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

Hi Felicia Jade, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
I’ve found that no matter what, it’s about the connections you make. When I decided to make the move from NYC to LA to pursue a career in miniature fabrication and stop motion animation, I was insanely naive. I had been an art director in the creative world for years at a salaried job. I figured all my experience (already doing what I was hoping to do) would translate and slide me into a nice full-time position. Upon arrival though, I was introduced to the reality of it all… starting over and full-time? pffft, raaaareelllly a thing in this field. Five years later, most of the jobs I’ve done have been through introductions of the last person I worked with. They also all stemmed from this one unpaid internship I took at 32 years old.

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.
My career has been all over the place but when you look at it as a whole, it all feels cohesive. I’ve always been very hands-on as well as resourceful. I started out in the world of fashion but it always felt a little off, because I was building things like lobster wedding gowns and tank girl hats. All super niche stuff, that I’m not sure would have sustained as a career in the long run. But what I took from that was, I like to build and I love a reaction. It just felt like a very fluid transition to go from fashion to props to miniatures to stop motion and back and forth over and over. I love bringing something inanimate to life and having people react as though it’s magic. When it comes to having to adapt to whatever the project is, I feel like it’s a little bit of a privilege and a curse. On the one hand, I am always doing something new and fun. On the other hand, it’s constant problem solving and lacks stability.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shoutout to Chris Finnegan at Screen Novelties, a production company that specializes in stop motion animation. Chris endured my persistence to work with them as a complete outsider and gave me a chance to work in the art department on the stop motion Spongebob Squarepants Halloween Special. Having this experience on my resume helped me to land other jobs simply because it was a show everyone had heard of. Without that internship, I’m not sure where I’d be in this industry.

Website: www.feliciarein.com

Instagram: @iamfeliciajade

Other: https://vimeo.com/user15971312

Image Credits
Jacob Boll, Meiko Arquillos, Kiki Stevens, Garrett Hill, Cody Rhyse

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.