Today we’d like to introduce you to Colette Hanley
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My journey as an artist began in the form of dance, in the joshua trees of Palmdale, California. My love for movement and sound lent to hours spent in the dance studio falling in love with the process of creating. The grueling time spent obsessing over every detail over and over again until the gremlin of an idea is satisfied by finally becoming real and tangible. In my search for further forms of self expression I stumbled upon photography; a medium that allowed me to express how I experience life around me. The blend of both impacted my perceptions of movement in music, and dreams of the creative coming to life. This eventually led me to my first few ventures in street photography, and social media management for streetwear brands. While calling the mecca of industry home was lovely for its plethora of opportunities, I realized it was time to step away from the niche I had cornered myself in. I moved to Salt Lake City and the change of scenery immediately inspired me, not only by its external beauty but by its heart (the community of SLC). I sought after what inspired me, the heart of SLC; local artists, local businesses and anyone with a dream they were brave enough to share with the world. Though my niche had changed, my desire to articulate a creative vision had not. The process of listening to someone’s dreams often spurred my own imagination and our collaboration began. How could we authentically present ourselves and grow a community of people who were inspired by the same dreams we were? Learning graphic design, photography, videography, and social media management you name it, if it was going to help me answer that question I was going to learn it. I first began my pursuits in SLC with The People’s Coffee, leading me to work with and meet incredible business owners and local artists. This grew to collaborations with many of the local businesses on the block where we worked together to support one another. Slowly the gremlin of my mind began to beg for more; a greater way to combine the passions I’d held for so long. Creating with videography and photography allowed me to use light and color as a connection to my pre-existing love with sound and movement. It felt as if all those passions clicked the moment I photographed my first concert. Creating with local bands and businesses led me to becoming the photographer for a local music festival called Mind The Gap, (A women/non-binary led festival that brings awareness to the gender inequalities that lie within the pay gaps in Utah). I continued to make new connections there with photographers, videographers, bands and other local creatives to introduce more inclusive events like Pride Prom, Heavy Metal and R&B concert nights. My art, my work would be obsolete without the bravery of those willing to share their dreams with me and their trust in my creative voice to bring them to life. I am deeply grateful for the opportunities I have been given to learn and grow as part of my story and theirs. I look forward to what the gremlin of my mind hungers for next and the colors and movement yet to be captured.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I am self taught, aka Youtube trained and Google’s closest confidant. I had some examples and practice in leadership and creative direction. The rest of my journey was a bit of a baptism by fire situation. Trial and error, and more error and more error and then something went right. I studied every part of what went right, its tone, its coloring, its pattern. Could I duplicate that process and feeling? In the meantime, I accepted any job or part of a project anyone would let me on. I spent years fighting the gremlin of my mind that my work wasn’t good enough, I didn’t always feel qualified, or immediately skilled enough. I let myself fall victim to those narratives for far too long making me hesitant to step through it for many of the reasons previously listed. What I learned is fear is an excellent way to kill any aspect of creativity; your dreams included. I had ample years proving to myself I could in fact learn quickly and adapt as necessary. What I also learned is if a door has opened and I have already been deemed qualified, who am I to not rise to that occasion and accept the challenge. I have found that the magic lies in dedication and deep care about each project you get to be a part of. Each tear shed in this process taught me how to trust myself, how to lean into the things that excite me and use my voice when I think there is something we could do better. The funny thing about being a creative or freelance is there are no “correct” roads you must traverse. Though there are a multitude of roads your gut tells you not to go down, trusting your intuition is the only road you need. You will trip and fall a lot, but get back up and figure out how to learn from it. Figure out what went (horribly) wrong and which slivers of good you can pull from. Just make sure to run like hell with that sliver.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I like to think of myself as more a creative problem solver or consultant that wears many hats. My work has brought me into a variety of industries, though the ones I enjoy tend to get the most attention. I generally aim to help businesses in areas they are struggling (whether it be content, design, brand image etc.) and tailoring courses of action to address those issues. This usually involves asking tougher questions to really dissect their goals and aspirations. One of my areas of strength lies in connecting them to communities around their specific needs. Whether it be through other artists, local businesses or other specialists, my aim is to create a unique brand they love through collaboration that reflects who they are as people and what they love to do most.
I am most proud of my work with The People’s Coffee. I have built a lifelong friendship with the Owner, Omar Jamhour, who has taken me under his wing and taught me how to run a business. Working with him and various peers over the years to build it from a small downtown coffee shop to a Salt Lake classic. We curated a rotating monthly menu, unique drink flavors, and many new specialty food items with fresh seasonal ingredients that became many of their top selling items. We also started different artist events, a display wall of rotating local SLC artists, multiple merch collections and collaborations with neighboring businesses. These included Fice Gallery with Saucony, The Balayage Studio, Live Nation, and Mind The Gap Festival. The success of these ventures led to TPC winning awards for “Best Coffee Shop” in Utah as well as a few other Best Of Utah awards. While we are proud of our accomplishments on paper, our real pride lies in the fact that what was once just a dream has now become more than we could have ever imagined.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Some could say my career is not a new pursuit. In foraging through my childhood memories and can’t help but think of my favorite being making music videos with my friends. I was raised in the digital era, Vine freshly emerging, apps like iMovie and Videostar fueling our new found passion for music videos. We spent hours choosing the “right” song and filmed scenes over and over because someone’s timing was off. High stakes when you’re a kid. This often continued for hours and hours whether by their choice or not (the verdict is still out on that one). Looking back, we always added heinously saturated filters and effects. Inspiration came from everywhere; coming up with story lines, recording all while camping, or in the backyard, or in front of the fireplace with all our family watching. We were quite lacking in anxiety as kids, (oh the things I’d do to go back haha!). A lot of my childhood was spent dreaming of story lines, the perfect shot and how we could ever afford such a large production. With our backyard being used for most Desert shots in all the Hollywood movie scenes we surely had a great example and a lot of room for improvement. If I could tell my younger self all the things we’ve done by now, how shocked she’d be.. or maybe she’s known all along.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://1colette1.com
- Instagram: 1colette1
- LinkedIn: Colette Hanley
