We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Michelle Nirumandrad. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Michelle below.
Hi Michelle, thanks for joining us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?
I have to have a quick internal chuckle at this question because YES! Absolutely. All the time.
We live in a day and age where people do some pretty crazy things for their chance in the limelight. Captured Sky is easily and often mistaken for one of these half-hearted attempts at entertainment. But the motivus behind Captured Sky has never been about the individual or sensationalism – it is about Sister Sky and a star-crossed Lover’s attempt to draw us closer to her.
It’s a concept that doesn’t speak to everyone, and that’s ok. If there is something in this life that you are passionate about then pursue it, passionately, and you will find fulfillment!
Michelle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Michelle and I am a professional skydiver specializing in bringing down souvenirs from the heavens. Since childhood, I (like many) have had an acute fascination with the Sky, the clouds, and the magnanimous world of magic and freedom I imagined existed there. I didn’t set out to become a skydiver in my adult life but when circumstance led me to the opportunity, I made a jump – and I was awestruck! Completely enamored! I had to go back.
I thought flying through the Sky would tame the insatiable lust for the place, for her. But it didn’t. It only fed the urge. I wanted a token from the Sky to connect me to her. I wanted desperately to bottle a cloud or pluck a physical fiber from a sunset. I couldn’t figure a way to accomplish the former so I started Captured Sky instead.
Captured Sky is the enabling of the Sky to create for us. I bring her the tools: canvas, paint, opportunity – and in return, she gives us impressions of herself. The Sky’s art. The works are composed entirely above the Earth, within the heavens, and are untouched by human hand or brush. They are the Sky’s very own windblown works – her fingerpaintings, if you will.
The first Captured Sky jump was made in 2013 and since then the venture has grown to include a number of extensions from the original concept providing a variety of Sky-kissed trinkets; jewelry, functional and fluid artworks. Each having elements which have exited from 13,500ft, bathed in blue sky, and touched the very heavens themselves.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Yes, I would definitely tell those working to grow their audience to make sure they’re in the right place and using the right tools. What I mean by that, is you need to use the platform which best suits your niche while also making use of the trends within that platform. So, for example, my work is visual. Instagram being predominantly image based makes it the preferred platform for my business. Currently, the trend within IG is Reels and making use of the associated audio clips that go along with those. Using trending content will dramatically increase your business’s visibility and grow your audience. I spent years gaining little to no traction with Captured Sky. I had a blog, website, Facebook business page and participated is countless juried art shows across the US. After five years I still had a sub 1k audience base. It wasn’t until I started using Instagram and trending content that my outreach shot up and my sales more than doubled within the first six months!
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
I can’t emphasize enough the power that leveraging social media can have for your business. That said, the game changer for me was an article I read in Forbes titled, ‘How Instagram Helped Jeremy Wolff Quit His Job To Become A Full Time Artist.’ Some of the information in there has become a little dated as social media platforms are always updating and changing but this is a *great* starting place for individuals or small businesses looking to step up their accounts. I followed the advice Mr. Wolff gives in his article and my account grew over 10k followers in the first year! Cannot recommend it enough!
Contact Info:
- Website: capturedsky.com
- Instagram: @capturedskyart
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/capturedsky
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCnAPLjIml6fGw7j2nR47gVw
Image Credits
William Franklin Cole III