Today we’d like to introduce you to Grace Hanson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Grace. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a 24-year-old British Comedian and Actress who recently moved to Los Angeles from London to further pursue my career. I have always loved being a creative but I was never sure of what specific field I wanted to be in. Before moving to LA, I wrote articles for Galore Magazine; ranging from pop culture to politics and also interned at a production company to give me some experience in things that I love and fascinated me.
The decision to move to LA was induced by my dream to combine my love for acting and my advocacy to mental health but most importantly, because I believed in LA, I could work and combine different creative industries that I felt I had a passion for instead of just focusing on one.
This, in turn, leads to me creating a line of ironic yet hilarious greeting cards called ‘Comfort Cards’ as an attempt to remove the stigma that is often associated with it. I truly believe that making the decision to move far from home allowed me to gain confidence in endeavours I would have otherwise been afraid to pursue.
Once settling in, I met such a wide and interesting group of people from all different backgrounds and stories. I quickly realised that truly everyone has their own struggles and obstacles no matter how great their lives look on the outside (or on Instagram). This lead me to create Comfort Cards and continue writing/producing scripts whilst also acting and doing comedy! *who do I think I am*
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has definitely not been a straight forward journey, especially because creating Comfort Cards required me to dive deep into my personal mental health struggle. However, the motivation of wanting to help and support others who deal with mental health issues has always kept me wanting to create and work on my brand.
I would also say that there truly is no blueprint to working in a creative industry. Acting and writing has always been my true love. There have definitely been times where I think “what if my work isn’t good enough” or “this definitely isn’t anything near as good as a Wes Anderson movie”. But then, I remember that if I don’t even try and stick to it and hold myself accountable to this BIZARRE creative day to day I live and love, I will never know. Writing and acting both derive from myself and who I am as a person, which no one can replicate and that definitely gives me the motivation to keep at it!
My main piece of advice would be to try your hardest not to compare to others in your industry because people have come from all different backgrounds and there truly is only one you. So, whatever you create will always be interesting and unique because no one else has lived through or experienced what you have.
We’d love to hear more about Comfort Cards.
Most notably, I starred in Sebastian Sdaiguis’s ‘The Girl In The Woods’ as the lead. Following that, I am about to release a short film called ‘Cracks’ in September, which I wrote, directed and starred in and I have just finished writing my feature film – which (I hope) will be in movie theatres near you.
Additionally, I am working on a podcast ‘Impressive Depressive’ which is talking about Young Hollywood and mental health. However, it has airs of comedy because, well, that’s just me.
Lastly, I am the CEO and Founder of ‘Comfort Cards’ a greeting card line which supports mental health issues. These cards are there to support not only the person struggling but also the people around them who don’t know what to say or how to help. Mental health often scares people because they might not know how to deal with it. It is also so easy in this day and age to just send a little text ‘how r u’ or ‘luv u’. But taking the time to write a little note in a Comfort Card will go a long way.
Comfort Cards are also designed to make the person receiving it smile and feel loved and most importantly not alone. The range of cards aren’t only mental health based, we have ones for dealing with a break up, losing a best friend or terrible periods!! Yes. Menstrual cramps.
I think the proudest moments of my career so far I also was overwhelmed and slightly shocked when The Girl In The Woods won best short film at the New York Independent Film Festival. Finishing my feature film scrip was an incredible achievement, as I had to hold myself accountable to finish it and well, it took me 3 f**cking years. Lastly, Comfort Cards is my baby that I started all by myself.
I think I set myself apart from others because I don’t want to just do comedy or acting or writing or running my company or partying. I want to do it all. And I’ve decided. I will.
So much of the media coverage is focused on the challenges facing women today, but what about the opportunities? Do you feel there are any opportunities that women are particularly well-positioned for?
I think that everything that is stigmatized with being a woman is actually our strength. For example, the stereotype that women are too emotional actually means we are immensely creative, we can feel things deeper and show them through different mediums such as paintings, poetry, films, etc. because we are ‘oh so emotional.’
Forbes recently released an article that EQ (Emotional intelligence) is more important that IQ (Intellectual intelligence). So if women are ‘over emotional’ well then were clearly doing something right!
I also think that the media coverage on women and their challenges has given us a voice to not only speak about challenges but also explain and proclaim how we have overcome them and created success through these challenges. We can now tell our stories, our struggles AND our triumphs.
I full-heartedly believe that women shouldn’t think there are only specific industries or roles that they are well suited for. I believe a woman can be anything from the CEO of a financial institution, a beautiful painter, a strong athlete, an inspiring mother, a visionary and most of all an icon.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.comfortcards.co.uk
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @gracehanson @comfortcardz
- Other: https://vimeo.com/229491425
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
