An Interview with NTRIGUE, October 2024

What do you sell/make?

I sell art prints of my photography and paintings, as well as reworked fashion that I alter and transform!

Tell me about yourself as a creator! What got you interested in fashion and painting specifically? 

Surprisingly, my main medium for the longest time has actually been photography. I've been doing it through high school, college, and freelance work and used drawing and painting as an artistic outlet with less pressure and to combat my creative burnout. I've always been interested in fashion and the power it has in boosting one's confidence. 

How do you balance those two mediums and create a consistent business with each one? 

The fact that I'm in very different stages of learning with each medium honestly helps me balance my workload. I've been doing photography for so long, painting casually for a while, and only started reworking clothing recently. At the end of the day, I find that each medium blends into each other and creates my brand as NTRIGUE.

What keeps you motivated to continue creating? 

My curiosity in seeing ideas come to life is definitely a driving factor, whether the ideas are my own or someone else's. As a lifelong artist, I feel that creating is an essential aspect of myself that I could never get rid of even if I tried.

How has starting a business influenced your creative process/impacted your style? Is there anything about your work that you’ve seen change in since starting your shop? 

I've only just started my shop a month ago and it's been a wild journey already. Finding a balance between making art for myself and observing what people are interested in buying has been a learning process. I haven't seen a change in my artistic style, more so the way that I market my art.

What do you hope to accomplish with your business?

I named my business NTRIGUE for the purpose of reminding people to stay curious and creative. What does it look like to wear whatever you want? What would you do if you weren't afraid? I really just want to make cool clothes accessible to everyone.

What are some of your future goals? Where do you hope your work will end up? 

I really would love to have more custom orders for both clothing and art. Eventually, I want most of my workflow to be making unique pieces that are special to each person and their visions.

Where do you sell? (art festivals, store front, online?)

I have an online shop for my art, Depop for clothing, and sell both at art markets!

Tell me about your journey as a bassist! What struck you about bass/what led you to choose it? 

Full transparency, I was obsessed with a YouTube cover by juliaplaysgroove and thought it was too cool to not do myself. I've only been playing for three years and feel like I've been able to grow so much with the amazing musicians I've met and the fun practice I've put into the instrument.

Being in a band is vastly different than being a visual artist in terms of idea sharing, brainstorming and receiving feedback. How does this creative group work aid in your solo work?

Joining a band is essentially being in a long term group project. I'm incredibly lucky to be a part of moonstone. aka the sweetest musicians and friends I know. Our creative process has taught me a lot about how many ideas don't make it into the final product but are still a vital part of the workflow! I am way more patient with myself now in my solo work and am learning to not be as hard on myself when ideas don't work out.

How are all of these activities implemented into your daily life? Is each part (paint, fashion, music) pretty separated or do they tend to meld together in your mind? 

One of my favorite things is seeing my mediums collaborate with each other. I love it when I get to paint on clothes, create outfits for music shows, or have photoshoots for my products. I'm always drawing inspiration from one medium into another.

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