Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelby Reed.
Hi Shelby, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I think I was glamming (without the label) since I emerged from the womb. What started out as at-home fashion shows and photo shoots with my sister and a roster of friends throughout childhood.. has quite literally become my career reality as a grown-up. I gotta pinch myself sometimes thinking about that because how many people really can say that of their life quest?
Getting in trouble over makeup at home and at school was definitely a repeat topic all throughout my elementary years. With roll-on body glitter being the peak cosmetic of the 90s, and me always going for the extra razzle dazzle, my dad was frequently addressing me as the tin man and confiscating my make up stashes.
I do believe I pioneered likely one of the first ever makeup tutorials in 8th grade for Mr. Michael’s speech class long before YouTube and social media videos became the deal. Working with just a handful of the most inexpensive eyeshadows, you could get at the time from bonbons and wet and wild, I performed a colorful eyeshadow master class if you will, on a classmate as my live model, accompanied by an inverted binder with a step-by-step pictorial I illustrated myself for an up close visual. That really sounds fancier than it was though at the time lol. I definitely I forgot to sharpen my eyeliner and I remember my friends eyeballs inches away burning right through my soul as we struggled through application with smiles on. We all gotta start somewhere right? I am 35 now, and there have certainly been many more challenges and humbling experiences along the way.
My friends and colleagues growing up always admonished me to pursue a career in beauty, and for a long time I rebuked that notion, certain that it would taint it’s joy for me. Something clicked for me after I had my one and only baby girl, that suddenly ignited a new ambition to make this my life pursuit. Because of that, I have reached heights in this field I could have never imagined. 9 years of business in, and I made it on TV for makeup, had my work on several billboards, magazine articles, and I just got back from doing a wedding in Greece! Baby girl will always be the reason I accomplished these things.
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?
Nothing worthwhile is ever easy, and the struggles I have encountered along the way have been multidimensional. I’d say my initial challenges going into business were in attempts to build clientele and create a social media presence that requires a LOT of energy and unpaid work. My initial aspirations going into this were to make it big as an influencer, on YouTube specifically. While I had all the support of my following and did reach some notable milestones in the influencer realm, including PR with a number of small cosmetic companies, and content acknowledgment from a number of big cosmetic companies… I ultimately could not keep up with the ever evolving beast of social media and all it requires. But I had put this goal on a pedestal, and for some time felt inferior and in search of purpose within this career. The constant pressure to produce content made me realize that maybe being a creator didn’t simply mean content.. the fates had bigger plans for me, and social media was merely my Genesis as a business, putting me on the map for much greater conquests I had never considered.
Enter divorce… The darkest stretch of my life that certainly took a toll on my professional presence. I separated from a 10 year marriage over the course of my very first stint working for Kansas City Fashion Week. I was named a senior artist over the loudspeaker on our last show day, told this was a rare occurrence. And while I tried to be proud of myself and experience joy in this accolade, I knew my life was about to dramatically change… and it did. This unprecedented heartbreak withdrew me even further from my social media presence. What was my purpose? How could I bare this much brokenness and still climb let alone perform? I like to thank a couple of angels that came into my midst to lift me up in business and keep me working, no matter what. But the one that is set apart from the rest in my world, is a friend and fellow artist that I met over that same stint at KCFW, becoming the greatest support system in business I have ever had to date, and one of my dearest friends. As the owner and operator of her own thriving business at @theivorystandard, she walked with me through every dark moment for several years, only ever knowing me at my worst and never treating me like a burden in my sorrow. And for that entire stretch of time that I couldn’t bring myself to stay on top of my own marketing, when I had never had trouble being inundated with business before, she kept me working, handing me all the jobs I needed to stay above water. I had never worked for another person in my business before… and the very weekend I separated from my marriage, I met her. She became the most integral part of my survival, and inspiration to keep my business alive. Because of that relationship, I made it to the other side of my struggle with my business intact and new accolades to boot. Returning recently from Greece, where I styled a wedding party for the first time abroad with Sydney, was truly a fever dream. I cannot emphasize enough what an incredible experience this was, and is the most solid confirmation that my ambition to continue traveling the world as I have done throughout my life, is absolutely meant to be united in my business ventures. I feel more strongly than ever that I know my purpose.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve always had a very strong passion for fashion, and in that, my drive to create and transform has positioned me in all of the work that I played pretend at my whole life. Growing up, watching America’s top model with Bible, and my favorite elements of that were the model transformations for each photo shoot. I would reenact my own version of those shoots at home with my sister or any of my friends that would be a willing subject. Now I have done work for all of the biggest fashion shows in Kansas City, including billboards, brand work and photo shoots. I think what sets me apart, and what I am most proud of is my undying devotion to a lifelong passion, and my commitment to create no matter what the budget is. Most artists in my industry have built businesses on high-end cosmetics. Growing up I only ever had inexpensive makeup, and very little access to anything of high-quality. That alone presents its own set of challenges, but being that I learned and self-taught the skill set that I have off of those things, I can create with just about anything… you wouldn’t believe the crazy scenarios I’ve been able to work around professionally because of that lol. If I’m well known, it’s definitely for my ex expensive makeup skill set, and my followers known me as Shelbedazzled 🖤
How do you think about happiness?
Fashion has truly been one of the most longstanding sources of joy in my life, along with Halloween and animals lol. Being able to express ones self, in a mood or a moment through fashion has always felt very powerful. I’ve always wanted to be the part that created the face to match. Being the creator behind someone who’s serving face whether it’s on the runway or their wedding day is such a proud moment.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/shelbedazzled
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shelbedazzled?
