Conversations with Bailey Harada Stone

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bailey Harada Stone.

Hi Bailey, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m originally from the Big Island of Hawaii, born in Hilo. Growing up on a small island in the middle of the Pacific, there wasn’t a lot to do and very limited access to creative and recreational spaces that are far more plentiful in more developed and connected areas throughout the mainland US. We really had to occupy ourselves with our own hobbies and imaginations. The upside to this however, was that this left an almost endless amount of time to fully immerse yourself in whatever interest, hobby or trade called to you.

I was a quiet and shy kid with pretty strict parents, so social skills were not initially my forte and I spent a lot of time solo and within the confines of my own mind. Art for me, was the one area I was able to express myself and pour all of my energy into something that spoke to me. I was always playing around with some form of creative outlet growing up. I started as an illustrator and painter and would spend hours with my sketchbook. At other times I’d be occupying my boredom by creating 3D dollhouses out of paper, or crafting dresses for sticks I found in the park. As I got a little older, I became completely fascinated by the world of fashion. I watched every episode of Project Runway, kept up with every new collection in NYC & Europe and collaged my bedroom door with the pages of fashion magazines. At the time, I was convinced I would become a fashion designer.

When I was around 12 or 13, I was gifted a small point and shoot camera with a few more adjustment settings than the usual ones at the time. I started photographing things around the house, outdoors and eventually portraits of friends that quickly turned into fully fledged fashion shoots around the island. By senior year of high school, I was a one person production team. I would concept, style, do makeup & hair and shoot and edit each idea I had. I kept all the lighting, wardrobe and tools I needed in my car at all times and I posted my work across every art and social platform online. Classmates and local businesses even started approaching me for paid gigs.

When it came time for college, I had a decision to make. fashion design or fashion photography. I was also torn between going to school in New York City or San Francisco. At the time, I felt my photo skills were a bit stronger than my sewing was so I opted to study photography in San Francisco at the Academy of Art. Art school was truly where I refined my style and flourished as an artist. By the end of university, I had been featured in and placed top in several shows and exhibitions and was confident in my plans to move to NYC following graduation. Only….that didn’t exactly happen. Though I had been working throughout school and attempting to save up for a life shift, the stories I heard from my friends that had made the jump earlier, were long days of unpaid internships, assisting and on call gigs that didn’t leave any room for a part time job. Most people my age there, that I knew were taking that traditional ladder up through the fashion side of the industry on the east coast, had outside financial assistance to support that path. In the midst of all of this, I was actively working in retail, at retouching houses and shooting for a handful of SF based clients to cover my expenses but I knew this couldn’t be my forever life. The real fashion industry didn’t exist there. Gap and Levis were about as far as you could get.

One day, I got an email from a creative staffing agency, for a 2 week retouching gig at a “startup beauty incubator.” I needed the work and it paid well so I showed up. Little did I know, this was the beginning of a rather large detour in my life. The company I worked on this project for was called “Kendo.” At the time, it was a small team of only a handful of people, sharing an office space in the financial district with Sephora. The agency had placed me in the hands of the company’s creative director to do a batch of edits for a small cosmetic collection. After the first week or so there, she started handing off additional work to me from other makeup brands. I got on pretty decently with the creative team and before I knew it, I was coming in daily for wide variety of new projects. To this day, I am still incredibly grateful to that creative director because she was a great mentor and though beauty was never my initial goal, she truly gave me the best crash course in every aspect of it.

Kendo was growing at a fairly rapid rate and I was asked to take over more edits, creative decks and product, beauty, swatch and social photography for a number of different brands (Marc Jacobs Beauty, Kat Von D, Formula X, Bite, Ole Henriksen, Fenty Beauty). I grew with the company and helped build out creative for all of the brands and their social platforms. As each brand began to develop their own teams, I was eventually offered a salary position on the Kat Von D Beauty team, in a role that they created exclusively for me. Being a long time fan of alternative music & style, this felt like a perfect fit for me. I grew with that team & learned a lot, but eventually the plethora of demands and late nights started to drain me. I also felt that I had far overstayed my welcome in San Francisco and was ready for a change.

I was offered a role at another well known beauty brand in Los Angeles, and while living in LA was never an aspiration of mine, the offer was too good to pass up and I desperately needed a change of scenery so I took it. My boyfriend at the time and I packed up and moved down the coast to LA. It was definitely a big change but I was optimistic and excited to live somewhere warmer and in an apartment that allowed me to have a separate living room. This career shift didn’t last very long however. I won’t name them, but the heads of this company were some of the most toxic people I had ever worked for and I had to get out of there FAST. Lucky for me, my old boss at KVD still wanted me back and was able to convince Kendo to match the new salary I had in LA and to let me work completely remotely with the exception of flying back to the bay occasionally for specific shoots and meetings.

I embraced my newly flexible role and the freedom that it allowed me. The move to LA and my new position came with fresh opportunities, The beauty influencer boom of the 2010s was popping off and I quickly started to rack up new clients as people I had worked with bounced around from brand to brand. Demand was high, production was frequent and there was rarely a moment to rest. Eventually I decided to go completely freelance to keep up with all of my other client shoots. This momentum kept up for a few years until I reached a point of burnout and had to pull back a little and reevaluate my health and priorities. These days, I’m still producing and creating for brands I love but in a more intentional way that allows me to look after myself a little better. 18 year old me probably never expected this was where I would be in my 30s, both intentionally and physically but I am proud of what I’ve built and grateful to be where I am today. Who knows, I may still dip my toe back into the world of fashion in years to come. It’ll always be my first love.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not. I think there are challenges with any creative field. Especially as a perfectionist who likes to be able to control and plan things as much as humanly possible, it can be a bit of a struggle to let go of some of that. The industry is extremely volatile and inconsistent. Trends, the economy, new technologies and financial instability are all major factors. I’ve definitely learned that life is not a straight path and to be a successful artist & creative you really have to be able to adapt whatever is thrown at you. If you’re looking for a predictable and continuously reliable career path, this may not be for you.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a beauty and cosmetics photographer with a root in editorial fashion. My style leans a little darker and punchier whilst still maintaining a refined polish that’s pretty distinct to me. Alongside my more mainstream clients, this aesthetic has attracted a lot of alternative and edgy indie brands as well. I’m also extremely detail oriented and pride myself on having a thorough understanding of every artistic element that goes into my shoots from creative direction, makeup & hair to lighting, technical skills and editing. This makes collaborating with team members and other creatives a much more seamless process and keeps the end product as close to my vision as possible.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I think I spoke to this a bit earlier, but learning to adapt and flow with life as it changes, even when it pushes you in directions you hadn’t planned for. Being flexible with my journey and grateful for the person I’ve grown into is something I’m still learning to do as I go along but I’m trying hold more peace for myself these days. It’s easy to forget how much you’ve accomplished when you’re constantly engulfed by the anxiety of making it to the next chapter.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://baileyharadastone.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/bharadastone
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/baileyharadastone
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@baileyharadastone3935

Image Credits
Image credits included in file names.

But also in order of upload:

1. Elisabeth for Unearthly Cosmetics
2. Amanda Pacheco for Unearthly Cosmetics
3. Shae Scott for Unearthly Cosmetics
4. Shea Hardy for Unearthly Cosmetics
5. shot for Unearthly Cosmetics
6. Alex Wells by me
7. Sophia Jackson by me
8. Jackie Cruz for KVD Beauty