Sweetheart of the Month
– Zoey Jean –
1) Please introduce yourself! We’d love to get to know you.
Hello cute humans! I’m Zoey Jean and if I was meeting you in person, I would probably give you a huge hug because that’s what I do! I’m 21 and living in the sweet city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Some of my favorite things are: tea, quality leather-goods, anything Lavender, sweet potatoes, thrift shopping, traveling, hosting parties, singing, and working on creative projects with friends. As far as what I do, It’s the biggest blessing in the world to say that I’m a full-time creative freelancer! I specialize in product and lifestyle photography, but also stylize photoshoots and manage a few Instagram accounts for different companies! Last year I started my own lifestyle brand called Luminous (thisisluminous.net) and it’s my little passion baby that I’m still figuring out how to nurture and grow! We’re all about the power of positivity, encouraging others, and holding onto the belief that light always wins. We’re a good vibes gang of creative light chasers, and you can find our community on Instagram! @liveluminous.
2) We notice you are also a creative. What is one of your favorite creative projects and why?
One of my favorite creative projects I’ve done was probably shooting the 2016 children’s catalogue for Krochet Kids International. I just love working with children and capturing their different energy. I love photographing kids. Although It’s not something I do often, my heart is always drawn to them. Even when I’m shooting a wedding, I’m in tune to what any kids might be doing or wearing. I have a straight skill for photographing products, but a bigger heart for photographing children and people in general. It’s actually sort of nice to have that separation, especially when my job is photography. It’s all i do. It’s very consuming, so it’s important to have differentiators between what I shoot for work and what I shoot for my own art. Most often, products are my work and people are my art. This project in particular combined those two categories, so it was really special for me!
3) What is your favorite piece of literature and why?
This part about the Sweetheart description doesn’t necessarily fit me – I rarely choose to curl up with a book. So really – I can’t think of a favorite piece of literature, and if I did, it would probably be something from my childhood! I read so much more when I was younger. I’m all ears for your book recommendations though! I’d love to make more time for reading.
4) The Sweetheart persona is all about kindness. Who has had the biggest influence in your life when it comes to being taught how to be “kind?”
This is a hard one because collectively, other people’s kindness has taught me to be kind. But I suppose the ones who have been being kind to me for the longest are my parents. My mom is very gentle and kind – she works with little kids and has a really sweet heart for that which overflows into the rest of her life. My dad is also very thoughtful and kind, and it’s neat because I can see he got that trait from his father too.
5) The Sweetheart persona is all about being in good company. What is your favorite memory with your friends?
I’m continually making fun memories with the close friends in my city, but my all-time favorite memory with friends would probably be the time I traveled to Norway to visit a bunch of my friends who live there! It was honestly the best trip of my life, and I just got to stay with different friends in their apartments and homes, experience their culture, and do whatever we wanted to! I went when I was 19, so it was a really freeing experience at that age. I have so many good memories and stories from that trip, and I would go back to Bergen in a heartbeat.
6) What makes your heart beat? What do you believe in, stand for, and want to tell others about?
I really believe in the value of living a positive lifestyle! Optimism and gratitude are key practices in my life, and I hope that impacts and inspires others! I’m also really big on being honest and encouraging. I don’t think people vocalize the good things they think about other people often enough, so I try to be as open and vocal as I can so other people feel valued. What really gets my heart excited is being around people who are going after their passions. It gets me so excited! I have so many inspiring friends who are just going after what makes THEIR hearts beat – and in turn, THAT in so special to me.
7) What do you do? And what led you to choose this path?
As I mentioned above – I’m a full-time creative! And what lead me to choose this path was the empowering realization that I get to create my own life. I don’t have to follow the pattern of how everyone else thinks life should be done. Quality of life is very important to me. I’ve always had a very entrepreneurial spirit (I started teaching dance lessons when I was 12!) and I think what we wind up doing in life is often what we found ourselves doing when we were younger. No, I might not be teaching dance anymore, but I’m still running my own business in a creative field. Sometimes we just have to think back and tune into our younger selves, because as much as we’ve matured in other ways, part of us is still the same as we’ve always been.
8) If you could describe your ideal day, how would it go?
My ideal day would probably be wandering around a city with really good friends. Quality time is my jam. I love traveling, and when I get to travel with friends it’s so sweet. New York, California, and everywhere in between – being in any of my favorite places with my friends would be an ideal day. I’m really easy to please – good food, good coffee shops, good thrift shops, and cool locations to shoot photos? That’s really all i need. Good company and good space. Any day filled with that is an ideal day. Which is why I choose to live in one of my favorite cities filled with some of my favorite people. So I can have ideal days often!
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