Rising Stars: Meet Amie Bartley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amie Bartley.

Hi Amie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
For as long as I can remember, I have loved fashion. It just came so naturally to me to see an outfit in my head and easily piece it together that once I was around 7 or 8 years old, my mom would have me go shopping with her to pick out her outfits and help style her. I continued that through the years, picking up a love of makeup as well, and once I was in high school and college, my friends would constantly ask me for fashion and makeup advice. I would even do friend’s makeup for nights out, weddings, or just for fun.

I originally went to KU, majoring in psychology and business, but decided my passion was truly in fashion, so I transitioned to The Art Institute to study Fashion Marketing and Management. I also started working in retail, starting at Abercrombie & Fitch freshman year of college and eventually landing at Nordstrom right after college for five years, making it up to management. In 2013, I made a career change to the corporate world after I got married to my incredible husband and wanted more time with him. Nordstrom was a dream, but the nights and weekend schedule meant as a newlywed, I had the opposite schedule of my husband, so it was time to make a change.

My love of fashion and beauty was always still there, and after being in the corporate insurance and HR world for five years, I was craving a creative outlet. A couple of friends had suggested I start a fashion blog over the years, especially with friends, family, and strangers always asking where my outfit, bag, or shoes was from. I finally decided to pull the trigger and put myself out there, so after several months of teaching myself how to start a website, customize it, come up with content ideas, and convince my husband to be my photographer, I launched Gucci & Glam in November 2018. At the time, I had maybe 1,000 followers on Instagram and had no idea what I was doing! I started to post my outfit photos on Instagram and write fashion posts on my website and slowly started to get more of a following. By early Fall 2019, I was attending my first KC blogger event and met so many amazing and encouraging women, which led me to level up my little creative outlet.

From there, I was working my full-time day job and balancing my part-time real estate gig along with my blog that was rapidly growing at night and on the weekends. I started having brands reach out to me for collaborations and have had the pleasure of working with so many dream brands like Red Dress Boutique, ELEMIS, L’Oreal, Garmin, B.B. Dakota, Diamonds Direct, and Google. I even was on FOX4 for a styling segment with Amelia’s Boutique, which was so fun. I have so much fun with this everyday and look forward to seeing where I go with my little space the internet in the years to come.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I am not going to lie; it has not been the smoothest road. There are definitely ups and downs, even with something I am so passionate about and have so much fun with. One of my biggest struggles when I decided to start out was just trying to figure out how to start. There was no real roadmap or “how-to guide” when I was starting, so I was spending hours every night doing all the research on how to start a website figuring out the best platform and then figuring out how to actually customize it myself. Funny enough, one of the biggest struggles I had was just figuring out my blog name!

Another struggle was figuring out the photography aspect. My husband took photography in high school, and we had an old DSLR camera sitting around, and he still does take about 80% of my photos. Trying to convey the style of photos I wanted, figuring out posing(which I still struggle with!), locations to shoot, etc… was definitely hard at first and occasionally still is, but we have both gotten much better from when we just started. Another struggle I think most influencers can relate to is trying to figure out how best to grow organically with the Instagram algorithm constantly changing. I am still learning new things all the time, so there will always be some bumps in the road learning new editing and content creation skills to keep up with the ever-changing social media landscape.

One of my top struggles I have though, is balancing my full-time job, part-time real estate job, and my blog. It is not always easy to find the time for everything and I am a one-woman show with only my husband helping with the photography aspect.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My full-time day job is in product support at a tech startup based out of NYC, which I just transitioned to earlier this month! I work remotely and am currently focused on learning all aspects of my new role and loving it. I also am a realtor part-time for both KS and MO residents. My other passion is my fashion and beauty blog that focuses on everyday style tips and beauty tips for women to look and feel their best. I share my favorite outfit finds, makeup favorites, skincare routine, some of my home interior style, and some travel, so a little bit of everything!

I am currently focusing on balancing my full-time job with my side hustles, which can be a challenge at times. For my blog, I am working on more content ideas, a couple travel guides, as well as working to incorporate more beauty how-to tutorials, including makeup looks, hairstyle tutorials, and skincare routine favorites. I strive to constantly learn more and be a great resource for my followers and always want to make sure I am transparent and that I feel like your online best friend or big sister! I love my community and want to give women encouragement and inspiration to look and feel their best. Beauty comes in all different forms, and I truly believe that fashion and makeup can be fun and doesn’t have to be uncomfortable or scary!

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I am in no makeup, hair up in a bun, and sweats or athleisure typically four days a week and only get “ready” when I am going out or to an event. I love getting dressed up and doing my makeup, but when I am working from home during the week, I give myself a break from the hair and makeup and wear comfy clothes so my two cats can sit on my lap as much as they want! I definitely do not do the full glam and cute outfit everyday of the week! And I must have a dessert or something sweet most every night!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.gucciandglam.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gucciandglam
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gucciandglamblog
• Other: https://www.liketoknow.it/gucciandglam

Image Credits
Matthew Bartley