Meet Bryenne Scott of Blemish in Sherman Oaks

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryenne Scott.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’m 27 years old, and I’m a storyteller. I’m a screenwriter, journalist, and I also created named Blemish. Blemish was created to highlight and uplift creatives and entrepreneurs from all backgrounds, but especially people of color.

I don’t even consider myself to be where I want to be yet, but I’m grateful for the opportunities that found me on the way. I honestly never even thought I’d be doing what I’m doing now. I feel like when we’re young, our gifts get lost in the chaos of growing up. And if we happen to make the decision to look for them, we end up finding them again.

I moved to LA three years ago to pursue wardrobe styling, and now, three years later, I found myself; doing something completely different. When I was younger, I loved reading, and I was good at writing, but I didn’t necessarily LIKE to write. I couldn’t stand it. Sure I wrote great papers, at the very last minute at that (I used to be the biggest procrastinator). However, the idea of sitting down and writing anything was not my idea of a walk in the park. I did, however, use writing as a method of expression. I guess I did this because sometimes I’d find myself in situations where I found it easier to write out what I wanted to say. So in that sense, I secretly loved it.

Growing up, I experienced both sides of the spectrum. Money was not a factor for the first half of my childhood. The second half was a different story. My family moved around a few times, and I went to about three different high schools. Let’s just say that I knew what it felt like to look out from the top of the Eiffel tower, and I also knew what it was like to sleep on a mattress on the floor. I was blessed to be able to see life from different lenses early on.

When we graduate high school, it seems like everyone around us has it all figured it out. They know what they want to do in life, what school they want to attend or maybe even both. This was NOT the case for me. The summer before I finally settled on a college, mainly because I didn’t get accepted to any of my top choices, I remember my mom asking me what I wanted to be. I had not the slightest clue. All I knew was that I wanted to do something that involved two things, creativity, and helping people. I knew that a conventional job was just not for me.

I ended up at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the Fall of 2010. As far as my major went, I literally stared at the major ‘menu’ for about 30 minutes until I found the most creative one on the list. I had found a winner. Mass Communications with a focus in Advertising. That’s creative enough, right?

Nope. Nearly 40,000 dollars later, I decided that it wasn’t for me. After graduating, I interned at a Creative Production Agency as the Creative Director Under Study. I was beyond grateful for the experience, but somehow, it still didn’t feel right. I was so proud of myself for landing an internship like that, but I also found out that although this environment gave me the freedom to be creative, It didn’t necessarily give me ‘creative freedom.’ After that internship ended, I quickly learned the difference.

After graduation, I was pretty much back at square one. Before I started school, I had no clue what I wanted to do. After school, I thought I did. Then I got a little bit of experience doing it and quickly learned that it wasn’t for me. So now what? Fashion Styling. I love art. So naturally, I love fashion. I landed a job at Nordstrom in St.Louis. It was a start.

About four months into it, on my way to work, I got into a nearly fatal car accident. Interestingly enough, right before the accident happened, I remember praying. I was asking God to help me gain more clarity in my career path. They say that God acts on His own time. In this case, he wasted none.

My car was totaled, and I had no way to get to that job anymore. I moved back to Chicago, got a job as an Assistant Manager at the Hollister on Michigan Avenue, found a beautiful studio apartment near downtown and faced the brutal winters again. I became extremely unhappy. Not only in my career, but in my personal life as well. So I literally woke up one day and decided to take a leap of faith. My dad had been urging me to reach out to a friend of his who lived in California for years. That day something told me to do it, and to my surprise, she answered.

That conversation inspired me so much that three months later, I was settling into my new home. Los Angeles, California. I was referred to a Menswear Company in DTLA and got a job with them as a Design Assistant. It felt like a dream come true. It was tough at first. I had no fashion textile knowledge. So I was shocked that I was even hired for the job. Looking back, I see now that it was all just a part of the journey. I quickly caught on and found myself doing really well. I faced many challenges within the workplace and outside of it. The cost of living in LA is roughly around a billion dollars a year (kidding, but it is obnoxiously expensive). So there’s that. But despite all of the challenges I went through, I just kept on going.

Two years later, I ended up getting fired from that job, working a random office temp job and then back to no job again. An eviction and two moves later, I landed in The Valley (the northwest side of LA). I lived with my sister and family friend for about a year as I soul searched a little bit. I landed another office job nearby and found myself getting closer to God during this time. I was backed into a corner. I made Him the center of my life and found myself trusting the process more and more. I started a prayer journal, and my entire perspective started to change. I began to gain more clarity, and I became more grateful and humble about everything. Despite my current situation.

I believe that writing in the prayer journal helped me to hear from God. I started to actually act on my ideas versus just sitting on them. I started to realize that my ideas were His way of speaking to me. I decided to create a blog in the Summer of 2018. Blemish. It started off personal. I just needed an outlet. But then I realized that I wanted to add value to other people’s lives. That was more important to me.

So, while working at this random office job, that I now realize was not so random at all, I simultaneously started Blemish. My journey as a creative and entrepreneur had many ups and downs thus far. I was personally inspired by other people’s stories. So I decided to dedicate my blog to other creative and entrepreneurs FOR upcoming creatives and entrepreneurs. Since then, I’ve not only found purpose, but I’ve created some long-lasting relationships and gained some life-changing opportunities along the way. Overall I’ve learned that the journey is never-ending. However, I’ve also learned that by sharing our experiences, both good and bad, and through support, transparency, and collaboration, we can definitely make it a smoother road to travel on.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has not been a smooth process at all. When I first started the platform, I wasn’t completely aware of what I was getting myself into. I’ve had many sleepless nights trying to juggle all of the moving parts of my business while still working a 9-5 desk job. Since my days were spent at work, there were many times where I’d have to sneak away from my desk to post. Or use my 30-minute breaks and lunch breaks to write full articles. This was challenging because I would have to sustain high-quality content under extremely tight deadlines. Both at my 9-5 job and within my platform. It became a juggling act. The real challenge, however, is finding the time after you’ve worked an 8-hour shift to work another 8-hour shift for your business. It’s challenging because now you have to find the energy to continue working when all you really want to do is sleep or relax. So yes, there were many challenges for sure. There still are. Every day brings a new challenge. Which I’m sure anyone who is an entrepreneur or creative can attest to. However, by taking it day by day and by allowing Him to direct your steps, anything you put your mind to is attainable. Period.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Blemish story. Tell us more about the business.
Blemish is a faith and online-based platform whose’ main aim is to shine a light on ‘The Journey.’ In a social media-driven world of instant gratification, we get caught up in thinking that success just happens overnight.

When in reality, nothing great was ever built in a day. Blemish was created to eliminate those stereotypes. By sharing the journeys of real people with real success stories (the kind you wouldn’t necessarily find on your social feeds), we aim to inspire entrepreneurs and creatives to either put that bright idea to work OR to keep at it no matter what. What sets us apart from others is that we aim to encourage people to be more open about their failures. We believe that our failures are the fuel for our fire, and ultimately, they have the potential to propel us into our purpose. So fall. Fall hard. We encourage it. How can you ever fly if you’ve never fallen?

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
In the next 5-10 years, I see online platforms becoming completely visual or audio, which is why we are currently transitioning into incorporating these two elements into our platform so that we are ahead of the curve.

Contact Info:

• Address: Los Angeles, Ca.
• Website: https://www.blemsh.com/
• Phone: 312-719-6502
• Email: bree@blemsh.com
• Instagram: @blemsh
• Twitter: @blem_sh

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