Meet Heather Ford: Makeup Artist

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

Hi Heather, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
As a creative and a freelancer, taking risks is a huge part of the job in several ways. The biggest risk for me was starting my career as a Makeup Artist. My first career was an elementary school teacher, so I had to completely start over, which of all the risks I’ve taken in my life that was probably the biggest, with the most at stake. But even as I was getting started I knew I wouldn’t be working a lot and I wouldn’t be earning a lot when I did work, so I had to decide if I was going to get a part-time job in order to have some income, while also trying to book makeup jobs. I didn’t – I wanted to be fully available and committed to my new career. I think that has a lot to do with my decision-making when it comes to risks. How much do I want it? How committed am I? What am I willing to sacrifice? Even now, almost 15 years later, I still ask myself these same questions because I still have to take certain risks. Jobs don’t always line up perfectly and you often have to choose one over another. How do you know which one to take? I recently passed on a job that would’ve been 2-3 months of work, for a pilot that was only 2 weeks of work. It seems kind of insane when you only look at it from a financial stand point. However the job that was 2-3 months was very similar to a lot of the work that I’ve done most of my career. But the pilot was a bigger show with more challenges and responsibilities, as well as really different creatively than what I’ve been doing for several years. My gut was telling me to do the pilot and if I’ve learned anything about taking risks in this business, it’s trust your instinct. It’s there for a reason. You just have to know what you want.

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 think the thing that sets me apart from others isn’t necessarily directly related to my art. I think it’s my story – that I walked away from a life, a marriage and a career, moved across the country and started over all by myself. I never dreamt of winning awards or getting recognition for doing makeup. I was taking such a leap of faith that my only goal was that one day I could pay all my bills doing something I loved. Sometimes I stop and think about how that was almost 15 years ago and here I am, working, paying my bills (even taking fun vacations now & then) and actually living the dream. Was it easy? Of course not, it’s never easy. But I trusted my instincts, tried my best to do things for the right reasons, surrounded myself with good people and learned from my mistakes as often as possible.

I love doing makeup – I love the transformation, I love the products, I love to see how people feel and react after I’ve done their makeup. However, what I’ve learned is that I love being part of the storytelling process just as much. I love being part of a team of storytellers, and the experience of seeing how each of us contributes in our own unique way. Yes, I’m sure winning an award would feel pretty great too, but no one wins an award by themselves alone. There’s always a super talented team helping along the way. The experience of creating something as a team is honestly what truly fulfills me.

If there’s anything I want people to know it’s don’t be in a rush – take the time to figure out who you are and what you love and do it. Even if it means trying out a few different things and maybe getting side-tracked a little. It’s never too late to start over. It takes courage, but it’s worth the fight.

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.

Let’s be real, we’re mostly going to eat our way through town. But I do have some other ideas… We’d have to do a beach day, probably to Malibu, either Point Dume or El Matador. Then we’d spend a day at Olympic Spa in Koreatown and have dinner at Beverly Soon Tofu. One night I’d take them to see either a comedy or music show at Largo and Ethiopian food for dinner at Meals by Genet. We’d go on hikes at Kenneth Hahn and through Griffith Park up to the Observatory, maybe even a stroll through the Venice Canals one day. Lunch downtown at the Grand Central Market, a quick ride on the Angels Flight and then a glass of wine or two and a look around the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. We’d have to do some shopping – hit up the Melrose Trading Post or Silverlake Flea. Or Individual Medley in Atwater Village or Prelude and Dawn in Highland Park. And definitely a movie at The Vista Theater in Los Feliz, a walk around the Silverlake reservoir and a picnic at the meadow, ricotta pancakes at Little Dom’s in Los Feliz, breakfast burritos at Tacos Villa Corona in Atwater Village, and oysters and bubbly at L&E in Silverlake. Yeah, so mostly eating…

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
This is hard – there have been so many people in my life who have shown me consistent encouragement and support. One person who stands out is my very good friend Hilary. She’s probably my biggest champion. She never lets me forget how I started, where I’ve been and how far I’ve come. Even on my worst days, she’ll remind me of what I’ve accomplished and pull me out of my despair. And I have to give credit to a couple producers who took a huge chance on hiring me when I had barely any experience – Franny Baldwin and Jonathan Stern. I got to work with so many incredible comedians and actors, built a really solid resume and learned almost everything I know because they kept me on project after project.