In Conversation with Brynn Heminway

Tell us about your background: 

I grew up in Hesston, Kansas… literally the middle of the middle state in the mid(dle)west. My father was a grower (not of pot, although I always wondered as a kid b/c he’s a total hippie). I was very connected to the earth whether I realized it or not…. I literally I grew up playing AND working (hard) in the dirt… He taught me “don’t ask anyone to do anything you’re not willing to do yourself”… I think this is my strength and my weakness. I’ll do anything that needs to be done, but sometimes I do everything that needs to be done.

I studied Graphic Design as a way to do art (but make it profitable). I worked through college, and for a year after, at an amazing design agency in Kansas City called Design Ranch. Owned by two women, these were the last good bosses I’ve had. 

I moved to NYC without a job, or a place to live (I stayed in the hostel on Bowery without ceilings over the beds), and with enough cash to get by for a month. I had one suitcase and a pretty decent portfolio for someone a year out of school (because of the work I had done through school). I landed a job at Laird + Partners just before my money ran out.

I’m going to assume I don’t need to describe the culture at L+P, but in a nutshell, I earned Trey Laird’s trust despite all the politics stacked against me. I worked there 5 years and gained incredible experience in Art Direction on amazing “up-and-coming” brands of the time (Rag&Bone and Tory Burch for example). By the time I left in 2011, age 27, I had already worked with the top photographers and stylists in the industry, but I needed more.

I’ve been a freelance Creative Director since, working with brands high and low, from Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Jil Sander, to Gap, DKNY and Ann Taylor. I got more work and made more money year after year. However, I started to feel gross about the comments I would get from major CMOs and major brands about casting around 2013 and started to feel gross about fashion’s toll on the planet around 2016. 

As soon as my discomfort with the industry grew to be resentment the work literally ground to a halt. The last major campaign I had wrapped in June 2018… The universe was like, “we heard you and now you have to decide if you mean it.”

The last 2 years have been extremely trying emotionally, financially, and professionally but not creatively. And I would not be where I am today without these discomforts.

What do you wish you’d known when you started out?

I wish I had learned a practice of self-care from childhood. I am a Highly Sensitive Person (yes, it’s an actual thing) and I’ve only identified what my grounding practices are recently (Transcendental Meditation, breathwork, yoga, gardening, journaling, and drawing with pen and ink – because perfection isn’t an option). 

Best career advice you've ever received?

“Don’t ask anyone to do anything you’re not willing to do yourself” — Dad

“As an intern, are you willing to take out the trash? I ask, not because that will be your job but because we all take out the trash here” Ingrid Sidie, Design Ranch co-founder

“Be prepared for kindness” Alex, my husband

What leadership qualities are important to you?

Determination, Integrity, Communication, Empathy

What has been the biggest challenge in your career so far? 

Being actively sabotaged or resented by people for being a determined woman.

And for fun, what is your favorite wardrobe staple?

Vintage Levis and Venetian slippers

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