We had the good fortune of connecting with Brieanna (Boo) Radford and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brieanna (Boo), can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
The launch of my business, Boo Radford, began after moving to Colorado. I had found that my ability to create art had been snuffed out during the process of trying to navigate the arts in Los Angeles and New York. When I arrived in Colorado my process of art-making had all but dried up. Having been trained in the art worlds of large cities, I felt a freedom in the mountains to create. It was here in the Rockies that I began to see that art was truly thriving through the community around me. There is a creative current here that is extremely present, vibrant, and innovative. Here, it was welcoming and warm. I found it easier to break out the paints and start making art again. A revived inspiration to create began to pour from me. It came out in a variety of new media that I hadn’t studied or previously practiced. All of a sudden I was illustrating, stippling, and creating whimsical painted river stones. Soon I had a collection. It was then that I formed my own business, creating a line of children’s clothes, tattoos, stickers, games, and art. Boo Radford was truly birthed out of the collection of this art which had come from a genuine inspiration in the mountains, and the incredible art community with whom I had quickly fallen in love.

How did you get to where you are today professionally?

It has always been my dream to be a multi-media installation artist and gallery director. Having received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Arts, I graduated with the intent of showing large-scale installations in white box galleries. However, living in Los Angeles at the time, I found that my career opportunities and resources were limited. After moving to Colorado and starting my own company, I was then forced to learn many new skills on my own, including how to sell my art. So I learned about contracts, commission rates, inventory systems and so many things I hadn’t been exposed to before. I quickly cultivated branding and marketing skills which brought me to a place in 2017 where I was able to join the team at the Gunnison Arts Center as an administrative assistant. I was so excited to have a job in an art capacity. I took it as a new opportunity to expand my skills, learning from each artist I met and each art professional that I began connecting with. Soon, I was promoted to Marketing and Gallery Director where I have had incredible successes in curating our galleries and designing our marketing in a fresh, new way. I have even had the immense pleasure of creating my first solo show in over a decade in the Gunnison Arts Center’s Tredway Gallery.

Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges?

It was decidedly not easy for me, plagued mostly by a lack of belief in myself. Upon graduating, with a B.F.A. in hand I moved to Los Angeles, hoping to navigate my way through the big art world there. But being a small fish in a big pond doesn’t even come close to how it felt to jump into this current. I began taking any jobs I could, starting as a reporter for an online art blog that followed the Downtown L.A. ArtWalk scene. But I also had to pay the bills, so I worked as a barista at Starbucks and then as a teller at Bank of America. Soon, I had lost myself as an artist. At the same that time my husband was also starting his own creative career as a film composer in Hollywood. So, I was the one left with a practical job. I resigned myself to working a job separate from my passion for us, two newly-married creatives, to have benefits and stability. However, my husband never stopped calling me an artist. He never stopped encouraging my insatiable need to visit galleries and see new exhibits. He supported every small creative endeavor and he has intrinsically always seen me as an artist.

What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way?

I’ve learned to be a good learner. After spending time studying in New York City I quickly learned that I knew very little. I had a lot to learn. That never ceases to this day as there is always someone in the room with different experiences and knowledge. There is something to learn from everyone. To this day, as a Gallery Director, I am so incredibly honored to get to connect with brilliant art professionals such as my recent work with the Aspen Art Museum and the Smithsonian. I try to exist in that gratitude as much as possible. I love to learn from each artist I walk beside through the art exhibition process in our galleries. It only makes sense that I’ve found myself as Marketing Director. I knew this ability to connect and learn would be one of my greatest weapons since my first year building Boo Radford. I could use this skill to create a customer base and increase my knowledge, business, and marketability. You can always learn.

What sets you apart from others?

My ability to personally connect with others, and work hard for mutual benefit, is a uniquely important skill in my current position. I am naturally friendly and a good listener (learner), so I understand what marketing trends annoy people and which ones they’ll share with friends. I have extensive education and experience in curating art exhibitions. By working for the Gunnison Arts Center’s galleries I can listen to an artist’s vision and help walk them through realizing it in our space. I work hard to inspire, encourage, teach and learn from the artists I get to work with. They can feel those efforts and interpersonal connections and it frees them to create.

What you are most proud of or excited about?

I am most proud of having a solo installation art show in 2019, titled “Concerted”. This was an exhibition at the Gunnison Arts Center about the disturbing beauty of raging climate change. It was the first time in many years that I had created large-scale work. It was a nightmare and a dream. It was a challenge and is not yet complete. I plan to keep making each piece the best it can be before traveling the exhibition around the state of Colorado.

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

I want people to know how important it is to be open to learning and changing. It makes good art and good people. You can always learn to use a drill and make a warehouse-sized sculpture. You can dive into the poetic masters and begin to write your own poetry. You can learn a more efficient method than the one you have used for decades, and you can change. Be a learner.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First, since she loves a good small-town brewery with pizza we’d stop at High Alpine Brewery. I still have dreams about their bruschetta and Anthracite Amber Ale. Then we’d go on a hike and take in a concert at the I-Bar Ranch where we’ll roast marshmallows, eat Mario’s pizza and ride the bull. Since a night at the I-Bar is no joke, the next morning we’ll have to get fresh juice at Wilder’s Organic Market, omelets from the Backcountry Cafe, and grab some of Travis’s freshly roasted coffee at Tributary Coffee Roasters, where one of the baristas will inform me on which bag of coffee to get for my husband, since he’s one of their most-frequent patrons. Then it’s time to take the kids to the splash pad at Gunnison’s new IOOF park and shop the Farmer’s Market for some cinnamon rolls, tomatoes, a box of peaches and I’ll get the perfect present for my sister who lives in town. We’ll then head out for some SUP’ing at Blue Mesa Reservoir, come back into town to make pottery at the Gunnison Arts Center. We’d pour through vintage records at Boomerang, hit up D’luna Mexican Store for some snacks, and maybe see if Joe Bob has a seed sale going on at Mountain Roots on South Main. Somewhere along the way, we’ll have to grab her a sweater at The Toggery (because Australians never pack warm enough for mountain visits), where the owner Stephanie will likely hand over a new notebook to give to my nephew. Then maybe check in on Kent at Dobrato Guitars to see if my custom order will be ready soon. He’ll probably show us something new he’s been working on. A stop a the Corner Cupboard for some local honey will then bring us to dinner at Blackstock Bistro. She can then head home feeling like she’s just been in a Hallmark Movie.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

My husband, Sam Smythe, deserves so much credit in my story. From never losing hope in my ability to create, to holding the tripod for product shoots and setting up stands at the Farmer’s Market, he has been there from the motivation to the gritty details. He never stopped seeing me as an artist.

Website: https://www.brieannaradford.com/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/booradford

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brieanna-radford/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/booradfordmaker

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutColorado is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.