Meet Elijah Smith

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elijah Smith.

Hi Elijah, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
When I was in high school, I always wanted to create my own clothes, but I knew how to go about starting them. I was always into streetwear and fashion in general so people would always wonder if I had a brand or was going to start one.

To fast forward a little, my freshman year of college we got sent home due to the covid 19 outbreak and for a while, I was doing nothing but sitting at home so I thought why not capitalize on the downtime. So I decided to start my creative company called Set Studios.

I created Set Studios in June of 2020. I designed and released my first t-shirt on October 10th, 2020 and I creatively directed the entire promo and release for the t-shirt as well.

That t-shirt sold out in 3 days and throughout time as I produced more and more pieces I gained an interest in creative direction and film photography so all my promo was directed and shot by me along with the help of a few others.

Over time, I am following my creative direction and photography to the point that I started doing jobs and such for people with brands and just helping others bring a vision to life.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Many things were hard in regards to the actual finding the right manufacturers and vendors and finding the right people to trust when it comes to making my art come to life.

I think the hardest part for me personally was honestly just trying to figure out how I wanted to express my art and my work to the world and bringing the right people around that caters to helping me bring it to life.

I say that because I want to tell such a great story when it comes to promo and the artistic part. Only because I wanted to show that my vision was far beyond just clothes and actually painting the picture that I envisioned.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a multitalented artist, a clothing designer with my own brand, a film photographer, and a creative director for other businesses. I feel that I specialize in creative direction and film photography the most because those two aspects go hand and hand when it comes to promotion and the rollout of a product.

I think I’m most know and proud of my photography and creative direction because of the collaborations and different people I’ve worked with. I’ve worked with many brands and known music artists such as Reuben Vincent, Mavi, FarrahGamo, Glorygirl, and brands such as Uninfluenced Youth, 4E13 clothing, and many more.

When it comes to film photography one of my proudest moments was when I saw my picture in a RollingStone article for music artist Mavi, after that my photography took new heights. On the creative direction side, I’ve done multiple promo production releases for Jonny Kaine Fitted N’ Apparel, AAG Renaissance, Rawsince2000, Gregoire Skin Care, and CutboiFresh Barbershop, and more.

What sets me apart from others is I feel like my vision and the way I see things when it comes to the aspect of creativity. I think I can always bring a different wave of thinking when it comes to promotion. I think as a creative I lean more toward the vintage way of doing things and bringing a nostalgic feel to present times.

I draw inspiration from older promotions and the way storytelling was going about in the 90s and early 2000s. I think there is a lost art when it comes to storytelling as well, when you paint a more broad picture it gives more meaning to the artwork and I think that’s what I try to do when it comes to my art.

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
One very important lesson I’ve learned during the Covid-19 crisis is to just never stop pushing your passion and all goal are obtainable when you put your all into it.

I think Covid-19 helped me a lot in regards to actually stopping procrastinating and finally creating my creative company.

I think Covid gave me the push to pursue something I’ve been waiting to pursue since high school and take just a vision I had to new heights so I’m thankful for Covid-19, it honestly changed my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.setstudios.net
• Instagram: @9flags

Image Credits
SetStudios PYMWMI Hoodie, SetStudios Stunt Team Tote Bag , @Mavi4Mayor, @Oguanja, @Jhaekelson, @Astasiaaniles, @Reubenvincent, and @ardenbean