Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Vestia Sterling . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Vestia, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I always had an interest in sewing, I remember watching my grandma sewing pieces of fabric together to make blankets. When I turned eleven my father and stepmom gifted me a sewing machine. From there I was hooked, I took classes and bought all the materials. At the time I was not a drag queen so I would only sew pajamas. Just like most kids I lost focus on the hobby and switched to the next one. Leaving my sewing machine in my closet for about 3 years not creating anything. When I turned fourteen I knew I wanted to be a drag queen and I just started with cheap outfits from fast fashion online sites and pieces from the thrift store. One day my dad was like “you have a sewing machine why don’t you make your own costumes”. I knew he was right so I dusted off my sewing machine and got to work again. Sewing pajamas and drag costumes are completely different things, so it was like relearning the whole craft again. I learned everything about drag costumes creation from YouTube and the back of clothes patterns. After making a couple of slip dresses, probably the easiest thing to make I wanted to start documenting my sewing journey. So I started a whole series on my TikTok on making dance costumes and celeb recreation outfits. I’m at a point in my drag journey where I can confidently make an outfit for myself if I need to. Sewing is only a small part of doing drag but it is one of my favorite hobbies now.
Vestia, 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?
Hello everyone my name is Vestia Sterling, I’m the Appalachian Latina drag queen of central Ohio. I started my drag journey at just 14 years old by discovering a drag queen name Kayta on my instagram explore page. I have always been an artist person since I was young. I started with drawing and painting with my father who is also an artist. He taught me a lot of thing about not only the visual aspects of art but also the emotional part. Just like my father I always want to learn something new, so once I get good at something I want to move on to the next hobby. So after drawing and painting I started knitting which eventually turned into crocheting. After getting good a those activities I moved to sewing after my eleventh birthday. This would eventually become a very important aspect to know for drag. When I started middle school I had very bad acne so I started applying cosmetics to cover these blemishes up. At first makeup was a thing I did because I was insecure, but eventually it turned into a creative outlet for me . I started to play around with gender bending looks, which eventually turned into an obsession with wigs. I still remember ordering my first wig from EBay for ten dollars. My dad saw these hobbies that was all connected to the beauty industry, so he made the suggestion that I go to cosmetology school. So I applied my sophomore year of high school and got accepted to a career center graduating high school with my cosmetology license. While I was in school I was doing drag in my house and would go to school in drag fro school projects and events. I didn’t know it at the time but now I know I was preparing to be a drag queen my whole life. All the hobbies that I did as a child are all creative aspect of drag. I’m proud as a drag queen that I al confident in my craft, because all the passion that I have for my art. I want my followers to know that anything can be done with confidence and hard work. That is the biggest compliment to get as a entertainer.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
As a drag queen the most rewarding aspect of my art is making people happy. Theirs is nothing like someone running up to you and having a big smile on there and saying that they had an amazing night. I love making people day wether it’s my preformance, look , or just the vibes. Making people feel welcome is such a great feeling. I think that why drag queen are queens they have never been accepted in life to making people feel acceptance is there favorite thing to do.
Have you ever had to pivot?
When I first graduated high school I received my cosmetology license. All throughout hair school everyone told me I was born to be a hair stylist at a salon. I knew in the back of my head I never wanted to work in a salon and doing people’s everyday hair. I wanted to focus on wigs for drag artists. That where I felt like I would exceed personally. But, when I graduated during the pandemic I felt pressured to become I regular hairstylist at a salon. So I got a job at a very prestigious hair salon in central Ohio. I enjoyed it at first but I always felt bout of place and the hours caused me to take a break on my drag and social media career. I eventually become very unhappy and depressed of my situation. I cried everyday on my way home from work. Until one day I said I’m quitting and doing something I loved. That was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I gained the most followers at that time a really perfect my drag, becoming a full fledged drag queen. 
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Vestia_Sterling
- Facebook: Vestia Sterling
- Other: Tiktok: vestia_sterling
Image Credits