Corliss Elizabeth Williams: On blowing up your life, the BLM effect, and the best piece of advice
Advice from a graphic designer and small-business owner
Meet our next creator, Corliss Elizabeth Williams:
Corliss Elizabeth Williams
Age: 42
Child: Amelia, 6
Location: Farmington, MI
Industry: Graphic Design and Fashion
Roles (so many!):
-Creative strategic branding and marketing director
-Proprietor and stylist at The Lowry Estate
-Small Black-woman-owned designer resale/vintage boutique owner
Business: The Lowry Estate, @thelowryestate
Website: Corliss Elizabeth
I find it a bit embarrassing to admit that I first had the idea for this newsletter almost two years ago. TWO years ago. And it has taken me that long to get this thing off the ground. I’m trying not to be hard on myself about that. We were still in the pandemic, and I was surrounded by two young children who were bouncing off the walls while I was trying to quickly build a freelance career after the magazine I worked for folded (RIP, California Sunday). In that time, my husband and I also decided to uproot the family and move across the country to a random town in the Hudson Valley to be closer to family. So, I was busy. But maybe I also didn’t need to re-watch all of Schitt’s Creek? But this is exactly why I wanted to create this forum. Making things is hard. Making things with “Mama, Mama, hey, Mama, Mama, Mama, look at me, Maaaaaamaaaaa” in the background is way harder. So I’ve been slowly interviewing women over the past two years, which means that, for some, things have changed since we chatted. And it’s pretty interesting to look at that as well.
Which brings me to our next creator, Corliss Elizabeth Williams. When I chatted with her, I was in awe of her ability to make changes—big changes—in her life, often at the very time when it was possibly the hardest thing to do. Change location? Check. Change family structure? Check. Change career to a completely different industry? Check. Doing it all with a baby in tow? Yep, check. Corliss doesn’t sugarcoat how hard times have been for her, but her resilience and her openness in how she found support and help when needed are so inspiring.
As a result, Corliss is the owner of a gorgeous vintage plus designer resale clothing boutique called The Lowry Estate that she launched in Brooklyn in 2015. (I just scored a stunning 1950s clutch from there.) When I recently followed up with Corliss, I found that she is still making life and career changes. After taking a break from working in full-time positions in the publishing industry, she has come to the realization that she needs to revisit the freelance design and marketing world, which will allow her to move forward with her business and keep in close contact with the graphic design community from afar in New York City, where she got her start.
And! She’s designing for Kazoo, an ad-free magazine for girls ages 5 to 12 (and a National Magazine Award finalist). I just bought a subscription myself. It looks amazing, and I can’t wait for my daughter to check it out.
Now, finally, Corliss, in her own words…
On getting pushed to take a risk:
After graduating from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Communications Design, I was hired at The New York Times Magazine. That was my first job out of college.
Despite working 50-plus-hour weeks in full-time positions, I always dreamed about owning a retail shop but was not able to pursue it fully. I’ve always had access to beautiful vintage clothing from Michigan (where I’m originally from) and would often thrift and bring pieces back to add to my endless personal wardrobe or share with friends. Sourcing my finds eventually became a passion, which led me to educate myself more on the clothing and designers that I discovered.
The ever-changing landscape of the print industry reared its head quickly, which resulted in me having to aggressively look for new positions or string months together of short-term freelance projects. After navigating the industry under such unpredictable conditions, I did not have a choice but move fast and figure out what my next steps would be in the event contract work stopped. Due to the stress and uncertainty, I realized that I did not have a choice but to pursue my dreams of starting a vintage boutique—terrifying, yet a bit more in my control. In July of 2015, I launched The Lowry Estate.
On breaking up with New York City:
I lived in NYC for almost 20 years. But around the 15th year, the landscape of the city and industry was changing so much, I knew in my heart that a change would come, which would involve leaving New York.
I was married at the time, and shortly after my daughter, Amelia, was born, her father and I decided that it was time to move—for the usual reasons. More space, the support of family, and a place to hit the reboot button on our careers.
When we went home for my family’s annual Fourth of July party, we decided that we wanted to move to Michigan.
We ended up finding a home in a subdivision that was a mile from my parents’ house where I grew up, so that was super helpful at the time. Because they were right there and on the front line of my support system, which I needed more than ever after relocating.
On breaking up the family:
The only way that I can describe this move, was that the problems that we had in New York hitched a ride in the suitcases in the trunk of our car and bloomed like thorny weeds upon our arrival. Amelia’s father and I got a divorce less than a year after relocating.
My parents made it clear that when or if I needed to remove my daughter and I from what turned into a toxic home, their doors would be open. I took them up on their offer and moved in immediately. Over time, moving in with my parents caused our relationship to take an unpleasant turn. However, it was a learning experience, and no words can explain how grateful I am that they were there for us the moment that Amelia and I needed to leave.
One of the best pieces of advice that I heard after the fact was “Parents should never live with other Parents,” and not to my surprise, that was 100% true!
On hitting rock bottom:
After a while, it was extremely difficult living with my parents. I often felt criticized, alone, angry, and scared, figuring out how to be a mother all the while in an emotionally taxing co-parenting situation. Every day had a new obstacle or dart thrown at me.
Shortly after moving in, I spiraled into a very deep and dark depression. What used to be “having a glass of wine” at the end of the day turned into my hitting a new rock bottom. I say the word “new” because alcohol also had a major role in my marriage coming to an end.
The days and nights without my daughter (Michigan is a 50/50 state) drove my depression to a new low. I felt hopeless, useless, and eventually led to me feeling suicidal. When I got to that point, I somehow had the ability to seek help and treatment, which led me down the path to continuous sobriety. I’m still very new, but I just celebrated my two-year anniversary on February 25.
On therapy and going all in on the dream:
I was able to secure a beautiful space in Farmington, which served as my brick and mortar and graphic design studio. I also became a regular vendor at Eastern Market in Detroit in the summer and holiday markets.
When the pandemic hit, I was actually living out of my store on the weekends when Emi was with her father. That was the beginning of me having the mental space to really figure out what I wanted to do next in my life, and it lit a fire under my butt because I knew I had to figure out my next steps fast, which would allow me to get back on my own.
While all of this was happening, I was fortunate enough to have standing weekly therapy sessions after I got back on my feet after treatment. I’m a huge advocate for therapy. At the time, my therapist would say something along the lines of “I know that this is scary, the world is so uncertain right now, no one knows what is happening, everything is on pause, but you must see this as an opportunity to focus on what you really know, what you want to do in your heart, and fight hard make that happen.”
She ended it by saying something that I will never forget: “You have to bloom where you have been planted.”
So from there on, I went for it, gunned for it. I did not have any other choice. This was the time.
On the bittersweet impact of the BLM movement:
After activating my Instagram account more so than ever, I began gaining followers and made sales in the summer of 2021. It was the summer that the BLM movement was front and center due to the murder of George Floyd.
One day I remember waking up and I had all of these alerts on my Instagram where people were tagging my page. The abundance of attention never happened that fast because no one really knew that I existed before.
This business occurrence was a bittersweet one. My other friends and I who are POC came to realize that the only reason why we got this sudden burst of attention was due to the fact that other businesses, not Black-owned, did a “black out” day where they did not post their brands, which essentially caused our brands to rise to the top due to the algorithm. It’s unfortunate that yet another Black man had to die to make that day of support come to be. I definitely noticed an uptick when that happened. That was the summer when I really got recognized more and gained a loyal following.
Unfortunately, as the news cycle shifted, the abundance of supporting Black businesses went back to normal. So overnight I went from having 200 likes to 5 likes. My sales plummeted. And that’s when I realized that I could not rely on a third party to stay afloat anymore, so it was back to the drawing board on coming up with new marketing strategies and concepts to keep Lowry going.
On the impossible balance:
To say that running your own business (along with additional contract work) and raising a child as “challenging” is an understatement.
If I make the conscious effort to spend time with Amelia on what we call “EmiCor Day,” I will never get those moments back, but my to-do list suffers. If I miss an entire workday, and if I am not active daily on social media, I don’t make any money because I’m not showing any of my products. But then if I work all day, say I’m photographing stuff and Emi’s in the other room, then I feel guilty not focusing on my daughter 100% of the time and submitting to extra hours of screen time. You can only do so much multitasking, but something always ends up falling to the wayside as a result.
On empowering others:
When I was in the thick of active addiction with alcohol and battling depression, I never thought that I would ever be of use to others. However, in this past year or so, those closest to me have told me that they have noticed a huge difference in my attitude, confidence, drive, and determination. I have close friends, or friends of friends, who reach out to me seeking guidance and help based on the life lessons that I have experienced.
It all comes full circle as well in that The Lowry Estate’s purpose is to empower and unite women through passing favorite pieces of clothing and family heirlooms along to others who will continue to cherish them. All the while being eco-friendly and fabulous at the same time!
I have made it to a place where I’m paying it forward in the same way that people have always helped and supported me. I am living proof that no matter how low you might go, or how down you might feel, there truly is a light at the end of the tunnel waiting for you as long as you are open and willing to work hard for it. And, before you know it, you will be next up in line helping someone else…it just goes on and on. The only way to go is up.
Thank you for sharing your story, Corliss!
*Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Keep sharing people's stories. I love the everyday inspiration from everyday people. Thank you.
Thanks for the intro about it taking two years for you to get this newsletter running.
I had the idea for mine (“I Love This Book,” conversations with non-white, non-male readers about a story they love and how it intersects with their identity) two years ago, too. I was pregnant and unemployed and bored and anxious, and I just couldn’t make myself schedule my first interview before my baby was born (in September 2021). Then I stayed home with her, until last month. And now two years later, I find myself, again, pregnant and unemployed and bored and anxious, and I’ve been WRACKING my brain about how to finally make myself schedule that interview before Little Sister arrives at the end of May.
Maybe this newsletter will help. 🙂