Conversations with the Inspiring Crystal Reed

Today we’d like to introduce you to Crystal Reed.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started blogging when I used to work in politics. I started when I was a deputy director of an organization called the Washington Bus that help young people get out the vote. Politics was fulfilling but also exhausting and I needed a creative outlet. At the same time, I also side-hustled as a fashion designer and made clutches and clothes (http://bit.ly/ard_article) but that was not sustainable. Working 8-7 at a political job and then coming home and sewing all night did not pan out to be what I imagined. However, I did find that I loved fashion and the social media marketing aspect of everything I was doing. Whether it was politics or fashion, I was truly obsessed with Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (you name it) and creating, so I decided to start a blog to showcase my wardrobe.

In the beginning, I started out with a friend, which helped me ease into the “blogger world.” The moment I thought that I should continue showing up is when I went to an event and a blogger took just one look and told me I was a plus-sized blogger. At the moment, it hurt my feelings, but looking back, I feel like that’s when I decided that people my size, my ethnicity need to show up in the field. So, what if I have belly roles? Doesn’t everyone before Facetune?

Now, I’m a body-positive style, beauty, and career blogger + YouTuber and have grown a lot since I first started – as a brand and as an individual. I love being xtra because you should always be the most XTRA-ordinary self you can be. We are worth it!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It hasn’t always been great. I, too, get caught up in all Insta-feeds and think, “is my grid not good enough?” “how can I top this picture?” “why aren’t people following me?” I’m only human.

It’s also very hard to juggle work and being a blogger. People know you a certain way because of your presence on Instagram but at work, you are “professional” version of yourself, not an Instagram or YouTube personality. I think separating those two have always been a little bit of a struggle that I’m still trying to navigate.

If you are already blogging, great! You should keep being consistent! To be honest, that’s the number #1 key to growing. Also, don’t forget to take a step back and do things that are for you. Often times, when you are creating, it’s easy to say, “Oh, people like it when I do this or that,” but you started because you wanted to showcase your unique style and beauty, so do that and don’t let someone else dictate your vision.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Salty story. Tell us more about it.
I have two jobs, really. One is my work with Studio Salty, which is my one-stop shop creative studio. I create videos and work as a photographer for brands and bloggers. Second is my blog and YouTube channel where I share body positive style, beauty, and career advice. Often times, I also have travel vlogs on my YouTube channel as well!

As a photographer + video producer of sorts, I’m most proud of how far I’ve come in my composition of pictures + videos. When I first started, I didn’t know anything about Adobe. I didn’t even know how to type on Illustrator. Now, I create all of my work through the Adobe suite, and I have to say, that’s a win in itself for me.

As a blogger and YouTuber, I’m very proud of leaning into my personality. I’m a very extraverted (and also my personality is very “extra”) person and I also have a lot of experience in working in the professional world. Even if I’m currently blogging and running my creative studio full time, before this, I worked 9 years in politics and about a year in media. This year, I really leaned into creating that “xtra” space on my social platforms and showing that you can also be a professional person through my career blog posts.

I think my body positive/empowerment messaging and unapologetic content really sets me apart from others. I am Hawaiian, Korean, Filipino, and Chinese and grew up in Korea until I was 18. So, I feel like my “content” isn’t one dimensional and really incorporate ALL of me, even if it is messy.

For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
There are definitely more opportunities for a woman today than the past (of course), but don’t get me wrong, I think there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

I don’t know if there’s an opportunity that woman is specifically well posited for, to be honest. I think there are challenges for a woman in every field because we are more harshly critiqued than the opposite sex (assuming that we are talking about challenges for people that only identifies as male and female). We can do anything we put our mind to, it doesn’t make it easy.

Pricing:

• $250 per blog post
• Depends on Project (for YouTube video)
• $150 per Instagram post

Contact Info:

• Website: www.salty-blog.com
• Email: info@salty-blog.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/haysalty
• Facebook: facebook.com/followsalty
• Twitter: twitter.com/_haysalty
• Other: youtube.com/haysalty

Image Credit:
https://www.instagram.com/issasammyyeezy/ and https://www.instagram.com/instahubz/

Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.