The Importance of Female Friendship & Collaboration
My 4 tips for seeking out and collaborating with other creative women
These images were shot and content was created for the The Glossary Artist Profile Interview originally and so the original story and interview questions/answers can all be found on their blog here. Thank you to The Glossary Co. for letting me share a bit of my story and how the women in my life have helped shape it. All photo credit: Meredith Johnson of Meredith Marie Photography.
Recently I had the pleasure of chatting with Mandy of The Glossary. The Glossary is a collective of talented women, a platform to share stories and experiences, a network to meet new people, and a collaborative center that brings women together through online connections and in-person events. The founder, Mandy, is from the Chicago area and I originally found her through the local events she hosted with The Glossary, other local businesses and female creative entrepreneurs. Starting this business having not gone to art school, I craved honest interactions with other creative minded women. I was so grateful to have The Glossary as a local resource to learn and connect with other females in my industry.
The behind the scenes of this very collaboration is such a testament to the power of women coming together. My friend Rachael went to school with me at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and reached out right away when she found out we moved to Madison. She invited Dave and I to a local yoga class where she introduced us to Meredith - the talented photographer who shot the photos for this story! Meredith is especially passionate about capturing women working towards their visions and teaming up was such an easy decision. Together with Mandy, we all have been able to share and celebrate each others’ work in a way that wouldn’t be attainable going alone.
My top tips for seeking out and working with other creative women:
Start following bloggers and communities that feature creatives in your industry.
Some examples include The Everygirl, Glitter Guide, The Glossary, Rising Tide Society. Many of these publications will announce when they are hosting a meet-up in your city!
Go to a creative class. Some of my besties teach creative workshops and there are always other friendly faces at these events to chat with and learn from!
Reach out to someone who inspires you!
I can’t tell you how many of my relationships are formed from me making the first move. I even made the first move on Dave ya’ll. It’s true!
Share about other women who inspire you.
You can’t just sit around and wait to get discovered or wait for someone to share about you. You have to put that good energy out into the Universe in order to attract it back.
Rachel joined us the day of this photoshoot and did a fantastic job fixing my hair in-between shots and making me laugh the entire time whenever I felt awkward…
I was really impressed and challenged by the questions that Mandy asked me during our interview. We discussed:
My background, personal history with art, how physical therapy informs my work, my recent Lake Lovers collection, how I’ve found a new creative community since our move, challenges & setbacks, female collaboration, female inspiration, my recommended business resources, my dream collaboration, what I’m currently learning, and my favorite Madison spots!
Rachael, Myself & Meredith <3