One element that a creative never lacks from, is owning what is bestowed upon them. Creative Ella Audrey Rae, who hails all the way from Virginia (USA), is a creative, who is the CEO of Reignland Creatives LLC – an organisation that specialises in web design, marketing and branding, it is also home to the infamous Reignland Magazine. Aside from her empire, she also has a podcast called “Rare Culture”.
With all this and more, it was vital to unravel the mystical world according to Ella Audrey Rae.
What is the hardest part of what you do?
I think the hardest part of my job is seeing how many talented people don’t go for their dreams simply because they don’t feel supported or think they won’t be heard.
What is your take on proving yourself to others with your work?
I always tell people that if you do not believe in your brand or your work, then it is going to be hard for others to believe too. You should never go after a dream to prove yourself to society. Everything has an audience and there is a lot of people out there that is into what you are into or need what you are selling. If you feel good about it and it adds positive value to the world we live in, go for it and prove to yourself that you can do the things your heart has always desired.
What has been your greatest accomplishment throughout your career?
My greatest accomplishment thus far was being invited to cover New York Fashion week and LA Fashion Week before the pandemic hit. At that moment, I cried and even now, I am still in shock. My other favorite is talking to one of my favorite singers in the whole work named, Galimatias. He was amazing to talk to and I made him laugh and goodness, I was in a trance for about a week.
In anyway, has the Covid-19 pandemic made your career better or has it harmed it in any way?
Sadly, the pandemic made me buck up and go after my dreams. I had been building my brand on the side since I was 15 years old but never though of making it into a company or going for it 100% until the pandemic came and I lost my job. I had never been fired from a job before and I realized that I didn’t want to be in this position anymore, so I took a leap of faith and luckily, I had some people who supported my choice. With this decision, I was also able to help people in this pandemic who were also trying to start their businesses but did not have the funds to do so due to the pandemic.
What is your advice to creatives trying to deal with not feeling motivated during this Covid-19 pandemic?
My advice would be to give yourself a break. This pandemic was mentally draining and caused a terrible storm over the creative community. As we are getting back to normal, we need to give ourselves a moment to gather our thoughts and ease back into it. Even If all you did was get out of bed, that is totally fine, you did something. Inspiration will come. It will always come because creatives cannot help but be creative.
Who are your influences within the work that you do?
That is a really good question because I don’t really think about it much, but I would say that people like The Weekend, Sade, Zendaya, Yara Shahidi, Cholee Spicer or Issa Rae would really sum me up among others.
With your magazine titled “Reignland”, you have plenty of diverse and amazing creatives. What the reason for you to create it in the first place?
I always loved learning about people and helping people get their voices heard, ever since I was little. When I was 15, my bullying became worse. It forced me to stay in the house a lot more where I spent most of my time, watching Disney Channel and reading magazines. The teen magazines during that time, never interest me because all they talked about was who kissed who, who makes the best cakes etc.
I wanted to know what my favorite celebrity does to stay motivated or how they dealt with bullying, things like that and I just could not find anything that had actual meaning. For some reason, I had the idea of creating my own publication. It started off as “PGAB” or “Pretty Girls Against Bullying” and as I got older transitioned into “Reignland”. I did not want to go ‘by the book’, I wanted to rewrite it. Reignland Magazine is 44 issues in and counting and everyone in the world can find themselves in our pages.
What does being a creative mean to you?
Being a creative means freedom to me. Creating is freedom! You can literally make anything you want, no lines to colour in, no instructions, just you and the blank surface of life. It’s your voice in a visual since. I have never posted a video on social media because I prefer to let my art speak for itself. Being a creative is seeing the power within yourself, pulling it out of you to inspire someone else to see the same in themselves.
What do you feel the creative industry is lacking or could work better on?
I feel like the creative industry is lacking freedom. For some reason, the creative industry has created a handbook for how creatives are suppose to create which defeats the entire purpose of creativity. Being a creative means you have your identity in your hands to do as you please with and in doing so may help someone else create theres but how can you be 100% authentically yourself If someone is putting restrictions on how you are suppose to create? At some point, everyone will start to look the same.
I remember when I first started promoting my company, so many creatives bashed me because of the way I priced my work. I offer a lot of my services under the desired price of the “average designer”. Not because I am not good at my work or don’t know my worth, but because I just love to design and help. I did not let it bother me one bit because I came here to change something, not conform to it.
Who would you like to collaborate with in future?
My dream collaboration is either The Weekend or Yara Shahidi. I love how they have literally taken the world by storm by creating a new world for us to be apart of.
What can we expect from you in the near future?
You can expect expansion of the entire company with a couple extra add ons to really add value to the women empowerment movement.
Peeling her story layer by layer, it is clear to see that Ella Audrey Rae is a Queen, that is determined to go to the top but most importantly, take those who understand her journey with her and we are excited to see all that has to offer in the future.
To follow Ella on any of her social media platforms, it is the following:
Instagram:
Ella: @ellarae
Reignland: @reignlandmagazine
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