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

Hi Mak, thanks for joining 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?

I am a full time student at Eastern Michigan University , working as a server to pay for school. I am currently studying Fashion Marketing and Innovation but have a clothing brand Detroit is not Dead and paint clothes on the side. All of my work goes under the name ‘By Mak’. Lately I have been trying to incorporate my clothing brand as a 9-5 to get it to where I want it. The biggest risk I will take is when I quit my server job and take in the clothing brand full time. I think if you are following your dreams it’s important to not just do it for the money and be willing to take the pay cut, you just have to work harder. It is really hard to hand paint all of the orders, it is very time consuming but it is something I knew I was capable of and wanted to do, but I am not making that much of a profit and also want to give back 3.13% to the city of Detroit , whether it is donating art supplies or giving kids or the homes less some of my painted Carhartt. I have recently purchased a screen printing press which will allow me to make more quantity of the clothes and do a limited number of hand painted items.

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

My name is Makayla I go By Mak. I am a multimedia artist but I mainly focus on painting on clothing and graphic design. I do open commission on clothing but lately I have focused on my clothing brand Detroit is not Dead. I have built this brand based of the bad reputation Detroit gets from viewers on the outside, who have never visited. ‘Detroit is always getting the bad rep. Whether it’s the city, the people, or even the sports teams, people judge the city, our city, from its past not its future. A city of artists, designers, athletes, musicians, and CREATIVES, all come together to promote a city that isn’t dead, this is Detroit is not dead.’ I have met so many amazing and talented people this fair whether they are musicians, artists , creatives, or clothing brand owners.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I got really good advice from a friend who told me to “Drop when I want and do what I want to do with the brand, people are going to fuck with it regardless.” I think about this all the time, as creatives we get really wrapped up in people pleasing and just trying to have our vision accepted and liked. My advice is to just be you , post when you want, and create what you want. Social media is a great platform for free marketing but it’s also important to get the real life experiences through events, pop ups, ect.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I really want to get Eminem in some Detroit is Not Dead, he has played a big inspiration in the brand. Eminem is one of the first people that I think of when I think of Detroit, just seeing him repoing my brand would be so badass and is something I want to make it happen.

Another goal that keeps me going is to make my dad proud. One of my future drops will be camouflage hoodies to honor him and the creative genes he has given me and the person he has helped me become.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shopbymak.com
• Instagram: @bymakk @detroitisnotdeadd @bymakscloset
• Twitter: @rybakmakayla

Image Credits
instagrams @hodgepodgellc @benzo_be