Meet Victoria Case

Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Case.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I can very vividly remember the exact moment I knew I was going to move to LA, specifically Venice (or within that general vicinity). It was the summer before my junior of college at the University of Georgia where I was studying Fashion Merchandising.

My fashion journey had started a few years before after the necessary realization I was not meant for the nursing world… I was visiting Venice with my two friends before heading over to Koreatown to film for the tv show, Team Ninja Warrior: College Madness. (Gotta love an all-expense paid trip to LA right?!)

After a not-so-relaxing or successful but valiant attempt at surfing, I carried my board to shore and soaked in the mid-August heat. Surfing/drowning made us hungry, so after a walk along Washington Blvd, I settled into a rocking chair– wet suit and all– to wait for my food.

This is that golden moment that will forever play so clearly in my brain. The realization that not only did I want to move across the country to a state I knew absolutely nobody, but the sudden thought that this is exactly where I needed to be. (which was then disrupted by a loudly screaming homeless man. Welcome to LA…) I never spoke to my friends about what I felt or the plans I was already mentally scheming.

I wanted to hold onto the idea a little longer, letting the reality of this internal decision sink in. However, once our plane hit the ground back in Atlanta, GA I made sure everyone knew I had left a little piece of me on the west coast. I’m a firm believer in the phrase “Tell 100 people you’re doing to do something, or you’ll never do it.”

Quick side note– I honestly am not sure where that phrase comes from or the validity behind it. Nevertheless, it stuck with me, and that’s what I did. I began telling everyone I was moving to Venice after graduating from college.

Looking back, I think that verbal recognition of my dream early on is what helped me go through with it. Once everyone knew my plan, encouragement, and support was always endless. I wasn’t ever afraid of the dream, but at times it intimidated me (and still does!).

Dreams are meant to intimidate because out of intimidation comes inspiration comes to action. I put my plan in motion the summer before my senior year of college. With a perfectly structured cold email and the excitement of chasing a dream, I sent my very first (& only) email + resume bundle for a college credit internship with a small brand based out of Venice, CA.

Fast forward through eight weeks and summer with my dream internship to the beginning of my last year of college. Fast forward again through six months of being the president of the college’s largest fashion organization, full-time student, and part-time personal trainer. I moved through my last months consistently checking my inbox for emails from my future employers.

Three months before graduation, I found myself back in LA for what would be my last college spring break, alone– but meeting with my bosses to secure my job. Two weeks after graduation, my dad and I drove a U-Haul across the country, 2,000 miles to be exact!

What still surprises me, is that I was the only person in my entire fashion program to move to LA. I’d find later other fellow dawgs who made the jump across coasts like me, but driving into LA meant driving into a state where I knew less than three people (two of which were my bosses…)

My journey was and still is rough yet rewarding. Frequently I find myself sitting on the shore of Venice Beach staring at the ocean, realizing I’m right in the midst of the dream I so patiently and emphatically crafted. A lot of moments spun together to pull me back, and I’m thankful for the chance to share a little piece of my story. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read. 🙂

Has it been a smooth road?
Let’s just say my metaphorical road to LA was just about as bumpy and rough as my literal 2,000-mile road to LA.

The two-week span between college graduation and packing up my life was pretty smooth. We even hit some luck along the way in Vegas that helped cover the cost of moving. Once Dad fulfilled his fatherly duties of moving me in, he flew out, and I was alone.

I made a last minute decision to live by myself in a studio which in part made my road a little rougher at the start but much more rewarding today. Nobody warns you about the difficulties of facing hundreds of ants on your own with only a bottle of Windex, or how to properly assemble a Brita, so it doesn’t explode all over your kitchen.

There’s not someone there to make sure you get home safely or explore your new city with. While I was unsure about my ability to navigate LA solo, I can whole-heartedly say that living by yourself is an experience every person needs to have if they are able. I’ve discovered more weird habits that I can even explain and have grown comfortable spending quality time with myself.

As an extrovert by nature, I feared that living alone would be the demise of my sanity (dramatic I know), but it has had the opposite effect. I look forward to coming home from work and being alone and getting to choose when I am around others. It takes time getting comfortable living alone in a new city.

I’ll admit I spent the Fourth of July binge-watching Netflix in the dark by myself because I didn’t have any plans and didn’t want to be the only person sitting alone on a day meant to be spent with friends + family. After ten months of living alone, I do regret being so self-conscious that day.

While I am still working on rolling solo, I’m much more at ease and sometimes even prefer being on my own. I can confidently say choosing to live by myself has fast-tracked my growth and independence. I still face the major struggles of killing my own spiders and am starting to talk to myself more often, but hey it’s a small price to pay for your own space. 😉

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I work as the Brand Manager for the absolute coolest activewear/lifestyle clothing brand called Electric & Rose. We’re a small but mighty local brand founded in Venice, CA by my two bosses who are a husband and wife power duo. It’s a team of six, so there is a constant switching of hats, trying new things, and learning at top speed and in high volumes.

My title as Brand Manager is more of a “catch-all” term. There is never a shortage of tasks and always a major feeling of accomplishment when I can clear my inbox. I largely act as head of social media and influencers but also handle digital email marketing, graphic design, content creation and photography, pop-up events, e-commerce customer service– the list goes on and on…

My days are usually spent planning the perfect color flow to our Instagram feed or running around Venice doing photo shoots (the back of my car looks like I simultaneously robbed both activewear and a shoe store…) Some days I’m sweaty and feeling accomplished before 10 am, other days involve three cups of coffee and leaving the office at 7 pm.

Being part of a small company sometimes means taking your work home or having to teach yourself how to do something outside your wheelhouse, but above all else it is rewarding. The little victories mean more, the close quarters and personal relationships built with your co-workers mean more, and the impact you have overall means more.

The company I currently work for is the same company I interned in college for. I’ve almost been there a year and still have those frightening moments of complete cluelessness. Luckily I am given nothing but patient explanations and constant support by both my bosses and co-workers. Having such big responsibilities at the “baby” age of 23 is intimidating but igniting.

Los Angeles in and of itself lights a fire of creativity, passion, and self-motivation like no other city I’ve ever lived in. Every time I leave my house, I’m distracted by the artwork, interesting people, and the energy that hums at all hours here. Meeting and collaborating with local models, artists, and athletes to photograph them in our brand is the highlight of my job. More than photographing people, my joy comes from capturing personality and movement.

My specialty is locking in on those in-between moments, between a smile, between a movement, between a person living their life. I’m not afraid to admit that I don’t know what direction I want to go in. I’m thankful for a job that allows me to try anything and everything and for people who support both my weaknesses and strengths.

Wherever I’m at, I am always all-in and until-the-end. But at age 23, I do find comfort in the unknown and in the thought that the job I want doesn’t exist yet and is patiently waiting for me to create it.

If you had to start over, what would you have done differently?
Nothing!!! You have to keep on keeping on. If you had to start over every time you messed up nobody would get anywhere!

(But if I had to choose something, purely from a work viewpoint, I would’ve become a wizard in Photoshop/Illustrator/Indesign/Lightroom)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.victoriataylorcase.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @tori_case @contentbycase @electricandrose (the company I work for!)

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