Susie AMINIAN

1.)     What was your very first job? 

Working at a record store in phoenix spending all my days staring at album art listening to music...

2.)     Please describe, in your own words, what your job is and what work it entails. 

I am a visual storyteller- when I was a kid I used to make collages out of magazines and paint with my dad on weekends. In many ways I'm still doing this, however in my new role I have team of talented and hard working creatives working with me to achieve everything on the brand from bringing back the core brand equity with a modern twist, to cleaning up and modernizing all aspects of the brand from packaging, digital print and merchandising into the future. We spend a lot of our time making video content. It is everything you can think of and more. Each and every day I am grateful to get to do what I am passionate about for a living. After all, if you're not having fun- why bother!

3.)     How did you discover that the creative world was right for you? Was there a time in your life that you credit to this discovery? What was there train of events that brought you to where you are today? 

My dad is crazy about art. I fell in love with painting at an early age painting along side him. I was lucky enough to have some amazing mentors and knew to trust my gut and do what I like best.

4.)     In your constantly growing and expanding industry, how do you find inspiration to keep your work fresh, innovative and relevant? 

I’ve always been inspired by film and art, fashion and pop culture, etc. I like both high and low brow culture. My daughter Mia is approaching three years old. She has changed my world/mind/heart and become my inspiration in so many ways.Painting with her, hearing her laughter and watching her smile is the joy of my life. She inspires me to do and be my best every day. I want her to be inspired and see that everything is possible for her. She can follow her dreams and be successful. Playgrounds are filled with little geniuses who in 20 years will be ruling the world. We are wise to pay attention to how they see that world.

5.)     If you had to pick one piece of work or project that you are most proud of, more for the creative work and innovation it required, rather than its recognition or industry “success,” what would it be? 

The projects I got to do at MAC were the most successful because of the artistic freedom I was given. Having the opportunity to have worked with James Gager was more valuable than I realized at the time. He pushed us in so many ways and the was no limit to high far you could push the creative. Those projects were the most fun to work on and are still my favorites to look back on. Now that I am back at ELC in Bumble and bumble I find myself pulling inspiration and channeling what I learned at MAC. Bumble is a fabulous brand. I think one day I will look back on it and feel similarly to how I felt about my love of projects at MAC. I’m in love with hand crafted art/painting/drawing and motion and film - I am so happy that I work in a field that allows me to do what I love.

6.)     Which creative disciplines do you commission most, and are most interested in seeing more of and why? (ie photo, film, social, experiential, vr, etc)

I primarily commission Photo and Video projects. Typically for the larger launches for the year. These days we need to feed the beast of content but I still want to it to be aspirational and cool. I look for projects that I can collaborate with the right people in order to make something that will breakthrough all the noise on social media and stand out.