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

Hi Felicia, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
How I know that I should keep going, is because of the strong desire that I can’t shake off, it’s all-consuming in my mind that I have no choice but to keep going. I fully see a vision of what my dream would look like out there in the world which keeps me focused to come up with new ideas and strategies.

My first initial goal looks different after years of pursuing one way, but deep down I know there is a place for my idea because there is unlimited space to build my own community. After years of waiting to see what would happen, I finally hit a breaking point that I’ll just do it on my own.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I believe my upbringing sets me apart from others. Growing up and being the only African-American in my early childhood classes, I had to learn at an early age it’s okay to be different. I also had to learn to fit in and keep an open mindset. This definitely shaped me and how I’m easygoing with most things.

The real challenge I had to overcome was speaking. Since I had a delayed speech impediment, I had trouble talking and speaking up during school. During high school, I took additional speech classes to help prepare me for college and to overcome my fear of talking.

I’m grateful I had enough courage to move to New York City at 18 to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology. People from Virginia are mostly in the military or teachers, but not me. I had no desire to be in either one of those professions. I wanted to follow my dreams of a career in the fashion industry and have an opportunity to live somewhere new. When I moved to NYC, all my ambition grew, and my storytelling dream was born. But I knew I had to find a job when I finished school, a career in fashion was the way to go.

When 9/II happened, everything changed, and I was lucky to get into Macy’s Inc’s executive program. I’m proud that my outgoing personality and my college network helped me get that job. Staying with the company for six years was a miracle because, once again, I found myself bringing the only person of color in the room. This gave me a lot of anxiety, self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and fear of losing my job every day from some mistake. I feel that some of these stresses still bother me today.

The lesson I learned from this journey was to continue to move forward and keep trying no matter what. I hope people learn from me to keep going and that there is power in the doing. Growing up, I had challenges speaking. My children’s books will help kids overcome their reading and speaking difficulties.

When 9/II happened, everything changed, and I was lucky to get into Macy’s Inc’s executive program. I’m proud that my outgoing personality and college network helped me get that job. Staying with the company for six years was a miracle because, once again, I found myself bringing the only person of color into the room. This gave me a lot of anxiety, self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and fear of losing my job every day from some mistake. I feel that some of these stresses still bother me today.

The lesson I learned from this journey was to continue to move forward and keep trying no matter what. I hope people learn from me to keep going and that there is power in the doing. Growing up, I had challenges speaking. Now my children’s books will help kids overcome their reading and speaking difficulties. I hope my story gives them the courage to keep trying and never give up.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend were visiting the area, we would stay at the Hotel Erwin in Venice. This hotel has one of the best rooftop views. We would go for a walk along the beach and then to Belles Beach House for cocktails before going to Gjelina’s for dinner on Abbot Kinney. Then day two, head over to The Lincoln to end the night. On day three, we would drive up the coast to Malibu for a day on the beach. Stop by Malibu Cafe for cocktails and fun games in the sun. Then drive back down to Malibu Farms for dinner and then to The Bungalow for late-night drinks.

On the four day, we would go to The Broad and walk over to Grand Central Market, but first, we would ride on Angels Flight. Then hop over to Broken Shaker for dinner and some rooftop viewing of DTLA. On the fifth day, take a road trip to Santa Barbara for wine tasting and a walk through State Street. Then visit the old town hall and mission in the area. We would continue to Solvang to visit the cute Danish-style architecture, museums, shops, and more wineries. On day six, go to Melrose Flea Market and go for a walk on Melrose Ave. Then walk over to Hollywood to see the stars and the Hollywood sign. Have lunch at the famous Musson & Frank for some old-school vibes. Then the night at the poolside of The Roosevelt Hotel.

Lastly, go for the hike at Fyman Canyon and visit Universal Studios or the Warner Brothers studio tours to get the final feel of Hollywood and have dinner at Patys Restaurant and have some after-dinner cocktails at The Village.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
When you pursue a creative profession, I feel that you have to keep yourself inspired daily because self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and fear can hit hard at any moment. I keep tons of people, books, and mentorship around me for encouragement. My Shoutout list is huge, from my mother, family, friends, books, and audiobooks like You Are A Badass, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Believe It, Becoming, It’s About Damn Time, to How to Build a Goddamn Empire, too much much more.

I also must shout out to the podcast I listen to, like How I Built This to masterclasses with entrepreneur Sarah Blakely. I’m part of RoadMap Writers for Screenwriters and The WICT Network organization for executive mentorship. I’m using everything I can get a hold of to keep my faith strong and to keep going on this journey.

Website: AChristmasStateOfMind.com

Instagram: @AChristmasStateOfMind

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/felicia-felton-6264b25

Twitter: @feliciafelton3

Facebook: FeliciaFelton

Youtube: AChristmasStateOfMind

Other: My IG as well is @FeliciaFelton.

Image Credits
Red Top photos by Cathryn Farnworth Photography Navy/Blue Top photos by Space On Space Photography

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.