Boss Ladies | Blair Breitenstein

 
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Photos c/o Vanessa Granda & AJ Ragassa

Blair Breitenstein is an artist who works with fashion brands to create unique social and web content. She primarily uses pastels and a small sketchbook. Her focus is to draw the viewer into the quirky, abstract and chic world of fashion.

Growing up I really wanted to be

A fashion designer with a label called Blair Ashley

My go-to order at a coffee shop is

Large cold brew. (I'm addicted)

I don’t know how I ever lived without

Yoga

One thing people don’t know about me is

I'm a textbook introvert

My real life hero is

Donald Robertson, a fashion illustrator who has mastered the art of being kind, humble and helpful while being iconic. This is so rare. He forged a path for other fashion illustrators, and his collaborations have opened my eyes to what is possible for artists. I admire his ability to excel in many realms -- books, clothing, billboards, creative direction... he's a genius.

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What I love about my work is

Not having to work on a computer all day!!

The hardest thing about my work is

Working alone.  It’s easy to second-guess yourself without a team to bounce ideas off of.  I recently hired 2 people, and I appreciate them more than they know!

How I got started with my current career

I opened an Etsy shop in 2012, and when I realized that people were willing to pay me for my drawings got me thinking. Could I draw for packaging, for magazines, at events? I started to use Instagram to share my work with a bigger audience and potential clients and strategically tagged my posts. That got me in front of important eyes. During that time I had two jobs: a full time job at an ad agency, then I worked on fashion collaborations, etsy shop and my @blairz instagram at from 7 pm to 2 am.In the beginning I took on a lot of work for free which was a great decision. Trading work for the right exposure is priceless. Although I didn't do a lot of outreach, I created unique content. I worked hard to stand out among a very saturated market. After 2 years of working full time and running my own business, I realized to be truly successful I had to give it my all, so I stopped working at the ad agency.

The dumbest thing I did when I was starting out

Posting content that wasn't my best work. Everything you post on the Internet lives forever. Be wise!

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My typical day looks like

Get coffee (very important for my productivity level). Get inspired - blogs, newsletters, Womens Wear Daily, Business of Fashion, Instagram, treat myself to a new magazine.Get my creative juices following with at least 2 hours of drawing for myself. Post my favorite drawings from what I just created.Go outside and take a walk (even if it's raining). I work from home, so I go insane if I don't leave the house at some point. Draw for clients. Answer emails. Discuss emails with my team. Go to yoga or pilates. Get into bed and watch a movie.

I used to think success meant

Fame

My current definition of success is

Having my work exist beyond social media/ the Internet.

An example of when I had to push through my insecurities

Moving to NYC

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I know my work/life balance is out of sync when

I don't have time to go to yoga. Yoga is very important to me, it makes me feel physically better and mentally clear. If I don't have time to fit a yoga class into my day then I need to get my time management skills in check.

The last time I created something I was proud of was

I recently did a collaboration with Air France. I was proud because "going to Paris for work" has been on my bucket list for a decade. It felt incredible and surreal to check that one off.

I wish I could tell my younger self

Work harder. I feel like I wasted too many years just getting by. Life is short and time is a terrible thing to waste! 

The legacy I hope to leave is

I hope to inspire young artists to follow their dreams! I hope to prove illustration is not a dead art.

XO,

Blair