The Freelancer Life: Meet Chloe Barbieux
Meet Chloe, a UI, visual design, systems designer and co-founder of a fashion tech startup called flow.studio.
Chloe loves cleaning, baking, boxing, patterns and photography. We talk to Chloe about the struggles and perks of being freelance and learn her top tips and sources of inspiration.
“I met someone who was a freelancer about 7 years ago and they basically sold me the dream.”
Hello, Welcome!
Tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do and how long you have been doing it for?
I'm Chloe! Originally from France but I moved around and lived in the States for most of my life so I have a pretty messed up accent, you could call it an "international" accent and I surprisingly do not sound french at all. I settled my roots in the UK about 15 years ago and I have been hopping around agencies, startups, and in-house brands across London experiencing different working environments and industries. About 2 years ago, myself and 3 friends of mine started our own fashion tech startup, called flow.studio. Our vision is to make flow.studio the single, unifying platform for all departments and collaborators with a strong focus on product development, production management and merchandising. It's been a long and stressful road all the way up to now but we are finally now at our beta testing phase which feels so good to have people finally use the product we have poured our heart and time into it. I am so excited about the future of flow.studio.
Why did you first become a freelancer?
I met someone who was a freelancer about 7 years ago and they basically sold me the dream. After a few months of pondering it, I decided to take the plunge. I was hesitant and a bit nervous about finding work initially but I was able to find something quite quickly and I never looked back.
Where’s your favourite place to work from aside from your home and why?
Honestly, there is no better place for me to work than the setup I have in my attic. I have my screens at the right height, the perfect chair and just the right amount of sunlight.
Share your struggles - what do you find hardest about working for yourself and why? How have you found ways to combat these parts of working for yourself?
Sometimes it can be hard if the company that you work with separates freelancers from permanent members of staff, so you feel like an outsider. I haven't experienced that too much so I have been lucky. Of course, finding work can be tricky depending on the time of year, it’s been particularly tricky through the coronavirus pandemic. To help during these times, I keep myself busy with side projects or learning new programs (cinema 4d!). I also know that if I am having a bad day that pushing myself to work on something just to feel like I have accomplished something usually ends up with frustrations, so I am gentle to myself on those days. I’ll read a book instead or play Witcher 3. In times like these, you have to listen to your body and your mind accordingly.
Share your perks - what do you enjoy most about working for yourself and why?
The best part about working as a freelancer for me is that I can pick the projects where I know I can bring the most value, I can pick the projects that I am the most interested in.
What are your top tips for anyone thinking about working for themselves?
Don't take any job just because it's there. Try to hunt out the projects that you are going to feel excited about, that will bring out the best in you and also teach you the most. Sometimes the best-paid jobs are the dullest and most soul-destroying. Be professional with the people you meet, a lot of work I have received has been through word of mouth. Your reputation is important and our industry is really so small.
“Try to hunt out the projects that you are going to feel excited about, that will bring out the best in you and also teach you the most. ”
What are your top 3 recommendations - podcasts, books, people to follow, sources of inspiration etc. and why?
I have been reading quite a lot lately and a couple of books that have stuck with me are; The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Leadership and Self-Deception. Both written as stories so they are super easy to read but so valuable in learning about relationships at work and with people.
What role does collaboration play for you?
Collaborating with others pushes me to places I wouldn't go to normally and/or unblocks me if I am stuck. Having a strong and diverse team around you is one of the most important things when you are working.
What do you love to do? What makes you tick and what do you simply love doing?
It's going to sound sad and a bit stereotypical but I do really love cleaning. Haha, I get a real high from organising and sorting my house. If I feel stressed or down, usually doing a deep clean of my house gets my adrenaline going and my mood changes. I know it's really weird. I also love to bake like a lot of people. I have a big sweet tooth. I balance it out with boxing, the pandemic has made this hard to do, however, I did buy a PlayStation VR headset and now I box in virtual reality. I am also a big music nerd, I get a bit OCD sometimes and make a themed playlist that needs to be listened to in order. I called the playlist "Under Your Spin". You can listen to one here…
On the design side, I love patterns! I have got this great book called One Hundreds Patterns that I fell in love with, it's really beautiful. I also have a love for photography, I recently was given a Contax T2 for my birthday and it is an absolute pleasure to shoot and film with it. There is the anticipation of waiting to see the photos that you don't quite get with digital cameras.
“Collaborating with others pushes me to places I wouldn’t go to normally and/or unblocks me if I am stuck. Having a strong and diverse team around you is one of the most important things when you are working.”
What’s your marketing superpower?
My strengths lie in UI, visual design and design systems come naturally to me. I've been lucky to have had the opportunity to work in a variety of working environments and industries so I am pretty adaptable when it comes to work.
What is the best project you’ve worked on since going freelance?
Qredo for me is my latest project and one that I have loved working on so much. It was a branding piece for a cryptocurrency startup and I had no previous branding experience so I was initially nervous about starting. The guys are Qredo were so good to work with and Clarence, the Creative Director, let me do my thing but was also there whenever I needed support and gently pushed me in the right direction when I needed it. It definitely wasn't a project where it came together straight away, there were a few weeks of a lot of pain points but when it did come together, boy did it feel good.
What were you doing this time last year? What have you learnt or how have you changed since then?
I was actually seriously ill this time last year and I had to take 3 months off so feeling healthy a year later feels amazing. You take your health for granted and when it goes it can be really hard mentally. I am so thankful that I have recovered and am back to normal.
“You take your health for granted and when it goes it can be really hard mentally.”
Want to learn more about Chloe? Give her a follow on Instagram @barbie_ux or LinkedIn @chloebarbieux.
