Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nyleve Nyson . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Nyleve, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
If I could go back in time, I would’ve not wished to start my creative journey sooner or later. I would actually say the creative journey started in my adolescent years, when I was attracted to videography and photography. Knowing my interests at a young age caused me to invest in myself back then without even realizing it at the time. Being that, my mom would purchase camcorders and disposable cameras for me to capture nature in its purest form. This really allowed me to unlock the divine parts of me I never knew existed. That room for growth over the years led me to choosing the major; Broadcast Technology in high school. The program heavily focused on the basic production fundamentals of film; which included directing, camera operations, video editing, script writing, and acting. After competing and winning against the top schools in film festivals and then truly understanding what I was capable of, I wanted to dive even deeper into the field. In 2019, I chose to further my studies at Columbia College Chicago, focusing on Tv Executive Producing and Entrepreneurship. The program strictly focused on instilling the knowledge one needs to know about their craft while learning how to network, protect your line of work legally, and display your work. The school offered many opportunities but when something just didn’t feel right and I couldn’t force it. It wasn’t until COVID hit, I realized that I was genuinely lost. With the transition to virtual and online classes, production being a hands-on field, and me being a visual learner, I felt out of touch with myself and my true purpose. Since everything was virtual, I wasn’t gaining any knowledge or gaining the actual team-work, on set production experience. So in October of 2019, I chose to put my college journey on hold, quit my job, and immerse myself into another form of art; fashion. I did various side gigs such as Doordash, Instacart, Postmates, and Ubereats to fund the start up and still take care of myself. I started by dabbling into basic elements of fashion and art by using heat and press techniques, distressing /cropping clothes, splattering paint on jeans, bleaching/tie dying clothes. Soon realizing, that type of work just wasn’t viable for any longevity that I wished to create for myself and the generations ahead of me. I began to experiment with custom denim, patchwork projects. Two months later, I obtained a fashion internship learning how to produce special occasion dresses from scratch. (prom, birthday, bridal, etc). During the 2 year span of my internship, I acquired the knowledge to venture out on my own and birth Nyleve Nyson. (Ny/liv Ni SÕn) Nyleve Nyson is an up and coming luxury custom garment business that offers 1 of 1 ready to wear streetwear and made to measure gowns. All in all, I honestly do not live in regret wishing that I started later or sooner because my time is now. I do believe If I had started my creative career later I would have been suppressing my energy, talents, and gifts that I had to offer to the world. Tomorrow is not promised and for me to not act on the visions I have, is to be naive that just because these idea(s) exist within me right now, doesn’t mean they will be mine to act on forever. With that being said, I decided I needed to gain more knowledge in film to be able to intertwine and leverage the two fields. After all, it was a film that strengthened my ability to focus on making a subject appealing to the human eye. Huge thank you to Shawn Brooks, the owner and creator of BrookssMedia Video Production company for allowing me to step back into a setting and giving me a position in a field that I was always drawn to in my adolescence and teenage years. I am currently a director’s assistant, assisting with productions like weddings, documentaries, short films, ad campaigns. Being that, I am able to be hands-on with my interests at the same time will forever feel unreal. I live by the belief that everything will always flow in divine order, whether you see it now or later.
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
Hello readers, my name is Evelyn Mo. I’m 21 years old and from Chicago, Illinois. I am a divine being experiencing my deepest and wildest interests. My creative works are founded in my view of the human experience and the ideal that my artistic knowledge is ever-expanding. I am an artist, entrepreneur, fashion designer, video producer.. I design 1of1 custom garments from scratch for clients’ special events/occasions like prom, birthdays etc. The problem I believe I’m solving for my clients is being able to receive a custom piece that cannot be found anywhere! My clients are able to walk into any event, place, or other designer’s space not seeing anything that resembles what I’ve created for them. What sets me apart is that my goal is to diversify what I create and allow my pieces to speak to multiple facets of masculinity and femininity. My mission is to create pieces of good quality that can continue to live on, be reused, and styled timelessly. I don’t hope to copy or recreate what others make, but instead I hope to make sure you never see a duplicate of what I’ve made. I’m not afraid to be me and live within my true means and energy and I hope for my pieces to speak in the same manner. I am proud to not have let my anxiety, people’s opinions, and picking up other interests/tasks stop me from p.. I give all the honor the universe/the creator.. I keep going, I recharge and I continue to grow passionately. I want people to know that I am human. I create from the wide spectrum of emotions that we all experience day in and out. I pour my all, my blood and sweat into my work and I hope to regarded as such.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
One thing we should do better as a human society, to support one another, is to lessen the crab in the barrel mentally to provide more uplifting energy. During my journey, I’ve had mentors, loved ones, and peers try to put me in a box and steer me away from my heart’s desires. As human beings, how do we expect to thrive when we continue to envy each other’s work, goals, and accomplishments? If we chose as a collective group to innovate off of each other rather than compete, we’d all be further ahead in life. It’s a mentality switch that needs to happen among us, to focus the subconscious on molding into being a better version of who you were yesterday versus someone else.
To end off, our parents and the generations before us play a significant role in how we perform in our craft. They tend to forget that before us, artists, figure out who we truly are, we need genuine love, guidance, and support. Not, someone dearest to us dictating what career roles we to take on or talk us out of visions because of their shortcomings. I’ve learned in my experiences, that people’s doubtful projections onto you aren’t because of you, it’s always internal. All young people, not just creatives, look to the older generations to give an idea on how their life experiences may correlate with ours. We have this hope that they’ll warn us of every mistake to look out for, steer us in the right direction, and not shame us for wanting to break the cycle of putting your dreams to rest.
To know that whatever is divine and destined for you, will always be for you. No matter who tells you what you’re not capable of, always remember who you are.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Honestly, the most rewarding aspect of being creative is seeing the final product. I’ll literally stare at finished garments and reminisce about the blood, sweat, tears, and sleepless nights that went into it. It’s always an out of body experience for me when I replay the process videos knowing all of the obstacles I may have run into with a projects. I can remember times, when I had to start over on garments multiple times and thought I’d never see the light at the end of the tunnel. I managed to pull through not only for my clients but because I know every mistake allows me to mature in business and makes room for new learning experiences. The other most rewarding aspect of being an artist is not having to limit how you express yourself through your art. An artist can pick any form of art to express whether it be music, painting, fashion, visuals, or what one chooses. There’s no limits in creating when it’s coming from the soul and knowing that I can conceptualize ideas that were once on paper into reality will forever be mind blowing. Lastly, the most rewarding part of it all is seeing my garments give the clients an exuberant amount of confidence to be comfortable within something they trusted me to curate.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.instagram.com/nylevenyson/?hl=en
- Instagram: @nylevenyson
- Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@evelynmo__