Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
You’ve already met the creators and writers of the new webcomic, “Fashion Forward,” sisters Shawnelle and Shawnee Gibbs. Catch up on their Lady Geek(s) of the Week feature here. Now, get introduced to Linda Chung, interior page artist, and JM Tolman, the cover artist.
Together, these ladies bring the story of a young, time-traveling fashion designer to life. Read on and get to know them!
Q: What drew you to Fashion Forward as an artist?
Linda: It’s comics about fashion!
And time traveling! But mainly, fashion! I love looking at
fashion and how things are designed so it just clicked for me. When I met
the creators/writers Shawnee and Shawnelle Gibbs, they were such an
enthusiastic and creative pair. The storyline was great and so I jumped
into it. With Fashion Forward, it was definitely a new and different thing for
me to draw–kinda like trying a new and different fashion style. It was
exciting as an artist.
Q: What was your process for creating the art pages for Fashion Forward?
Linda: The process starts with the writers giving me the text, layout, and loose description for a set of pages and then I create them using photoshop on my Cintiq. There were reference images of fashion and people that they sent me and I would also look up. It was a fun challenge for me to incorporate them throughout the comics. The most enjoyable part was getting to finalize the sketches! It’s such a delight to look back on the pages and see it all come together.
Q: What did you consider when creating the cover for the inaugural issue of Fashion Forward?
JM: For covers, I always start off with four rough sketches, each illustrating a different idea. Once one idea is chosen, I do a slightly more refined sketch with four color variations. After the final rough is chosen, I move onto the inking stage, which is entirely digital.
Finally, after the inks are done and approved, I color the piece, which is my favorite part. I love playing around with color!
Q: A little bird told us that you two know each other from art school. Was it serendipitous collaborating with an old friend?
JM: I did! We even graduated at the same time. And it was very much a serendipitous thing- while I did read the story before I drew the sketches for the first cover, I didn’t realize who the interior artist was until much later. It was a pleasant surprise!
Q: What do you want readers to take away from your art?
Linda: As an artist, I would love it if readers can immerse themselves in the world I created and travel through it fluidly. I love telling a story visually. On a deeper level, I hope readers understand that fashion, like art, is unique and different for everybody, and there are many ways to enjoy it and share it with the world.
Q: When did you discover you were “geeky”?
JM: There was no discovery, unless you count the first time I heard the word. When, at the age of four, you drag a Godzilla figure everywhere you go and your hero is Princess Leia, it is very, very hard to deny that you are a geek. I didn’t even try, heh.
Linda: Sometimes I’m still rediscovering my geekiness! There are so many new and amazing things to geek over. The first recollection would probably be in middle school when I watched a lot of anime and made fanart and cosplayed. I thought it was something that everybody liked and did for a hobby, and I hung out with people who enjoyed the same throughout high school. Looking back now, what I thought was cool and popular was considered “geeky” and not widely acknowledged.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
Picture this: you’re a young fashion designer with a background in engineering and a physicist for a best friend. Together, you create a time machine, allowing you to venture seasons ahead in time, seeing trends and looks well before they hit the runway. As a result, you find yourself on an adventure that may jeopardize New York’s most elite and change the future of fashion forever.
Sounds pretty amazing? Thank sisters Shawnelle and Shawnee Gibbs, the writers and creators of Fashion Forward. It’s a new webcomic that just debuted last month. You can download the first issue on Comixology, an online digital comics platform, here.
The Gibbs sisters are the definition of a dynamic duo. The award-winning writing team from the San Francisco Bay Area started their careers in indie animation when they began creating their own webtoons and animated shorts while in college. The Gibbs gals have a mission that we can totally get behind: telling contemporary and timeless tales with female protagonists.
Read on for their interview with BGC!
Q: How did you arrive at the premise for Fashion Forward?
Shawnelle: It was at least 5 years ago now that the idea came on a road trip on the California I-5 from our hometown in Oakland back to Los Angeles. Since the view of cows and dry grass gets pretty redundant after a while, there’s nothing much to do but talk or listen to music and we were in the talking phase of the 5.5 hour trip. I was telling Shawnee´ about a book I wanted to write about a Fashionista who time traveled for ideas. It started a discussion that started snowballing and became the webcomic that became the book. I still get excited thinking about it.
Shawnee: Shawnelle had me with the magic words “time travel” and “stilettos.” We’d been working on all sorts of out-there ideas about ghosts, an early 1900s circus performer and stuff about aliens, so a time traveling adventure was right up our alley. Shawnelle has a bit of a background in fashion–she’d produced on the show Project Runway and had briefly gone to school for fashion back in college, so it manages to spill out here and there. To start an idea, we first have to pitch it to each other (and we can be the toughest critics of a pitch). Sometimes we have to work extra hard to convince the other person of an idea before we write it, but I was immediately onboard with this one and I’ve gotta thank the long and monotonous California I-5 highway for it!
Q: How do you hope Fashion Forward will inspire readers?
Shawnee: At the core of the story is a tale of a young woman in a workplace environment that doesn’t value her very much. When you’re starting a job, particularly creative ones, (which we have a bit of experience with), wages are low and expectations are insane. Sometimes you’re treated terribly and you don’t know what to do. For those that don’t quit entirely, a lot of people grind it out and find themselves in a position where they can either be a part of the problem (the old horrible boss phenomenon) or rise above it all and create a new model.
We’re hoping our readers recognize the importance of staying true to yourself no matter how crazy the fill in the blank world is that you find yourself in–in our protagonist Sam’s case, it’s the incredibly unique and competitive world of haute couture. We hope our readers take away the idea of going against the grain and realizing you can take a stand no matter how much muslin you find yourself tied up in.
Shawnelle: My hope for Fashion Forward is that it encourages women to dream big in the STEAM world while making decisions along the way that they can live with.
Q: Talk about taking the story from script to comic book art.
Shawnee: Shawnelle and I come together to write the script where we plan the story, dialogue and early layout for the panels of a page but it’s our artists who really bring it to life. And we’re so, so lucky to have found two very talented young ladies: Linda Chung, our interior page artist and J.M. Tolman who’s our cover artist for the first half of the series and takes over sequential art for our later books, when Linda moved up North to do amazing things in the gaming world.
Our jaws dropped at these young women’s portfolios and they’re skill and work ethic is just phenomenal. These girls both have talent oozing out of their fingertips and we’ve been lucky enough to have them both on the team!
Q: When did you discover you were “geeky”?
Shawnee: I got the sneaking suspicion that I might have been a geek when Shawnelle and I were kids writing our own comic strips in grade school. But I think the big sign post geeky moments were being in high school opting to hang out late in our English Teacher Ms. Pyeatt’s room editing and drawing comics for the school newspaper while other kids were hanging out at football games and parties. I knew for certain that I was a geek at that point, and I was cool with it.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
Shawnee: It would have to be Doro the Immortal from the Octavia Butler Patternmaster series. We’d probably drink Scotch—neat…as I try to pry the mysteries of the world out of his cold heart.
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
Shawnelle: Someone is going to offer you fried oysters in a few years, avoid them. And just go ahead and keep being your special brand of weird, you’ll end up totally fine.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
Meet Mari Ruiz. She’s a talented designer, diehard accessorizer, and lover of all things geek chic. Living in sunny California, Ruiz creates geek-inspired handbags and clutches that will give your outfit an instant pop.
Check out her bags on Etsy here. Our favorites? The Super Mario clutch (when did Bowser get so chic?), the Stormtrooper clutch (for those ready to join the dark side), and the bob-omb clutch (for when you’re having a blast).
Ruiz is currently a Fashion Nominee for The Geekie Awards. The winners are chosen by public voting, so before you read her interview with BGC, give a fellow lady geek some love and cast your vote here: http://vote2015.thegeekieawards.com/.
Q: How did you discover your passion for designing geek chic accessories?
A: My passion for designing started at a very young age, and I have been developing this passion all of my life, it is what I truly love to do! I absolutely love creating, coming up with new ideas, experimenting and bringing those ideas to life. I am also a huge geekie fan, when I love something I want to surround my entire world with it and can’t seem to ever get enough! Clothing and accessories are a big part of that world, and love having fun with style! This is where geek chic accessories come in, they are great because you can add them to any outfit and instantly showcase your geekie side ; ) “A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men” – Willy Wonka
Q: Where you do envision lady geeks taking your clutches and wristlets
A: Anywhere, anytime! This is one of the things I love about accessories, the styling possibilities are endless and you get to be creative with the look! When I design clutches one thing I love doing is incorporating gems, studs and metallic fabrics so they are versatile enough to be worn everyday or as an accent piece for a special occasion.
Q: Where do you find your inspiration in life?
A: Everywhere! I find everything in life inspiring for both creative design ideas and for pursuing my dreams. I have an irresistible desire to be constantly creating; it is what I do for fun and it allows me to pull ideas from everything. I am also extremely passionate about following my dreams and inspiring others to follow theirs as well, there is nothing better than seeing someone’s imagination sparked by something I created!
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: Albus Dumbledore for a butterbeer ; ) …and in real life J.K. Rowling for a butterbeer ; )
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
A: I would share some of my favorite quotes that continue to keep me inspired and motivated everyday:
“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve.” – Napoleon Hill
“Your future is what you make it. So make it a good one!” – Doc Brown
“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” – Dr. Suess
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
Christine Flemming (@WestsideCF) is a boundary pusher, content distruptor, strategist, and go-getter. She’s currently the the Vice President of Marketing for studioD, the branded content studio at Demand Media, creating custom content that connects consumers with the brands they love.
Flemming has risen through the ranks of the marketing world, becoming one of the industry’s most successful professionals. Flemming has cultivated a reputation for her quick and playful work—always strategic and never boring. See her career trajectory on LinkedIn.
But, as my grandmother would say, “She didn’t get this far just by looking good.” Check out Flemming’s interview with BGC and discover how she leaped over road blocks and cut through workplace bias.
Q: How did you discover your passion for working in online marketing?
A: I didn’t start out being passionate about “online marketing.” I was passionate about music, and early on in my career worked at Farmclub.com, AEG, Napster, Yahoo Music and then Yahoo Entertainment. I was fascinated by the business potential that the power of the internet held for the music industry. At Yahoo! I was fascinated by the reach of the internet. Now, at Demand Media, I’ve discovered the importance of the internet in every day life. The internet can provide an answer for nearly every question someone has, or a way to connect with anyone, anytime. Through my work here, I’ve discovered my passion for online marketing, and learned the importance of voice and positioning, and assembling the right team who will push the boundaries. It’s the only way to stand out from the pack.
Q: Where do you find your inspiration in life?
A: Usually at the end of an empty wine glass :) I always seem to be inspired by my team and colleagues. I’m inspired by open possibility and typically come up with most of my ideas in the shower or while driving…somewhere inconvenient where I can’t write it all down. Hiking with my dog, live music, lyrics, and the production of music all really inspire me personally and professionally. Professionally, I am also inspired, or at least fired up, to do better and win.
Q: In cultivating your own career in technology, what challenges did you overcome and what is your advice for women tackling those same issues?
A: I’ve always doubted myself. Technology is pretty daunting, and being on the creative side, it was something that I never wanted to dip my toe into. Turns out, I am really tech savvy. Until you get out and talk to other people, you don’t know how much you actually know. The internet has made everything attainable. Thinking about building a website myself would never cross my mind, but with tools like WordPress or Squarespace, I know I can tackle that. My mantra when I’m skiing down a tough trail is always, “you can do this, you’re not going to die”…I take the same approach with technology.
I also think it’s important to be decisive. Not everything requires a democratic process. It’s important to get consensus in a lot of cases, but I get infuriated by the silliest of discussions. i.e. “What should we call our team email alias?” That doesn’t warrant an in-person meeting, a slack conversation or an email. Just set up the email alias and tell us what it is.
Lastly, as women, we default to the nurturing role in an organization, especially in a marketing or creative role. Along the same lines of Lean In, women really need to lean out of being the default administrative assistant, group organizer, food orderer and travel agent. I see it constantly with myself and my own team. Let someone else remember to order the food for the meeting. Unless you’re their assistant, don’t book anyone else’s travel. Donald Draper days are over.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: Pennie Lane from Almost Famous. She was an original groupie, toured with bands, hung out backstage, fell in love with lead singers, rubbed elbows with the likes of Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and probably (at least in my mind) the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and everyone I have always loved before they were on the radio. It’s my favorite movie. I imagine we’d have cheap wine backstage somewhere.
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
A: See above about technology. You can do anything. If you ask yourself “what’s the worst that can happen?” and learn that’s not really so bad, then you’ll find yourself going further than you ever expected. Do whatever you can possibly do to gain confidence. Don’t let anyone else limit you and if they do, then it’s ok to use that to prove them wrong. Motivation is the goal and it doesn’t matter how you get it. Don’t worry if it seems like your jobs are all over the place. When you’ve had a few behind you, you’ll see that they all connected in some way and have gotten you to where you need to be.
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
Meet Joey Roberts, the Pretty, Nerdy Girl. She’s a writer, graphic designer, Harry Potter nerd, and consignment store business owner.
Living in sunny California, Roberts has been blogging since the 7th grade. She describes her blog, Pretty, Nerdy Girl as the place “where nerdism meets life, dresses up pretty, and stuffs it’s face with delicious foods.” In other words, her blog is pretty amazing.
Our favorite posts? Geek Chic: Hair Bow Love—our vote goes to the adorable Eeyore bow. Although, unlike the gloomy donkey, your bow will always stay in place. Nerd Cave: Harry Potter Inspired Living Room—check out that exploding skull and the octopus chandelier. Nerd Cave: Loot this Storybook Home—Roberts details how to have a “once upon a time” themed home to live happily ever after.
Keep reading for our interview with this Pretty, Nerdy Girl, and be sure to follow her on Twitter, @thejoeyroberts.
Q: How did you discover your passion?
A: My passion for gaming started with the NES when I was a little girl. My elementary school (which was brand new) started us out with Mac basics and Animation Studio 1. Soon after we got our first computer, friends I made in AOL chat rooms introduced me to personal websites, the blog before the blog. It was my gateway drug to GeoCities, then Livejournal, then Blogger. Now I run my own website, blog, and fledgling YouTube gaming channel which allows me creative freedom to share my interests with others. If it hadn’t been for AOL and the NES, I don’t know where I’d be today.
Q: When did you discover you were “geeky”?
A: I really had no idea I was “geeky” during elementary school. If anyone else thought so, they didn’t tell me until my circle of friends in high school discovered that I was super into anime, Power Rangers, superheroes and gaming. This was the first time I realized that my interests weren’t “mainstream”. Though I was bullied a bit for it, I never let any negative comments sway me from my passions.
Q: Where do you find inspiration in life?
A: Life inspires me. It may sound lame and overused, but it’s the truth. Sometimes just living, walking around, listening, seeing, and experiencing can inspire the craziest ideas. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. I feel that if you let your imagination run wild and crazy, you’ll see things in a different perspective and find yourself drawing inspiration from it.
Q: If you could take any fictional character out for a drink, whom would you choose and what would you drink?
A: Fred and George Weasley. I know that’s cheating because they’re twins, but I can’t help it. I can just picture us now in the Leaky Cauldron throwing back a few Firewhiskeys. We’d eventually get thrown out for something the boys would’ve done and continued the party back at the WWW.
Q: What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
A: “Look at me. Since you believe in magic and time travel, you’ll trust that I’m you and you’re me, and you’re going to listen. The next 15 years are going to be a roller coaster of happy memories and extreme heartache. Don’t forget the root of your happiness, because when you do, that’s when it all hits the fan. When you remember, you’ll be the happiest girl there ever was. Also, anime gets really huge when you’re an adult so stick with it. And lose the butterfly clips. Oh! And finish your fan fiction stories already!”
Emma Bauer is a Being Geek Chic Contributor. Clearly, she’s got great taste. She is a PR enthusiast, dog lover, tea drinker, art appreciator, and of course, aspires to Be Geek Chic. Follow her on Twitter: @emmalynnbauer
