We recently connected with Ashley N.v. M Mingo and have shared our conversation below.
Ashley N.V. M, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I draw my resilience from my faith in God. Throughout my life, I have encountered various challenges and seasons that have shaped my journey to where I am now. One constant through it all has been His provision, goodness, and unwavering faithfulness to His promises. So anytime I get a nudge of doubt or discouragement I remind myself of what he has done in the past and it gives me hope and strength for present and future.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m Ashley N. V. Mingo, also known as Mingo. I am a Costume Designer who excels at visually narrating stories through costumes. I play a crucial role in shaping characters’ identities and breathing life into them, utilizing her wide range of skills and creative talents. I am a proud union member of Local 829 United Scenic Artist, IATSE. I embarked on the journey to become a costume designer at the age of 16, when interning with the Costume Department for feature film “Safe” starring Jason Statham. From then I knew that my gift was in the art of film. Through my younger years I created unique ways to keep her dreams alive. I often created photoshoots creating costumes to honor legends of the past who had great cultural impact.
While studying Fashion Merchandising at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, I became an assistant Costume Designer for the school’s theatre productions. In 2018 I decided to take a leap of faith and move to Los Angeles. By 2020 I earned degrees in Costume Design for Film and Television and in Fashion Design from Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Since then I have built a network in the entertainment industry on both East and Westcoast. One of my proudest moments was costume designing my first award winning feature film, African Giants, which is now available on Amazon Prime. I costume designed eight award winning and festival placed short films that have been placed in Sundance, Tribeca, Bafta, Slam Dance and more.
When I am not costume designing my own projects I work at different capacities in other Costume Departments. I am currently a Costumer for Beyond The Gates, a new SOAP Opera for CBS. So far it has been a great experience and my intro into television series. Soap Opera’s aren’t like any other film genre. It is constant and VERY fast pace. Also all year ’round filming. This is my first time working on a costume department where the characters have a high number of looks and changes. It has been great to learn the rhythm of a costume department in this genre.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Areas of knowledge that was most impactful on my journey is knowledge of self. As in knowing what risk to take, knowing when to scale it back, when to pivot and when to amp it up. Also as in knowing what works for me and what doesn’t. Knowing myself made me able to make sound decisions for everyday life and major situations. In this industry or life in general there is so much we can be persuaded or distracted by, knowing myself protected me from going off of my course.
A skill that is impactful on my journey is comprehension and application of what I learned in Fashion Merchandising, Fashion Design and Costume Design. They all build on each other and helped me navigate through different seasons in my life. For example when SAG-AFTRA and the Writer’s Guild of America went on strike I was not working in the film industry, I was able to pivot and do tailoring full time. But if it wasn’t for the skills I’ve learned in my fashion design program I would not have been able to pivot. There has been many instances where I had to use things that I’ve learned in my studies as a tool for my income and livelihood.
A quality that has been impactful is patience. As they say patience is truly a virtue. It is sometimes a painful process and other times peaceful. But in life I learned that everything takes time. And what we encounter from one day to the next is what gets us to the “destination” we want. I often think about how there are things that haven’t been invented, people that we haven’t met, or skills we haven’t developed yet that will get us to that dream job, house, organization, lover or family. God’s plan for us is so big that we have to grow into it, so that we will have the wisdom and experience to sustain it. I’ve seen patience work in so many areas in my life. The most important thing about it is how we wait, time is going to past regardless of how we feel. But if we do it with a heart of gratitude and a good attitude it will make the journey smoother.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
The most impactful thing my parents did got me give me is the freedom to dream. They not only encouraged me to explore my passions, but they also stood by me with emotional and financial support in parts of my journey. They celebrate me when I try, succeed and even fail. They never doubt me and always give me encouragement to dream bigger. This nurturing environment allowed my dreams to flourish without boundaries, shaping who I am today.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ashleynvmingo.com
- Instagram: mingseason_
- Linkedin: Ashley N. V. Mingo
Image Credits
FIDM, Stephen Bolton, We Were Meant To (Short Film) , MTV (Commercial) , African Giants (Feature Film), El Cadejo (Short Film), Bitter Leaf (Short Film), Time is Money (Short Film)
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
