Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Salman.
Hi Sam, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born on the eve of dawn…jk…I started my path as a Fashion Designer when one day I was offered an opportunity to be the Art Director for a TV show thanks to my experience as a designer and having orchestrated several fashion shows and runway presentations.
Once behind camera, I was allowed the freedom of artistic expression (based on the script) and was no longer a rat in an office/cage. Being on location – on set was liberating and emancipating from the 9-5 rigmarole.
From there I took on several commercial gigs as a Wardrobe Assistant which landed me the role of Shop Foreman at Global Effects where I had the privilege to work with Brad Pitt on Ad Astra. I staffed up a crew of 12 stitchers, pattern makers and tailors. 2 weeks later, Damien Chazelle (director of La La Land) came in to discuss the build needs for his next feature – First Man, staring Ryan Gosling.
I had applied to CalARTs with the hopes that it would accept me into the program to help accolade me as a Costume Designer. In the midst of working both films I received Wonka’s Golden Ticket. They only accept 6 people into the program every year and I was one of the lucky ones! I scaffolded my head tailor to take over my role and started my next phase in education.
Post graduation I started a costume shop called Northern Costume in Valencia, CA – just down the way from CalARTs. I flipped the shop into the union and was granted the opportunity to make clothing for and work with Zendaya in her then TV series Euphoria. Sadly coronavirus and other life realities forced me to close the shop out of the lack of steady work.
Since which time I have worked on numerous small productions and have been in somewhat of a holding pattern for the next big opportunity.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
To be completely transparent, life has not been an easy journey for me from early adulthood. I’ve struggled with, but didn’t realize that I had been struggling with alcoholism. When I went to school, the stress at CalARTs became a little overwhelming and my addiction to alcohol and marijuana flourished. Those were some of the ‘life realities’ that I endured. This year I have championed my additions and have carved my path into sobriety.
I know that my marijuana usage and alcohol stagnated my work and possibly even broke some of the professional work relationships. I remember one time somebody had walked into my costume shop and said, “it smells really relaxed in here.” inferring that it smelled like weed.
Now, years later in my sobriety. I am looking to build new connections and foster a new strategy in life. My goal is to build community in a healthy, sane and sober space. I know that I cannot convince anyone with whom I worked with in my past of who I am now. I can only regain their trust overtime like a parent with their child or vice versa. But I’m here to prove to the world who I am and what I can do.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In the confusing world of entertainment and in cyberspace of social media, I have been trying to best navigate reality in both carbon space and cyberspace. It hasn’t been an easy journey in either dimensions. Both have posed a great deal of questions and both have answered a great deal of ideas.
As a creator, an artist and a fabricator; I have discovered that networking is a big part of how people perceive you and who they see. It’s a marketing tool, both in the workplace and online to help accolade our professional careers to a higher level.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
The best way to reach out to me is by email at sam.salman777@gmail.com or by phone at 661-425-4155. I am eagerly searching for work in film, but I am willing to embark on any creative journey. Collaborations both in carbon space and cyberspace are always welcome.
In my sobriety, I found that the opposite of addiction is not sobriety but rather community. Another way to support somebody both on their sober journey or in they professional journey is to help create community. I am open to the ideas of collaborating and sharing my artwork in any medium and space so that I can to help create community for both myself and the greater good.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Sam Salman Designs
- Other: @_HeSheTheyWe_
