In Convo with Fashion Journalist, Tiffany Harrison
We all have that one person we follow on Instagram who inspires us by their work, traveling, style, or even lifestyle. For me that was Tiffany Harrison, a photographer, prop stylist, writer and so much more. I have been following her work on Instagram for some time and I have always been in awe of the work she did or even the places she traveled to. From street style photography to covering Milan Design Week for Schön Magazine, I have always admired her hustle even though I never actually met her. I finally took the time to let her know not only that I admire her work but to also ask to interview her for this website. When she agreed let's just say I was very ecstatic. Be sure to read my interview with Tiffany Harrison on what inspires her, what was her biggest accomplishment so far and what is her creative process.
Keyonna Butler: Who are you and how would you describe the art that you do?
Tiffany Harrison: My name is Tiffany Harrison and I am an NYC-based multifaceted creative who immerses myself in many artful endeavors within photography, prop styling, art direction, creative writing, and embroidery design. I create embroidered ornamental objects that are influenced by pop art, iconography, and packaging design -- it’s a craft I began doing when I was about 9 years old. I would also describe my overall aesthetic as minimal, yet colorful and punchy – and not solely related to art but also possessing an emphasis on fashion, design, and architecture.
KB: What is visual milk and when did the concept originate? What does it represent to you?
TH: The term ‘visual milk’ can be described as any sort of imagery that inspires, provokes, and entices one to create. The mission of my digital platform is to ideally encourage deriving inspiration from everyday things as well -- such as iconography. Iconography is a visual language that we often subconsciously use to communicate with one another (think of the male + female icons on doors that direct us to which restroom to use) I’ve also always loved ‘milk’ icons in particular because of the shape of the container. ‘milk’ is also utilized as a way to attain the nutrients to feed one’s creative appetite, essentially.
KB: What are some of your greatest moments in your field of work? What were some of the goals that you successfully achieved?
TH: Attending London Fashion Week in 2018 and Milan Design Week in 2019 were the ultimate experiences for me. Milan Design Week, which is the biggest interior design exposition of its kind in the world, was extraordinarily special because the concept of being able to go seemed so far-fetched once upon a time -- so covering this very grandiose event for Schön Magazine (which is a London-based magazine) was such an amazing opportunity that I was super thankful for. I provided both visual + written coverage for this publication as well. I’m happy that I not only traveled to both these fashion capitals but was also granted incredible opportunities in each one! Traveling to Paris to shoot with an avant-garde designer that I featured on my blog was an amazing experience as well!
KB: It seems like you are a jack of all trades. Between your creative directing, your fashion photography, and even your product photography, you have many art forms that you attain. Is there an art form that connects to you more than the other or do they all have a special connection?
TH: All the things I do are very interrelated with one another and I enjoy them all immensely, but I do especially like playing around with products and props for still-life shoots that I do because it’s fun experimenting! I’m always jumping back and forth between different types of projects as well and I love doing that – whether it’s a product or fashion shoot, a creative write-up, embroidery project – sometimes even all in the same day!
KB: What is your creative process? What are the things that inspire you to create and how do you take that inspiration to create your art?
TH: I’m heavily inspired by colors, shapes, lines, patterns, and of course iconography as I mentioned before. I’ve become super sensitive to my surroundings and observe these aspects that I’m visually attracted to in even larger physical entities and sort of deconstruct them in a way – I’ll make a note of these visual details and brainstorm ways I can incorporate them into future projects, whether it’s tangible or digital.
KB: How have all the events that took place in 2020 from the COVID-19 outbreak to the recent protests regarding the deaths of unarmed black men and women such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor affected your creative process? Did it add fuel to your creative process or cause the opposite effect?
TH: Everything happening in the world has been mentally troubling to me, so I’ve chosen to consume less and less of the media to try and keep an optimistic mindset and retain my sanity. For this reason, I don’t believe my creative process has changed much. However, I have certainly been compelled to support other black creatives now more than ever and to also raise more awareness of the injustices in our community by shedding light on tragedies that have not been acknowledged or have had very little press coverage previously. I have not been able to allocate the proper time to create artwork inspired by these subject matters though because I have been busy with client projects and order fulfillment that require hard deadlines.
KB: Lastly, where do you want to see yourself in the next couple of years? What goals do you have that you would like to achieve?
TH: As a freelance writer, I would love to write a book someday, as well as publish a satirical type of book that’s more heavy with visuals -- that’s a concept I’m currently working on. I would also love to curate an exhibition at a renowned contemporary art museum and feature some of my photography work in an exhibition as well. Living in Europe for a few months to a year and working in a fashion and/or art-related role there would be amazing too!
Be sure to follow Tiffany Harrison on social media at @posheditor and visit her website to check out all of her amazing work https://www.vimi-vimi.co/
