Meet Jennifer Duggins | Actress, Writer, Artist, & Entrepreneur

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

Hi Jennifer, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I grew up on a 10-acre organic farm in the Ozarks. Both of my parents wanted to get off the grid, and they built their success from the ground up. We lived in a dilapidated farmhouse that was held together more with creativity and perseverance than good construction. The carpet was held in place with staples and there was an open shower in the unfinished basement shared with brown recluse and rodents of varying types. TV time was limited to a couple hours each day, there were no friends in close proximity, and no siblings, so there were lots of refrains of “I’m bored.” The response was always, “write something, paint something, build something, grow something…make your own fun.” My mom taught me how to sew and crochet, do string art, etch glass, bake, talk to animals, and believe in faith and magic. My dad taught me to grow and nurture things, cook, find beauty in worn things, and that when something fails, learn from it and try again. We were all avid readers and would travel 30 minutes into “town” once a week to get a stack of books from the library to devour. We would also go to the museum or free shows at the university. This childhood sparked a deep love for creating, reading, performance, and art. It also taught me the joy ingenuity.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Art has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I would write stories and put on shows for the neighbors. Writing is my safe place. Performing is my passion. Growing up people would tell me to, “Slow down. Pick a field and ask me to choose a focus so to speak. I didn’t want to choose. I loved it all and wanted to do it all. Some would say “jack of all trades, master of none,” but this is what separates me. I decided to master as many trades as I can in this life. For over a decade, I used this knowledge to teach kids in low income and inner city schools. Eventually, when it became clear that there was a huge fissure in academic equality, I decided to leave education and advocate for the kids I had been teaching. I started a blog and took on work writing nonprofit grants, ghost blogging, and doing social media marketing. I also started acting again with a focus on improv.

It was easy to step away from education because of the bureaucracy and red tape that shackles teachers. Leaving the kids was different and hard. My students were my life. When I did leave, it was the advocacy that helped me transition. My blog picked up traction pretty quickly, grants also pickup up quickly. I went from making $915 from August through December 2015 to $90,000 by June, 2016. I was working 90 hours a week and barely sleeping so I hired help. Despite being told not to, I hired a friend and quickly learned why that is a bad idea, losing a major client due to the “learning curve” with the new employee, but I gained invaluable knowledge. My business income dropped significantly, and the struggle to make ends meet was real, so I decided to pivot. While I spent time doing outreach to find new clients, I also started walking dogs, selling my art and refurbished furniture pieces on Facebook Marketplace, picked up a couple of staging jobs, then bought a house to flip. My flipping business, Patronus Renovation, is dedicated to saving historic homes. Everything before has led me to this. My brand and my story are both about perseverance.

The pivot is so important. Being able to diversify and blaze a new trail when the one we are on is crumbling can make the difference between failure and success. Instead of letting others define who I should have been or could have been, I told them who I was. Today I use all of those talents and skills that I was urged to forgo in order to hyper focus. I have a thriving creative communications company, rent a studio where I work on and sell art and refinished furniture, run a nonprofit writers workshop, and have a company with my partner flipping historic homes. Not all of my businesses are top performers at all times, but they do balance out nicely, and more importantly, they help me feel balanced.

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.
Denver has so many amazing places to spend time. Where do I even start?

Hiking or an urban walk would be on the docket for at least one day, likely more. I have gotten to know this city on foot and it is quite beautiful. Perhaps we’d do a jaunt around Sloan’s Lake and lunch at GB’s Fish & Chips, or walk from LoDo to Cheesman Park and the Denver Botanic gardens where I’m a member. I love the peace I feel as soon as I get lost in the garden paths. Maybe a late lunch at Steubens on 17th. I can’t resist their meatloaf.

If we go to the mountains, maybe a hike at Staunton State Park or up Mt. Falcon. Perhaps even a bus ride over to Boulder where we’d do a hike on the Flatirons then finish with a meal at any of a number of amazing restaurants – maybe oysters at Jax. We’d finish up by stopping in for a box of chocolates at Peace, Love and Chocolate which has some of the best chocolate in the world. Trust me. I know.

On another day, I’m sure we’d do a brewery or distillery tour. There are so many unique beers and distilled libations. In fact, there are at least 92 different breweries in Denver proper. We’d spend some time in RiNo at Stem Ciders, Our Mutual Friend, and Ratio. For dinner as a break from our brewery hopping we’d go to Hop Alley (my fave Denver restaurant) or Cart Driver.

Denver has a slew of amazing museums. I am a member at the Museum of Contemporary Art and live very close by. I also love the Denver Art Museum and History Colorado. Each has their own unique offerings. Heck, the Children’s Museum of Denver is so cool and hands on that I might even take them there! There’s nothing like a LEGO room. After the museum, perhaps a drive through some historic neighborhoods to see beautiful historic homes, then D’Corazon for dinner.

Of course, a trip to Denver wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Denver Center for Performing Arts, RISE Comedy, or Comedy Works for a show. The performing arts community is a family, and I do my part to support my peers as often as possible. Red Rocks would be another excellent entertainment option. Concerts under the stars are soul inspiring.

Honestly, there is so much to do in Denver there is no way I can touch on it all. It’s just a beautiful and fun place to live.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This is a story of community. My parents never hesitated to follow me down the rabbit hole. There were dance classes, theater performances, softball games, band events, museums, vintage stores, sleepovers, movies, and more. Their most popular mantra to me, “Slow down and enjoy the ride.” They are still my biggest supporters and still reminding me to breathe. I had a lot of other guiding angels along the way from teachers to friends and my partner of 11 years. As an adult, I still go full steam, but I realize the value in finding my people.

Seven years ago, I hit a wall. My business, Femscribe Creative, was new and took off faster than expected, my daughter was about to be a teen mom, I was running a writers’ conference in Dallas, I was acting in back-to-back shows; then, my dad had a heart attack, my father-in-law died the same week, and I found out that my partner and I were moving to Denver within two days of the funeral. It completely derailed me.

When I got to Denver, I couldn’t find my footing. I had almost lost my dad, suddenly lost my beautiful father-in-law, all of my networks from friends to theaters to my writers’ circle and my sense of a constancy. I had also left behind my daughter as she navigated becoming a mother. My first six months in Denver was full of mourning and depression.

I sought therapy because I needed help turning things around and found a way to reconnect with my spirit as well as define myself instead of letting circumstances define me. Instead of longing for what was gone, I decided to create it for myself. I started taking improv and acting classes, met a new best friend at the airport on the way to my beautiful grandson’s birth, started painting again, and founded the Mile High Writers’ Workshop (MHWW). These were my people and they saved me. Plus, it took a hot minute to realize that what we leave behind isn’t lost unless we want it to be.

Website: https://www.urbangypsygirl.com/myblog/

Instagram: @urban_gypsy_girl

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/femscribe/

Twitter: @JenDuggins

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

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=aw4SMce5r6B1_sWqlMRw1A

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT-mi9jjWgOejSfuVGbVi7g

Other: https://www.pinterest.com/jenni86753/ https://www.tiktok.com/@jenniferduggins

Image Credits
Headshot image taken by Tommy Collier