Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Lynch Wemple
Hi Lauren, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in North County San Diego with an intensely creative, learned mother and entrepreneurial father. As a child, I wanted to be a doctor, later a scientist, then olympic equestrian and dancer and I always knew I would travel far and wide but retain San Diego as my home base. Fast forward to 2024: I hold a degree in Art History, my first job was working abroad at a natural history museum in China, I’ve lived in Europe and in the great US cities working in the arts, at tech startups, across fashion and now, I operate my own agency, 18 c., where we offer creative production services for events and photo, video and audio content as well as go to market services for brands – in my spare time I play polo and write, 21st & 18th, a weekly newsletter on art, history and fashion. When I take a moment to reflect on my journey from elementary age dreamer to now, I’m amazed at how I unknowingly mapped out my future. I may not hold the exact titles I thought I would ‘when I grew up’ but I’ve found a way to use both sides of my brain, the analytical over-thinker and creative colorist, in my everyday and that is something of which I’m proud as it shows me amidst all the noise and change life brings I found a way to listen to my gut and lean into my talents.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Life is never a straight drive down a well paved highway with no traffic, and if it were, what sort of humans would we be? My path has been fraught with personal struggle and hardship, professional turmoil and self doubt and oftentimes a complete feeling of being out of place, like when I lived and worked in Changzhou, China, a “small” city of about 5 million people with less than 500 expats. I had to learn Mandarin – it was absolutely critical – while figuring out what it meant to be a professional in the education and arts sectors at my first job out of university. The hardest part? Maintaining my mental and emotional equilibrium amidst deep feelings of loneliness. Almost a decade later, I look back on those first years joining the workforce after college and I’m so grateful for the challenge because the perseverance that my time working and living abroad steeled in me has been the foundation of my success since.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about 18 c. Agency?
Before founding 18 c. I was helping to build Imperfects, a surf, skate and apparel concept based here in Ocean Beach. Prior to Imperfects, I had been at two fast growing, high energy tech startups and, prior to tech, working in museums in China and London. Because of my non-linear professional path to today, I was feeling insecure about what my next step was to be – should I stay in fashion? Or return to graduate school and re-enter the museum sector? Am I missing out on the AI tech boom? I couldn’t manage to spit out an answer.
Rather than continue to bang my head against the proverbial wall, I took a step back and did things I enjoyed or supported friends and colleagues locally with projects that organically floated into my path. Over the past year this follow-your-gut strategy led me to founding 18 c. Agency where I provide creative production services and go to market operations to brand partners. We’re consultants who bring experiences, such as large scale, luxury events focused on the guest journey and storytelling, to life, and produce unique photo, video and audio content for brands and partners. At 18 c. I call upon my critical thinking skills honed from the international arts sector and combine them with my expertise in go to market, sales and operations to effectively and efficiently produce the experience or content your business requires to grow its customer base and share its mission.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
18 c. is available to partner with your business on a project or retainer basis, our team of experts will be your chief of operations, onsite creative producer, photo or video production manager and we manage the entire production process with you from the ideation stage to launch through content deployment or brand launch. If you’re keen to find a creative partner for your business needs, write me at lauren@18cagency.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.18cagency.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lolynchwemple/
- Other: https://laurenlynch.substack.com/
Image Credits
Julio Adrian, https://www.instagram.com/julioadrian.d/ (@julioadrian.d)
