We recently connected with Suzy Eaton and have shared our conversation below.

Suzy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you 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?

Yes, I have been able to make a very nice living using my creativity.

I have always been artistic. After working in basic everyday jobs, I knew I couldn’t be happy unless I did something I liked to do.

I started painting for people as a side gig. I painted wall murals and faux finishes over the years while working other day jobs. I also learned graphic design so I could be more creative.

It was while I was painting for a charity that I was approached by a woman to go work for her as a photo stylist. I didn’t really know what that entailed, but knew it would be very creative. I ended up working in-house as an artist and a prop stylist for about three years. Unfortunately, the small company went out of business, which left me again wondering how I would make a living. I just couldn’t face going back to a basic job.

I really loved styling and wondered if I could make it as a freelance stylist.
I figured the more things I was skilled at, the more I would work. So, I added food styling as another service to offer.

I teamed up with a photographer friend, and we pooled our time and talents and took some photos that I could use to create a website.
When that was up and running, I got all dressed up and visited photographers and ad agencies to let them know I was around. After about 6 weeks of doing this, a photographer offered me a job. The job was styling jewelry for a catalog in San Francisco.

The client was so happy with the work, that it became a regular thing. More clients stared to call, including food clients…which was scary, because I really had never done that before. But, it was just another art project to me. I just figured out what would make the food look best and soon food styling quickly took over my life.

I have now been a food stylist for 21 years. I have worked all over the country, but primarily work on the west coast.
There is no shortage of work for me, and I often have to turn work down. It truly has been a blessing.

I don’t know that I could have sped up the process. I feel that I was fortunate to start this career when I did, at a time when there was no real social media. Now, everyone wants to be a food stylist or food blogger and breaking into it would be much harder. My daughter has grown up with watching me do this and has naturally become my assistant. It really couldn’t have worked out better. She’s amazing and can take over for me when (and if) I ever give it up!

Suzy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

One thing I did do for myself that I feel helped me a lot in my field was, learn photography. Understanding that aspect of it with my knowledge of food styling and my background in art, I feel sets me apart from other food stylists.

Part of the job is not just making the food look good, but also being able to pair the food with the appropriate dishes and also being able to dressing the set. Having an eye for design detail really helps, and understanding lighting allows me communicate better with the photographer and the client as to which angle is best to shoot at, or why something will or won’t work. it becomes a collaboration between us to decide what is best to achieve their goals.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Food styling is a very problem solving, MacGyver-ish job. You’re always battling gravity, trying to make something cold look hot or something raw look cooked. Balance heavy objects on fishing line, sourcing foods that are not available or in season, among other things.

One time, on a Friday evening. I got a call asking me if I had a passport. I said “yes”, they replied with “Can you be in Mexico City by Tomorrow?”

I was prepping for another project that I would have to shoot the day after I returned, so I had to spend the rest of the night finishing my shopping, then hopped on a plane to Mexico City.

The shoot was a commercial for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was asked to source a Turkey and a Spiral sliced ham.

Mexico (at that time) had neither of these things. I remember walking through the back alleys (with a guide) trying to find meat stores that might have a turkey. Finally we found one that still had its head and all of its extremities on it. I didn’t speak Spanish, so I was using hand gestures to ask them to cut all of these parts off of this giant sized bird.

When I got to set, the oven they had for me to use was a pizza oven….which was about 6 inches tall. There was no way this bird was going to fit in this oven. Luckily I had my torch and some soy sauce and some soap (yes, remember the MacGyver part), and I worked that thing until it was a piece of art. Was it cooked? no, but in food styling, that’s just how it goes.

For the ham, I found a big pressed thing that looked like a giant spam, and carved it into a nice ham shape and spiral sliced it. I packed the outside with herbs and it was beautiful.

I was in Mexico for a total of 48 hours with about 6 hours total of sleep, then it was back on a plane home and right to set for the next one.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

The simple answer, pay them what they are worth. Quit trying to get something for nothing. Value the skills they have spent years learning stop and treating them like they are a dime a dozen, trying to find the cheapest thing out there.

You WILL get what you pay for, and then you will still have to hire us to come fix it, anyway. :)

Contact Info:

• Website: suzyeaton.com and suzyeatondesigns.com
• Instagram: @suzyeatondesigns
• Facebook: Suzy Eaton Designs
• Linkedin: Suzy Eaton Designs

Image Credits
Tony Roselund, Scott Davis, Dana Hursey, Mike Kemp, Amy Herold