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

Hi Leah, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I started my business I loved the idea of being in control of my schedule. To take off when I needed, to be flexible for my friends and family. As i’ve grown older, I am so happy that I can work my day around my son’s school schedule. Furthermore, I love that I can work anywhere. I can take a ‘lunch’ break and go tend to my garden. I can still travel between bookings and manage the admin wherever I am. While there is still a ton of work to do, it’s so nice to be your own boss!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As the owner of Dreamcatcher Artistry I have two massive parts that I fulfill. First, my artistry. I am seasoned hair and makeup artist working in film, print, commercial and bridal. While I focus mainly on bridal now, I like to keep my company in all facets of the beauty industry. With that said, I would say about 80% of what we do is solely Bridal. I began my career wanting to be a makeup artist, but very quickly also falling in love with hairstyling. Both have their own creative stamps to master and I am proud to be good at both. The second part of what I do is run my teams. I have around 25 freelance artists covering a good portion of California. And to say this job isn’t all pretty hair and makeup is to put it lightly. The logistics of corresponding, scheduling, planning, and organizing weddings isn’t for the faint of heart. But I love it. I enjoy mastering my systems to create successful flows in my booking processes. I am always looking for better ways to do things.

At one point in my career after starting my first branch of artists, I moved to another city. Because my first location just seemed to fall into place and grow organically, when I moved, I thought it would be the same for the new location. That couldn’t be further from the truth! It was a struggle getting things up and running. But after some time and even taking a teaching position at a local makeup school to help pay the bills, I started to realize the actions I needed to take to really get my footing, which was some hardcore cold calling. Once I got the confidence to make that happen, things built up quickly! I am now on my third location and couldn’t be more grateful for this journey.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
For someone who has never been to the Los Angeles area, I would definitely want to start them out on Venice Beach. Grab some cheap sunglasses and watch the wild ensue. Maybe get something pierced or tattooed lol. I would also make a point to venture to downtown Santee Alley for some cheap shopping. And I would absolutely go on a hike up to the observatory! Oh and we would definitely go to Hamburger Marys for some Drag Bingo in West Hollywood!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My biggest shoutout would be Josh Young. He is a young entrepreneur who took me in as his personal assistant when I was in my early 20’s to supplement my income between makeup/hair gigs in Los Angeles. He trusted me with managing his finances and big parts of his businesses. He really taught me the importance of compassion to those working for you and what serious drive looked like. What was suppose to be a side job turned into being a valuable mentorship for me and really helped me with the confidence and knowledge to begin my own business.

Website: www.dreamcatcherartistry.com

Instagram: dreamcatcherartistry

Facebook: Dreamcatcherartistry

Image Credits
Allison Welker Photography Lerina Winter Photography Loveridge Photo And Film Katrina Jayne Photo

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.