We recently connected with Sierra Joy and have shared our conversation below.

Sierra, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

As a personal stylist, I interact with people from all walks of life, from entrepreneurs to local actors looking to have their wardrobe match their personalities. One of the benefits of working with everyday people is you get to build honest relationships with clients that can spend years. The very first client I booked what a husband and wife duo who were both looking to update their wardrobe and in a way their life. They were the first clients to believe in me and my vision and worked with me through my growing pains as a new stylist. While working with them, it was the first time that I got to see the full transformation process that comes with working with clients. You’re doing more than just helping someone get dressed, your changing their entire outlook on themselves and how they hold their stature. You’re helping someone feel seen in an intimate way that they may have not before. By the end of my initial time working with that client I got to see them walk differently, smile differently, and since it was a husband and wife due they even looked at each other differently. Witnessing all of that silently firsthand was the moment I needed to seal the deal that this was the career path for me. In the years since working with that client, they have become the benchmark experience that I strive to provide for everyone I work with.

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 initially started my career in 2018 while still in college. I was an intern for a fashion show production company based in Austin, TX. It was the first time I got to be engulfed in the fashion world and get a taste of what I wanted my life to look like. While interning for that company I got to work on shows in Austin, Dallas, and Houston. I learned the ins and outs of production, interacting with people of all different personalities, and how to successfully manage teams of volunteers. After almost a year of interning with that company, I got hired to be an official production assistant for their next season. I had the opportunity of meeting some absolutely amazing people during this two-year segment of my life. I also got to learn a lot about myself and fine-tune a bit more of realistically what I wanted my life and career to look like within the fashion world. After I parted ways with the production company, that’s when I dove headfirst into learning everything I could about what being a stylist looked like. This had long been a goal of mine and frankly, I was burnt out on production so that was the perfect transitioning point. By this time in my life, I had already graduated from college but I decided to get another internship with a local Austin, TX-based stylist. I worked with her for about nine months on everything from sending out her monthly newsletter to going to clients’ homes and having fit sessions. These were moments that I lived for! Once my internship ended, I spend a few months learning how to officially launch my own business. Fast forward to January of 2020, I launch Weston Ave Styling. I’ve learned a lot about myself since my launch but I think the main thing I’ve learned throughout my career is resilience. I’ve been thrown a lot of curve balls on this journey. I’ve had a lot of moments where I’ve just had to figure it out and I have. I slowly built a network of people and clients who believe in this vision I have and I couldn’t be more thankful. I will never stop learning how to better myself and the experience that I provide for all of my clients. Looking back on 20-year-old Sierra starting her career to now 25-year-old Sierra, I’ve come a long way and I’m just getting started.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Specifically, in the personal/fashion styling world it’s hard to find someone willing to show you the ropes of everything. I remember when becoming a personal stylist was still just an idea, trying to find someone to learn from was like pulling teeth. Like all creatives, stylists are worried about someone stealing their process or their client. That was the farthest thing from my mind. I’m a visual learner and have always found that I learn best when I can get in there with someone and ask questions. While I understand the want to protect your process when you get to a certain point in your career it’s still very discouraging for young creatives to ask for help and be met with such resistance and the assumption that they will steal creative intellect.

Sharing is how you create a community and network of individuals who support and protect the craft you care about. To create a thriving and ever-evolving creative ecosystem, there needs to be more of a willingness to help out young up-and-coming thinkers.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn is that I can not give what I do not have. One of my best yet worst qualities and that I give and take on more to the point that I deplete myself. The crazy part is that it never has anything to do with wanting recognition for my work. My desire to take on more stems from wanting to ensure the ones I care about on my team are not stressed or overworked.

When I use to work in fashion show production, I knew that part of the reason I was hired onto the team I was a part of was to make my lead producer’s life easier. Between working a part-time job, finishing my last semester of college, and getting this amazing opportunity to travel and do what I love, I knew that I would stretch myself thin. I loaded my plate so high that I was giving bits of myself that turned me into a shell of myself.

By the end of that season of my life, I was depleted and worn thin. I knew from that moment on I could never do that to myself again. I could no longer give what I did not have. While yes I do still struggle at times with saying no to things it’s gotten much better and I’ve honestly become a happier person because of it.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://westonavestyling.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/westonavestyling/

Image Credits
For the photo of me in the gold pants, that was shot by photographer @oggyshotme on IG