About a year-ish ago, I did something I never thought I would but it has brought me the biggest joy, taught me a few lessons and granted me the biggest satisfaction I’ve known to this day. I started my own creative & consulting studio under the name of MAE @maecreative_studio. Like most people, the pandemic forced me to re-evaluate my life, what I wanted to do with the time I had on this earth, and who I wanted to share it with. I left my first (ever) fashion job of 6 years that I’d started as a fashion intern when I was still in college at the beginning of the pandemic. I *loved* this job. I loved who I did it for, the people I had the honor to work with, all the relationships that turned into friendships, the places I got to see, the experiences I got to have and every thing that the job taught me. I’d dreamed of becoming a fashion stylist since I learned what the job meant... By the time I left, I was drained by it all, so I left the only job I’d ever had as an adult without having a clue of what was next. Throughout the course of the following weeks and months, curiosity to explore new possibilities kicked in, I was curious to see what else was ‘out there’ during a time I was terrified of the future. I started having different conversations with people outside of the fashion bubble I’d lived in since I was 17, friends, and friends of friends, were helping me connect the dots, and opportunities that I’d never have said yes to had I still been in fashion, started to happen. When looking back on this time in my life, I tend to say “it was all so out of nowhere”, but it really wasn’t. That job I started as a baby intern and evolved into so so many roles that made me wear so so many hats taught me everything I needed to start MAE. I never post about it, I don’t talk about it (nearly as much as I know I should), but I love doing it so so much. I get to work with old friends, and new friends, I get to combine my previous network with my new network, I get to learn from people I truly love, people I admire and people I respect. (—> read below)