Exploring Life & Business with Chrome Masugina of NBN

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chrome Masugina

Hi Chrome, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
After leaving an abusive household and dealing with the displeasure of homelessness, I started making my masks out of the back of my car with what little supplies I could get my hands on. From using the twist ties on packaging to attach charms and hand sewing on any extra accessories I could get, I would drive around Los Angeles advertising my services to artists and musicians alike at networking parties and other events of the same nature. I’ve certainly come a long way from where I began, having this business for over 3 years has taught me a lot about what it means to be a businessowner, experiencing dry spells as much as sedulous seasons of business, owning this business has taught me plenty about having patience with myself and really getting to enjoy what I love to do which is create. continuously going to events and getting to know other creatives has definitely put me in rooms that I never thought I’d be in before. Currently I own the sewing machine of my dreams, a nice little room to just work on my concepts, and a good amount of connections under my belt that I’ve gained throughout the years of me building my brand. If it weren’t for me staying focused, I would’ve given up a long time ago.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Of course not! Being the only person behind this brand has definitely been a challenge that not too many people can handle. From dealing with people discouraging you and comparing your work to other creators, to not getting any likes on a post you tried to launch a new line with, It definitely was tough trying to stay motivated when it came to continuing to fight for my brand and what it stands for. Having little to no support system as well makes it harder to keep your head up when you’re trying to promote yourself as a multimedium creator. And don’t even get me started on how terrible the algorithms have been on social media lately, it’s like if you aren’t paying for advertisement, you’ll never make it to the forefront of the explore page.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My brand NBN stands for Never Be Normal! My brand’s initiative is to encourage people to express themselves in whatever creative way they choose to regardless of the status quo and whether they choose to display their face or not! My goal in the future is to start producing a line of costume clothing that’ll get people to really come out of their shell with how they like to dress. I really want people to start dressing like the videogame character that they’ve always wanted to be haha. Currently I specialize in making custom Balaclavas that have an array of accessories added onto them! From charms to ears, to paint, you name it! I do it all! what sets me apart from other creators that work in the same field is that I don’t overcharge my product! haha, I always try to make sure that my products are affordable, and I’m always willing to negotiate on a price for a client of mine. I don’t just view my clients as customers, Personally I consider them new friends of mine! I’d have to say I’m really proud of my resilience and persistent nature, it took a lot of work to get my business off of the ground and throughout all of the struggles I’ve been through and have dealt with, I’ve still been going strong despite the hardships. I also specialize in graphic design and digitizing! I make patches as a side hustle and its honestly one of my favorite things to do as far as working with my machine. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to launch my clothing store with regular apparel as well.

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Covid-19 has definitely taught me to stay diligent and to stay active when it comes to making different sources of income, because you never know when your main source could suddenly collapse from under you. Thankfully I didn’t deal with anything too drastic, but while Covid-19 was prevalent, a lot of people that I knew that were also business owners were either heavily struggling with their business, or unfortunately having to shut it down because of the many restrictions and limitations that we all had to deal with at that time. Thankfully while this was going on, I was producing homemade facemasks before they had hit the main market, and often had orders for half face masks because the demand for them was shooting up way more than I thought it would. in a way I thank Covid-19 for teaching me how to navigate through tough situations like hat but another part of me despises it because we’ve all definitely changed since that virus even spread throughout the world

Pricing:

• 40$ Base price + One accessory
• +10 Spikes, charms, rhinestones
• +15 Dye, Bleach, Patches
• +20 Ears, Stitchwork, Painting Etc.
• Always willing to negotiate for anything extra!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monochromecandy/
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-157431126-396545852
• Other: https://linktr.ee/Monochromecandy