger but it wasn’t something my family could afford. One day I was at my best friend’s house and his grandmother gave me her old serger along with a box of cone thread in practically every color. A start up like that would have cost me hundreds of dollars. There was no way for her to know it was something I had been wanting and she was just excited to have someone to give it to who would use it. I still have the serger even though it isn’t in use any more and I still have yet to go through half the thread she gave me. I wouldn’t be where I am now without what she did for me and I’m forever grateful for that.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve wanted to design clothes since I was about 10 years old. Before my parents could afford a sewing machine for me I used to use a stapler instead of stitches. From there I taught myself how to make garments and by the time I was 15 I was already working professionally as a designer. I realized quickly after that that being in fast fashion was the opposite of what I wanted and began working as a costume designer in various theater houses. I learned a lot about costume and clothing construction at this time but realized it lacked the freedom of creativity and offered a scraping by salary. I put clothing on hold and worked as a stage actress until Covid-19 hit. Because of my sewing background I was able to make masks faster and cheaper than any one else before they could hit mass production. So within the first few weeks of the pandemic I had sold hundreds of masks on Etsy. This gave my shop a huge boost on the platform and allowed me to merge everything I loved about clothing making into a viable and profitable business of making custom Renaissance Faire Attire. My love of clothing making and costume design became focused toward custom costumes for women of all sizes. All of my items are hand made and tailored specifically for women’s measurements and not by standard sizing.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

A “Starving Artist” truly is a perfect way to describe it. For most of my adult life I’ve worked at least two jobs at a time, sometimes three, all just to get by each month. For one of my costume design jobs I lived out of my car, another time out of a storage shed, there have been times where I’ve budgeted food to the last dollar and have just miraculously scraped by. Working in the arts is a battle of resilience and the only people who make it are the people who are either handed it or fight for it. I’ve found a lot of people can’t understand why you would want to live like I have and my answer to that is “I don’t”. I don’t want to scrape by but more than that I don’t want my day to be spent without art or creativity or expression. So I worked hard and fought to get go a place where I’m no longer struggling but thriving.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist/creative is getting to do what I love to make other people happy. Over the years I have sold and made thousands of garments and I can count my bad experiences on my fingers. Being able to create something that makes women of all shapes and sizes feel good and beautiful is unbelievably rewarding and really helps keep me going through rough and busy times.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://souledesign.etsy.com
• Instagram: @souledesign
• Facebook: SouleDesign

Image Credits

Tami Jean- Artistic Cliques
Ally Durant- Duraphotography
Maurice Johnson- M and S studios
Ian Phares