Meet Kelly Duong | Hair Artist

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

Hi Kelly, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Throughout my life I’ve always enjoyed art in various mediums. Being creative felt natural to me and it was a dream of mine to pursue a career in a creative field. I was told from a young age that artists aren’t able to make a living to survive. Fortunately, now I don’t believe that to be true and I’m on my own path currently achieving my dreams. I believe we need more BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color) from the working class to be in the creative fields so our visions, dreams, and voices can be heard and represented clearly.

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 am developing and learning constantly to evolve my style. I draw a great deal of inspiration from nature and anything that catches my eyes. Currently, I love incorporating trinkets and accessories into my work.

For almost 2 years I worked for free and out of pocket while working a part time job. I wouldn’t have lasted that long if it wasn’t for my family and friends who supported me. All of the hard work I’ve put into my career is starting to pay off as work is picking up. I recently had my first cover shoot and first billboard which I’m still trying to comprehend. As well as many other first time opportunities I recently experienced such as working for JLo, Disney, EcoStyle, 88rising, and TeenVogue.  Getting to where I am today isn’t easy, but I am privileged to do what I do.

The creative industry is harsh and I want to change it by offering genuine empathy with every interaction I have. To not be harden by the hounding of our capitalistic society and instead stay soft. Being a Asian woman in a creative field I rarely see someone like me and I want to show everyone that it can be done.

The lessons I’ve learned along the way are that people will take advantage of you and you have to be vigilant with setting and enforcing boundaries or else you’ll get burnt out quickly.

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?

I genuinely enjoy going to Little Tokyo in LA. There’s an extensive list of places to visit so here is a few:

There’s a shop called PopKiller that I used to visit often. On top of bookstores for craft supplies to a ramen place called Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen. I especially love stopping by the Japanese American National Museum for a visit. The Broad Museum is a great place to visit as well.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to give credit and recognition to my friends and everyone I’ve worked with. They are the reason I’ve come as far as I have. They are the ones who helped me realize my dreams. From my classmates in cosmetology school, to Amy the photographer (aka Le3ay) who helped build my portfolio and network, to my mentors at my first salon. Maria, Makda, Katey, Arielle, and Sarah who inspired me to be better as a person. The community that built me up as a creative is extremely extensive and it’s more than I could’ve ever imagined. I am eternally grateful for everyone. Especially my sister Lily, who lends a hand whenever I’m in trouble, but is also the bane of my existence. I still love her though.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kell.does.hair/

Image Credits
1st Image: Model Julien @waste_of_skin Photo Leeay @le3ay Hair Kelly Duong @kell.does.hair 2nd Image Model Diana Malota @dianamalota MUA Lauren Elise Child @lorvida Photo Leeay @le3ay Hair Kelly Duong @kell.does.hair 3rd Image Model Lyena Kang @kitsuneghost MUA Lauren Elise Child @lorvida Photo Leeay @le3ay Hair Kelly Duong @kell.does.hair 4th Image BTS picture (Left to Right) Kelly Duong @kell.does.hair Arielle Park @ariellepark Natalie @natrenelle Leeay @le3ay Model Natalie @natrenelle MUA Arielle Park @ariellepark Photo Leeay @le3ay Hair Kelly Duong @kell.does.hair