Today we’d like to introduce you to Noah Dickson.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in Albany, GA where almost all of my family lived at the time. Post ’96 games my mother got a job offer in Jonesboro, GA a suburb in Clayton county. Jonesboro is where I spent my formative years. The back and forth between south Atlanta and Albany in the late 90’s and early 2000’s was an amazing time to have a young mind ready to absorb. I feel much of my current creative influence always relates back to that point in my life. Early on, I was obsessed with drawing and art of all kinds. I used to take the illustrations in Shonen Jump and MAD Magazine and trace them for hours on end until shapes and proportions of figures started sticking from memory. That obsession subsided as I realized drawing doodles on my margins did absolutely nothing to help me on test day, and honestly looking back that internal battle for priority started much earlier than I realized.
Somewhere around age 15, I became overwhelmed with the fact that I would have to exist in a world where artistic expression can block professional success and the existential scramble for individuality set in. Now, as a sophomore in high school, standing out from the crowd was something of high importance to me, something I see as very trivial and one dimensional these days, but it was also a very straightforward goal to achieve for myself. Little did I know that I was about to make a life-changing decision by simply caring about the way my wardrobe expressed my personality.
Around age 19, I met Brandon Vallean. This was truly the catalyst for the devotion to artistic endeavors going forward. Though I had gone back and forth many times on my direction in life, by 19 I had leveled with myself on the fact that I would never feel truly fulfilled as a human soul if I dedicated my life to a career path void of personal expression. I had fallen in love with the canvas fashion presents to the individual everyday, and so this became the natural path for my expression as both an everyday person and as an artist.
A Fairy Tales End is the culmination of a quarter of a life trying to figure out how to express oneself. It shows in every design and every concept. The rawness of the couture that mashes garments together into one cohesive being is something that never stops feeling true to the core of the brand. AFTE is about recognizing which obstacles are in your head and which are in reality and actively choosing to find a way to overcome both at once. The original artwork on the bodice of the shirt is a direct expression of oneself, the sleeves made from vintage band tees are an homage to where we came from, the athletics line is the physical proof of the work we’ve put in to have a strong foundation on which to build our dreams. A Fairy Tales End is exactly what it says it is, the end of the ideas, wishes, hopes, and dreams and the actualization of self-expression. This is not a fairy tale, this is our reality, whether the world chooses to see it that way or not is irrelevant.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Working through my 25th year, I look back on my struggles and some are laughable and some are as present as ever. I personally struggle with imposter syndrome terribly! No matter how hard I work or how much I succeed, it is never enough to convince myself that I am on the right path. Last year’s success in my artistic ventures have been instrumental in building the self-trust to go further with what I allow the world to see of my work. Ultimately, the biggest obstacle I face has always been and still is my own brain. However, as time goes on that seems to become more and more of a comfort. The more I get to know myself the better my art gets and it is starting up a cycle where self-love is unlocking new levels I never thought possible for myself. 2021 was a great year for surpassing personal boundaries!
Admittedly, there is a fair amount of self-infliction, but my second biggest problem is exposure. Today’s climate there is an overwhelming flood of media pollution. The average person consumes more media than a human brain has the ability to process, and now that I have proven to myself that my work is worth processing, finding areas where that is encouraged is an obstacle in itself. I love the feeling of knowing something I worked on got someone to take a second away from whatever they have going on and interpreted it in a way that one person can. That exact feeling is what I aim to share and things like content ads really run the risk of cheapening that experience, all the while social media companies aim to monetize exposure, making genuine connection with an audience all that much harder.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in graphic arts and fashion styling. I work with brands, musical artists, creative collectives, and other organizations to provide a range of graphics. I do it all clothing graphics, cover art, flyers and logos. I love drawing and I am a huge tech geek so computer aided design is both a hobby and profession of mine.
My styling, however, dominates my professional life. I have done visual work for many luxury brands as well as local start ups. Visual merchandising is a great way to earn the income needed to support my creative career. Eventually, I would love to see the two mesh in my life and optimally, I would be designing the clothing, floor pieces, and runway visuals for my own fashion house.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
My best advice when it comes to mentorships is to be equally ready to listen as you are ready to speak at all times. Finding yourself in a situation where you need knowledge only lasts as long as you wait to ask. There is a plethora of gatekeeping in the fashion industry, but they’re also seems to be an abnormal amount of people who are deathly afraid of gates.
Pricing:
- Logos: $250~
- Flyers: $65 – $125
- Clothing Graphics: $100~
- Cover art: $100~
- Creative Consult: $150~
Contact Info:
- Email: noah.l.dickson@gmail.com
- Website: noahdickson.squarespace.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1shoryuken/ https://www.instagram.com/1shoryuken/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/1shoryuken
- Other: afairytalesend.com
Image Credits:
Luis Telles Jr. – personal oic Noah Dickson (shoryuken) – graphics
