Meet Winston Bradbury | Founder & Creative Director

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

Hi Winston, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I started my business because I needed something that would allow me the space to expand all of my creative interests, and especially through a medium that would be sustainable for long-term growth. It was important to me to evolve on my own terms, for my own dreams, under my own business. That’s also why the model that I landed on really emphasizes collaboration. I think working with other creatives in particular has really inspired and challenged me to look at things from different perspectives, experiment with different forms of expression, and just continue learning while working.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The thing that sets my art apart from most is my willingness to remain a student, and without ego. I’m able to respect the time and effort put into other people’s crafts, while respectfully using it as inspiration in my own if there are elements that I enjoy. I think I’m excited about the idea of being a role model to other aspiring creatives – there’s value in the work that I’m doing, and it adds to my own sense of value in myself.

As far as getting to where I am today, I think easy is subjective – I knew years ago what I wanted to do. I just needed the guidance and community around me to get it done. But the lack of both of those things is what made it challenging. I started attending more community arts events such as a creative showcase series in LES called Cultured Coffee (culturedcoffeenyc) and writing workshops like House of Khaos (houseofkhaos_), where I’ve gained a lot of love around me in a way that definitely lightened that burden a little.

I’ve learned to be discerning with my energy, to trust my intuition, give grace to myself, and not to put people in positions in my life they haven’t earned yet. Everyone is not always going to be on the same wavelength as you, and if you’re not careful, that can take an emotional toll on you, and a noticeable toll on your work. I want the world to know that even though my actions might be forgotten in a few decades, the impact that I believe those actions can have on people can be long lasting.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
One place that I always love bringing people to is a cozy ramen spot in Chinatown called Ajisen. The manager, Brian, is one of my good friends. His energy is infectious and he does such a great job in making it a comfortable atmosphere for everyone. Of course, it helps that the ramen is delicious too.

If you’re looking for ways to enjoy a nice evening in the city, there’s an open mic in Astoria called Restless Open Mic. It was one of the first open mics I’ve attended, and it was so immediately supportive and welcoming. You get to go and just enjoy the creativity as an audience member, or you can take a chance behind the mic and surprise yourself with how much you enjoy it.

And of course I have to plug some Staten Island vibes as well. Richmond Hood is a clothing boutique, but also a community oriented organization. They host open mics and other creative events on the island. They’ve sponsored me on several occasions with free sneakers, skateboards, and I’ve even had the chance to collaborate with them on their marketing ads for the Nike SB Chunky Dunky, which took their platform from 18K to 45K followers.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Someone that I would definitely give some flowers to would be another creative by the name of Kaniz, or Khaotic, as she’s known by the poetry community. She’s a curator, a self published author, a poet/spoken word artist, and just an advocate for anything related to the arts. I was able to use her as a soundboard for a lot of my ideas, she helped me flesh several out to identify what worked and what didn’t, and she even helps me with some of my marketing and language, giving me a lot of helpful feedback on making the story of COTV relatable to my audience.

Website: https://cotvny.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cotvny/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@livetoimprove