Meet Jillian Carey Colin | Sustainable Stylist, Designer, + Curator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jillian Carey Colin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jillian Carey, how do you think about risk?
I think about risk a lot. So much of my life involves risk. At the end of the day the outcome is not what matters- it’s the taking of the risk that means that you’re showing up in the world with purpose.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Everything that I do with my art is connected to circular fashion. I was a contemporary womenswear designer for a couple of years after college. Then I started my own circular vintage business that focused on curating luxe, affordable, contemporary feeling vintage pieces for women aged 18 to 35. I started that business not really knowing where it would go or what I wanted to do with it. I loved connecting people to items that were sustainable, affordable, and made them feel super special and connected to a community that cared about style and the environment. Then, I pivoted into doing more styling and consulting work. I work with clients to sell through their vintage inventories, and I work on creative photo shoots, and now I’m getting into sustainable fashion events. I have really had to embrace the flow of where my work goes. It has been super challenging sometimes to be OK with my line of work not being super consistent. I won’t lie, sometimes I have just wanted to pivot back to a normal 9 to 5 and it’s something that I still consider. But I always will be an entrepreneur. I truly love to create experiences that connect people to things that will elevate and change their lives for the better and will do that no matter what each day looks like.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
OK, this is a hard one. Austin! has so many divine places to experience. But I think to really experience Austin, you have to explore each little area. You have to hang out on the east side: go to brew + brew for coffee, have a drink at nickel city, finish up with dinner at Justines. You have to hang out downtown: go to the Austin public library and have breakfast at their café, go for lunch at Gus‘s fried chicken, then go have a drink and apps at Hotel Zaza‘s rooftop. You have to hang out in the Riverside area: go paddleboarding on the lake and then hit up 1618 Asian fusion for dinner afterwards. You also definitely have to hang out in South Austin: go take a stroll on South Congress and have some lunch at Abba or Perla’s, then head over to South Lamar and hit up all of the amazing vintage shops like pavement and garment modern. Then go to Loro for happy hour and Uchi for dinner. You’re welcome.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A new designer friend of mine deserves a shoutout. His name is Nicó and he is doing amazing things in the couture space in Austin, TX.

Website: jilliancareycolin.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jilliancareycolin/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jilliancolin/

Image Credits
Models: Alyssa Mitchell (@its_lyssloves), Brittany Gilpin (@thebrittanyalexis), and Ilisa Layne (@ilisa.layne) Photographers: Kayla Davis (@davis.photo), Viranda Michelle (@virandamichelle), and Roberto Guillermo (@roberto__guillermo)