The Face Behind the Fresh Faces Project and Chicago Talent - Calynn M. Lawrence

When you think of the Fresh Faces Project and Chicago Talent, you think of Calynn M. Lawrence. She is not only the founder and face of these two amazing projects but she is also a very talented female publicist, fashionista and blogger.

Calynn is a 23-year-old seven time award winning publicist and magazine editor with a specialty in the fashion and entertainment industry. She is using this new platform, Chicago Talent, as an extension of her nonprofit campaign The Fresh Faces Project to continue in her overall career mission of bringing the exposure and promotion that underrated talents deserve. Having invested much of her own personal money into the show, she earnestly hopes that viewers will fall in love with the concept and support the talents she believes in so much.

I met Calynn last year in October when she came to my house to do an interview for Chicago Talent. Chicago Talent is a new Chicago online reality show that showcases the lives and endeavors of several Illinois artists and entrepreneurs. It is taking a new angle to the idea of creatives being successful in business. The series’ first season gained over 40,000 views and it is produced by the Fresh Faces Project.

What I loved about Calynn is not only her warm, down to earth personality but her positivity and ambitious spirit. I had finally met my career twin! She works to help others and she gets recognized for it but it wasn't always that easy for her.

Calynn at a film screening

She started as a fashion intern at Nordstrom. That's where she learned the ins and outs of the fashion and marketing fields. She also started a fashion blog that later got her a VIP entrance to big fashion events such as NY Fashion Week and Paris Fashion. She attended John College Prep High School where she further developed her desire for fashion, blogging and marketing. She started the Fresh Faces Project 5 years ago with the idea to help talented individual like herself to get the exposure and recognition they deserve This is how Chicago talent was born in 2018 as well.

Calynn with her friend at Paris Fashion Week

She runs everything herself and is self-funded, which is not always easy as freelancers know. "I have to self fund my projects. I want to get it to the point where I don't get to self fund as much because It gets difficult being a 100 percent freelance. I started working 9 to 5 part time office job and using that money to cover everyday expenses," said Calynn who is currently working as a PR professional.

In addition to her dreams of taking Chicago Talent and the Fresh Faces to the next level, such as Netflix and other high end platforms, she loves love. "I am very friendly and outgoing. I enjoy cooking, painting and drawing and singing. In my free time I hang out with loved ones. I am a hopeless romantic. I love love. I go through so much heartbreak because I am not shallow. I look at the person on the inside. I am very open. I should be more strict with the guys I date. I am currently single," she said. You can catch Calynn on the runway shows, helping other talents in the Windy City or getting awards.

Follow Calynn here: 

www.linkedin.com/in/calynnmlawrence

www.instagram.com/fairytalefacesbycalynn

www.facebook.com/fairytalefacesbycalynn

You can watch and follow the Chicago Talent series and Fresh Faces Project here:

www.facebook.com/chicagotalenttv

www.facebook.com/freshfacesproject

www.instagram.com/chicagotalenttv

Nikoleta's C2E2 2019

This year C2E2 took place on March 22-24 at the McCormick Place. I really enjoyed this year's comic book and entertainment convention, especially the new additions, such as the friendly Family HQ perfect for the little fans of C2E2, the Gaming Zone for the game fanatics and my favorite the Quiet Room for those who want to escape the noise and crowd, the Cosplay Meet Ups and C2E2 After Dark. This year they also added the Wrestling sector for the Wrestling fans with guests such as Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks. 

As always, hundreds of cosplay actors were part of the comic convention's experience. They even had a separate Cosplay changing room and stage area. You can see some of my favorite costumes below:

In addition to the cool costumes, I loved the floor exhibit, which had everything you can think of such as an artist alley, animated spots, Tower of Slimes, Crunchyroll for the food fans, VRV Lounge and Animation Block, vintage jewelry, to name a few.

One of my favorite this year was the Beaker Creatures Mad Lab, which promotes the love for STEM among kids. I loved the little figures that kids have to find by putting them in water and dissolving the shell. My daughter loved it too! Beaker Creatures are already working on Series 2 and 3 and more cool science experiments to come so I am definitely looking forward to that. If you want to buy it you can find them on Learning Resources.com, Amazon and Target.  "Everyone is interested in the collectible peace but we wanted to instill learning and education so we thought how can we bring in science and connect it with collectibles. With Beaker Creatures you get to connect them with a lab set and dissolve it and learn about the creatures. You can also create your own reactor pad with Whirling Wave Reactor," said Ninab Maradkel, manager of Beaker Creatures Mad Lab. 

The Beaker Creatures Mad Lab team at C2E2

Another favorite part of mine at the C2E2 are the celebrity guests. These year fans had the opportunity to take a photo with and  get an autograph from A-listers such as Paul Rudd, Alicia Silverstone, Donald Faison, David Tennant, William Zebka and more. Prices ranged differently for the artists but even the highest of them didn't stop fans to buy and sell out the opps. I had the chance to speak to and shake Alicia Silverstone's hand and best of all to introduce her to my 8-year-old daughter. She seemed tired from the long weekend but still a very friendly and mesmerizing person.  

Alicia Silverstone

I attended the Marvel comics  panel on Friday where fans had the chance to see and hear from the Marvel comics creators. 

Next year the C2E2 convention will take place Feb.28 - March 1, 2020. See you all then!