Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Schwartz
Hi Emily, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
The story of how I got my start really takes us all the way back to my life’s beginnings. I was born in Los Angeles and I had been creatively-inclined from an early age. Throughout my childhood education this was understood by me, my family, my classmates, and my instructors. My mother, who also had a lengthy career as a designer in the apparel space, recognized this in the early 2000s and taught me how to draw in Adobe Photoshop with her Wacom tablet. By middle school my childhood dream was to become a fashion designer. My notebooks were full of fashion drawings. At some point during my teenage years I lost sight of that dream, but still continued following my creative North Star to my first art school, Otis College of Art and Design. Early adulthood was incredibly difficult for me, and as a result I withdrew from the program just short of one year in. Coincidentally, my mother also dropped out of Otis after one academic year.
While navigating tumultuous young adult limbo, I took up a part time job at the local mall’s portrait studio. Eventually I took a strong liking to tattooing, took control of my personal life, and, with the hopes of becoming a tattoo artist, relocated to Portland, OR to finish school at Pacific Northwest College of Art. Learning alongside so many other oddball artists helped bolster my illustration chops; and existing in the perpetual misty rain helped me tap deeper into my emotional well for creative fuel. After spending 4 years cultivating inspiring friendships with other women artists and putting so much love and labor into my degree, my time in Portland came to a close. I finished my courses and I relocated back to Los Angeles to start my career. I initially had hopes of working as a concept artist at an animation studio such as Adult Swim or Nickelodeon, but was tragically unlucky in those pursuits. I had an interview at Nickelodeon but never heard back! Just a couple weeks shy of my commencement ceremony in May 2018, I landed my first full time job designing apparel graphics for a merch startup servicing influencer clients.
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?
Kicking off my design career in the influencer merch space was quite the learning experience, not without its challenges. On one hand I was grateful that our creative director took a chance on a green college grad and granted me my career’s beginnings. On the other hand I quickly learned how disconnected I felt from the clientele. Although I felt realigned to my childhood dream of designing clothes, I understood this was my first job, not my last.
At some point in 2019 I could not help but take notice of certain explosive new brands coming out swinging in the streetwear space. I yearned to participate and my heart started pulling me in a new direction. After hanging onto my existing role throughout the early pandemic, I fervently interviewed with at least a dozen different skate and streetwear brands. I kept a list of all the companies I wanted to land at and, much to my amazement, scored interviews with a number of them. I simply could not believe I was being given the time of day. In 2021 I eventually was offered a role at one of those streetwear companies. I was equal parts surprised and thrilled to be invited to work there.
Very early on into this role I became familiar with a new adversary: impostor syndrome. I was constantly toiling over my sense of worthiness to work for this brand. Even to this day I still struggle with it, but have learned to live with it and prevent it from running my mind’s narrative. I had the opportunity to rub shoulders and collaborate with superb creatives, whose reputations preceded them. I could not fathom how amazing of an opportunity I had been given, and I had a constant inner critic admonishing me for being there. The entire experience was both awe-inspiring and wildly anxiety-inducing.
It was not long before the pandemic’s economic fallout was felt in the streetwear space. After surviving a series of layoffs and seeing so many beloved colleagues get let go, I developed a mortal fear of losing my job. I feared losing work like I feared an untimely death. As the workforce shrunk and pressure to fill the gaps in labor grew, I started to realize I was being pushed beyond my threshold. In May 2024 I took an intimidating leap of faith into the unknown and left my position, with no other job lined up.
Immediately after leaving my job I began to fully understand how amazing it is to be part of a supportive community. So many of my recent colleagues did what they could to connect me with their peers and line me up with freelance work. There was not, and still is not, a moment where I’m not working on a project I’m excited about. It was also during this time that I decided to invest in myself and follow my curiosity about fashion design. I enrolled in the fashion program at LA Trade Tech, where I am still currently taking classes.
All of this varied client experience and technical fashion education ultimately has led me to where I am now, about to start a new full time job in the footwear industry. I don’t know that I can quite yet share what that is, but I can say that I am incredibly excited.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
While I dabble in every creative outlet I can get my hands on, I would regard my two specialties I’m known for as illustration and, more recently, fashion design. I’m most proud of how refined my illustration skills have become and for also taking a brave dive into new avenues such as clothing construction. I feel that what sets me apart from others is my ability to balance a free artistic spirit with a commitment to technical, methodical details.
How do you think about happiness?
This answer changes as I enter different phases of my life. When I was younger I associated my sense of happiness with fulfilling my life’s grandiose ambitions. Now what makes me happy are simpler things rooted in the present rather than sitting on the horizon line, like finding a fabric I love or sitting in the sun with my cats.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://leavves.cargo.site/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leavves
