We had the good fortune of connecting with Folabomi Oyewo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Folabomi, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I believe that taking risks is one of life’s greatest pleasures, the fact that we can take a different route or forge our own is absolutely liberating. The downside is not all risks go as planned but there is never regret depending on how you look at it. Starting freelance modeling was the first step I took to creating my own path, growing up I had a lot of insecurities weighing me down, for me it was beyond modeling, it was my personal and mental process to growing above my restrictive mindset. This then led me to connecting with other creative individuals and opened up an unexpected path to endless creative possibilities. During the pandemic, I decided to open up a vintage store – Orange Flower Vintage Shop- focusing on creating up-cycled and repurposed jewellery as well as supplying preloved clothing, the demand for the items I had created was not as much as I intended, but creating the jewellery was a way for me to express myself so I keep on doing it. As far as risk goes, it’s not about my failures, even if I fail 10 times I will try 10 more. Also, I was wondering if I could add some more pictures, these were taken by Gaffney! It is a learning process in building my resilience and my ability to take risks is what keeps me going.

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.
I am not where I want to be as an artist/creator, right now I have a full-time job that funds the things I want to do. The challenge is getting enough income from my creative outlets – writing, modelling, creating jewellery, website designs -so I can solely rely on them. While shuttling between a full-time job and my desired career allocating time and energy is crucial to get to where I want to be, regardless of how exhausted I am. I have a long way to go in terms of achieving my goals, but it is not about the destination, it is about the journey and I am enjoying every bit of it.

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?
I haven’t explored Atlanta as much as I would like, but here are the places I absolutely adore. The Lost n Found and Out of the Closet Thrift Store are great places with amazing causes. A nice couple of hours spent getting drinks at Tupelo Honey Cafe in Sandy Springs, and we end the night at the Starlight Drive-in. Bonus Spot: Thrill Korean Steak and Bar in Sandy Springs opens at 12 am – 2 am on Friday and Saturday for all you can eat Korean BBQ (🤤)! Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to give a shoutout to my sister Funlola and my closest friend Sophia who have honestly pushed me in times where I did not have the strength, energy or motivation to keep going. Their constant encouragement and support helped me always look at the bigger picture and made me see myself in a different light.

Website: https://folabomioyewo.wixsite.com/personalsite

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

Other: https://www.instagram.com/orangeflowervintageshop/

Image Credits
Gaffney Taylor Alissa Pagels

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