Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Love.
Hi Brittany, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m a former foster youth who always had a love for creating. It’s always been very therapeutic to create something new related to arts. I love music, crafts, videos, dancing, skating and so much more. My number one passion in life is music. I mostly do hip hop music because I really enjoy writing and performing lyrics especially those that tell a story.
I went to college for Digital Media Arts with a focus on Audio Recording to learn how to create my own music. I dabbled in video and film during my major classes as well and that increased my love for video editing. I definitely see a career in music for me so I try to learn everything that I can related to the art. I want to pursue music not only because it’s my passion but it’s also the passion of my little brother Tony who we sadly lost to violence in 2016. This is by far the worst loss for me because he was seriously my best friend. We’ve missed out on so much together due to being separated because of the foster care system and I only dreamed of making up for those times in our adult years but his life was cut very short at the age of 20. It’s only right that I live for both of us.
After college, I became a DJ and had Tony as my DJ tag & image for every event. I also say his name in every song that I create just like the artist Ludacris says “Luda” in every song of his. Because music isn’t a financially stabled career for me yet, I have to take on part-time jobs for living costs and necessities. I took on a job as a staff for an After School program where I discovered a love for bead art after being given an assignment to do with my students. I really enjoyed it but didn’t think of going further with it. I worked for the After School program for a year and then went to work as an audio engineer for an internet radio station called Tha After Party West. I really enjoyed this experience because it incorporated all my loves for entertainment in one. This opportunity as well as DJing was cut short due to the pandemic so my only source of income was an extra job at Amazon that I secured while working for the After School program. I had a lot of downtime and it was affecting me mentally so I wanted to get back into creating since I can do it from home. I remember beading and how great it made me feel so I studied up on it and eventually learned how to make anything I wanted out of perler beads.
When I started posting my work online, I was receiving a great amount of love. Most people don’t see art made of beads often so it was something very unique to their eyes. I was inspired to create more. Once I learned how to make portraits out of the beads, I felt I was on to something and wanted to try selling them. I started making a few sales and would light up every time someone reacted positively to their purchased bead art. I really loved how satisfied they were with their art and most customers would always return for another bead art. Since then, I’ve been finding ways to promote my work and been receiving a lot of help from family and friends to grow my side hustle a little more while still making time to pursue my passion in music. My brother Tony and my foster parent/auntie Annie who passed away this January to covid-19 always said I had many talents and I don’t have to focus on just one. I just want to make them proud by doing many things they know would make me happy. My closest family and friends always cared about the happiness of their loved ones.
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?
Because of the pandemic, I have a lot of free time so it makes beading pretty smooth for me. I also love being my own boss because I decide when I want to work and how many orders I can handle. It takes a lot of time to bead that’s why I only do it as a small business but I still charge pretty fair for all the time it takes. Because beading is so flexible for me, I can still focus on my music passion and don’t have to worry about my beading affecting my music journey.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I create people, places, and things out of perler beads. The beads are melted after completion to stick and hold together. I’m most proud of my favorite musical artists, Ciara and Missy Elliott, sharing the bead art I’ve made of them. My favorite bead art so far is the 2nd portrait I’ve made of my baby brother Tony.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Being professional, friendly, reliable, and consistent are most important to my success for far.
Contact Info:
- Email: brittanylovetv@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BrittanyLovesArt
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1brittanylove/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1BrittanyLove
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/1BrittanyLove
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/brittanylovetv
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/brittany-brat
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@1brittanylove
