We had the good fortune of connecting with Brandy Lewis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brandy, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I never even knew about the concept of work / life balance. It was just work and work more. It’s what it took to start a business. There were no 8 hour days or 7 day weeks. It was whatever needed to get done whenever it needed to get done. And then doing the next thing. I kind of forced my entire family into pitching in too, as a way to find time to spend with them. Outings where the kids thought I was finally giving them one on one time, but then “coincidentally” ended up on an excursion to source stuff for my business did not go over well… But since I spent those years piecing together the foundation, and putting together an incredible team that can see the vision and execute it, I finally understand this movement towards creating a work life balance.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I first set out to create 4 walls where any regular person could go in and practice being creative, free from the ideal of perfection. Most of my life was spent not being creative because of the very loud (and mean!) critic within. And once I could let go of that and just allow myself to “make a mess”, I realized the value for me was not in the finished product but the process. That original purpose of wanting to help a person practice creativity has grown to not only groups of people, but helping international businesses connecting through practicing something creative. My biggest challenge was not always seeing what I was working towards as far as a sustainable business. But I would just focus on that original purpose – to help others be creative and feel happiness – literally maybe 10 minutes at a time. So with that guiding me, I just kept showing up.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The Getty has a great view plus you get to see art. Intelligensia for The Angeleno.
Hike in Griffith Park.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Independent artists get my shoutout. They are in the same social media deafening, politically confused, environmentally damaged world we are all in, and yet – they are practicing their art. Somehow, they are maintaining a personal discipline towards honoring the creativity within themselves. To me that is radical and deserves support. Nothing makes me happier than all the beautiful artists Makers Mess gets to support as their side hustle!

Website: www.makersmess.com

Instagram: @makersmess

Linkedin: @makersmess

Twitter: @makersmess

Facebook: @makersmess

Yelp: @makersmess

Youtube: @makersmess

Image Credits
Casey Fyfe

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.