Joy Fitzgerald - Creative Professional

If I asked you to teach a class on any subject, what subject would you choose?

Funny question because during the pandemic, I created an online course called, "Creating a Beautiful Life at Home."  I wrote the curriculum, directed and filmed it myself over several months. I had never done anything quite like it and it required all of my skill sets in one project. In it, I attempted to answer the most common questions I had been receiving on Instagram for the last decade about my life at home, creatively and practically. It still surprises me that people find my lifestyle curious or interesting. To me, it's just my normal life. I don't know how to live it any other way, for better or worse. 

What was your first job?

Starting at age 11, I did a lot of random jobs like organizing homes and babysitting. But my first official job was in high school at an mp3 player (remember those?) company in a city that had a huge landfill. I still remember how awful it smelled pulling up to the office parking lot. I started out sitting in a windowless shipping room, untangling cables for hours on end. Later, I got promoted with my own cubicle and worked in customer service. That felt like a huge upgrade. I know it could have definitely been worse, but it was not a glamorous start. And I am genuinely grateful for what I learned from past jobs before I ever did a single creative thing for work. The more soulless environments I've been in were essential for my development. I'm sure it helped propel me to pursue beauty as well as take the risk of the instability and unpredictability of creative work.

What is one fact few people know about you?

How ridiculously loud and powerful my inner critic is and how hard it is to live with that voice in my head. 

When was the last time you cried in public?

I don't know if this counts as "public", but I cried in my car on the side of a road two days ago. But the last time I cried in public around other people was a year ago in church. Both times I was crying about the question above. 

What has been the most significant plot twist in your life?

It isn't a big move in terms of mileage, but leaving the Bay Area in California and moving to Portland marks a huge turning point in my life. I left my old life that felt suffocating (yet safe) and exchanged it for a life in Portland that spurred me into truth, faith + risk and creativity. I often feel that I didn't truly start living until I moved to Portland in 2011.

Joy lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and their three children. Her work greatly varies within the creative field, including illustration, styling and writing. See more of her beauty making  on IG: @madebysohn