Today we’d like to introduce you to Kinley Danger Winnaman.
Kinley Danger , can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Well well well…I definitely hit the jackpot with my grandpa aka Poppi aka my mentor. Maybe I would still be doing what I’m doing if he didn’t show me the way? Nope. no. I detract that. It would’ve never happened. Or maybe not as seamlessly. Though I did grow up in a very creative family. My mama’s a whirlwind visionary in entertainment brand marketing, my dad’s a master woodworker. I was surrounded by art all the time so I guess there really was no other way. But I really started to take painting seriously when I was 14 or 15. One day I asked my Poppi if I could come over to his studio after school to paint a picture of my dad’s guitar as a present for his birthday. He said, “Honey, absolutely!!” From that day on I literally never left the studio. By the time I was 16, I had developed a pretty big portfolio of iconographic portraiture (Prince, Madonna, The Supremes, Mick Jagger) and that year I had my first solo show with that body of work in LA.
I went to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and while studying Fine Art and Art Business, did internships mostly at interior design firms. Two months after I graduated, I packed my bags and moved to New York to work for a global art club called The Cultivist. That was a completely new viewpoint into the Wild Wild West of the art world. Or in that case- Wild East. They give their members literally (italicized literally) unparalleled access around the world to museums, private studio visits, and art fairs – I helped coordinate those experiences.
I moved back to LA in 2016 and started E.V. Knox, my custom wallpaper and upholstery company. Then in 2017, I got an incredible opportunity to design the interiors of an entire co-working space in South Bay for a company called Cross Campus. Right now, I’m working on their two new spaces in Beverly Hills and San Diego where I’m going full throttle with custom wallpaper, upholstery, art, neon fabrication, furniture, lighting…so I think it’s safe to say that I’m now a multi-disciplinary design studio!
Has it been a smooth road?
I think the term smooth is relative. And yes, the struggle is real. But in a very approachable way. The hardest obstacles I face are probably self-inflicted- talking myself out of “design risks” or thinking that I’m not good enough. False. False. False. The things I try to do on a daily basis are:
- Failing really well and recovering really fast. You have to fail to grow. That’s the bold as love truth.
- Surrounding yourself with people that are smarter than you. Let that ego go bro. Well, not all of it…but the nasty parts if possible.
- Working smarter, not harder. One of the biggest challenges I face almost on a daily basis is not delegating tasks I have no business doing in the first place. People have their skills…I have mine. Let it go.
So, let’s switch gears a bit and go into E.V. Knox story. Tell us more about the business.
Hmm…tricky tricky. I like to wear a lot of hats – but everything I do or every project I take on informs the another so I think somehow it works really well. Especially now that I’m doing interiors full time. Everything from the wallpapers to upholstery to custom paintings go into one space so it all makes sense in this environmental/atmospheric vision. The only thing that may not be related to interiors is the Passion Pants. Their ankle to crotch to ankle rainbow pants. And let me tell you…they are truly an elevation. When I wear them out, people don’t really know how to react. Which is fair. But at the core level I see everything through the lens of a painter. The interiors I’m creating right now, I layer like a painting. I’m really trying to build my practice as an interior designer to start with the art first and work from there.
Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
The yes program. Works like a charm. You never know who you’re going to meet at any single time. You just have to be there and allow the magic to happen.
Contact Info:
- Website: evknox.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @evknox
- Other: kinleyartlosangeles.com
Image Credit:
Unstuck Woman
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
