First, I would like to say that I am beyond excited to introduce myself to you!
Here's just a little bit about me to get us warmed up. |
My full name is Brittany Liandra Merrill (middle name pronounced lee-anne-druh). I am a twenty-something year old from the wonderful state of Georgia.
Recently, I moved from my small hometown outside of Athens, to the beautiful new city of Savannah. The move from Athens to Savannah has, simply put, changed my life. |
HIGHSCHOOL EDUCATION
I was a very active student in high school. I was often the one chosen to represent the school on important day-trips to sponsored events. My school was very small, but well respected in our community.
For fun, you would see me huddled up to a computer in our schools yearbook classroom. I was the Chief and Editor of our schools yearbook from 2016-2018. THREE YEARS STRAIGHT! As well as yearbook, I could be found on the sidelines of every sports game. I was schools official photographer, and my work was published in the towns newspaper every week. My photos were used for all schools marketing materials as well as the yearbook's content across all sports that BCA offered. |
I graduated from Bethlehem Christian Academy on May of 2018.
Alongside graduating with Honors, I was a founding member of Bethlehem Christian Acadamey's Women's Leadership group called Lighthouse. This organization was created by me, and two classmates, as well as two high school teachers. This group focused on support, encouragement, and philanthropic events for young women to grow their college applications, as well as grow our hearts closer to the Lord. I created this organization informally as a sophomore in high school, and by graduation it was a well respected elite group that earned tassels for graduation. |
GAP YEAR: MAY 2018 - JUNE 2019
After high school, I started really going head first into the things that I still do to this day. I was accepted into the Samantha Ansley We Belong Crew '17-'19. This group was a hand-selected of high school seniors chosen to represent Samantha Ansley Photography. This group is what introduced me into modeling. I first started by receiving my senior portraits, but it later turned into creative photoshoots which is still what I do today.
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As well as branching into modeling, I was continuing to grow my instagram. I received my first paid collaboration on Instagram through the very successful jewelry company called Bluumoon Collection. Bluumoon has been seen on Michelle Obama, Charli and Dixie D'Amillio, Alex French, Shannon Ford, and yours truly, Brittany Merrill. (If you would like to learn more about my instagram journey, please keep reading towards the bottom).
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Curious about more of my gap year? Ask me anything you'd like to know! I have so much more to share.
AMERICASMART - ATLANTA, DALLAS, VEGAS
August 2018, I was contacted through my instagram from a company called By Together, a wholesaler, to model as an exhibitor for the AmericasMart Atlanta, Dallas, and Vegas marts. I was paid through the company for three weeks of work, as well as my travel expenses. These three weeks of work taught me so much about the fashion industry. I made a bonus on my first week of work for selling over 100K of wholesale merchandise. This experience taught me how to be a good reflection of a company, as well as directly market inventory to the customer for their desired market.
COLLEGE EDUCATION
University of North Georgia Oconee Campus Spring 2019
After high school I wasn't quite sure on what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I loved my instagram account as well as posting my fashion finds, lifestyle, and favorite adventures on my platform. But how do you make that a career? With no direction, I decided to purse a career in fashion merchandising and management at the University of North Georgia at their Oconee Campus. While there, I took 18 credit hours as an incoming freshman, and finished the semester with all A's.
As the semester was coming to a close, I reached out to a school counselor to really get some insight of the best plan for my future. I came to the realization while in college, that I just was not passionate about a college degree and although it is important for many careers, it was not necessary for my dream job. Once I left college, my talents, abilities to preform for any task, creation of content, and so many more opportunities arose for me. It was the best decision I've ever made for myself thus far and I am insanely proud of the hard work I have done since then. |
LAUNCHING BRITTMERL PRESETS
With my background in photography, modeling and content creation; you already know that my instagram was poppin'! Social media played a huge part in my life ever since my sophomore year in highschool. With this platform, I wanted to stand out. I wanted my instagram to be a colorful scrapbook of my life as soon as you clicked on my handle. Although a good photo is important, editing is even more important. With that idea Ibn mind, BRITTMERL Presets was born.
As of August 2020, BRITTMERL Presets is my heart and soul of my content creation. I spend my time creating, marketing, and selling my presets. It is so successful that it is my full time job. I have had thousands of sales, and even created an Ambassador team of 26 young women ages 18-24 who market this art form alongside of me! To read more about that, please keep scrolling.
MOVING TO SAVANNAH, GEORIGA
As a creative, it is very difficult to maintain inspiration in the same place you spent your whole life growing up. I was raised in a cute little town named Bethlehem, Georgia. My family never moved, so once I decided to leave college I knew I had to get out on my own. My best friend, Emily, and I decided on Savannah, Georgia and it became our new home of October 2019. This town has already offered me so much in this short time, and I'm so excited to keep growing here
BRITTMERL AMBASSADORS
Shortly after my move to Savannah, I wanted to dive deep into my preset sales. I loved the connections I made on social media, and wanted to continue to grow those on my platform in an official way. I had been apart of so many ambassador programs in the past, and with my knowledge in the industry I was able to create
This adventure has taught me the importance of proper management skills. Although I have been a manager in previous jobs, creating a brand, as well as keeping up with it and its employees has a different level of care needed. I am dedicated to the success of BRITTMERL Preset Ambassadors. I am designed to be inclusive to all women ages 16-24. This group has monthly required post, as well as instagram feeds that reflect their passions but also brittmerlpresets. I handle all aspects of the business such as management, verifying required post, sales, schedules, new members, and payouts.
*The images above are a few of the ambassadors. We have over 26+ girls and as of September 2020, the applications will open again!
*The images above are a few of the ambassadors. We have over 26+ girls and as of September 2020, the applications will open again!
WORK EXPERIENCE
JL DESIGNS - MONROEEmployed from June 2016 - January 2019
Known as the top 5 wedding florist in Georgia, I first began my job at JL Designs in Monroe, GA by cleaning buckets every day after school for two hours. As much time progressed, I worked my way up to the top. I began as a designers hand, later leading to a Wedding Day Lead. When JL Designs opened their storefront on Main Street, I launched and worked the retail space for a year. As well as retail, I would design, create content, and reflect the company through all aspects of social media.
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24/7 TAN - OCONEEEmployed January 2019 - August 2019
My work at 24/7 Tan Oconee was the shortest job I had, but the most influential. I worked at 24/7 Tan from the months of January to August of 2019. This job taught me the most managerial skills that I have to this day. I managed all aspects of customer support. Such as check in, check out, new member registration, payments, and I was the first person the customers saw when they walked through the doors. I was opener and closer Monday-Thursday. Alongside of the customer relations of the business, I was also the wholesale buyer for the sister boutique, SAVVY. This boutique was inside of the tanning salon, and I created display windows as well as buying new merchandise. As well as that, I also created all marketing materials, designed business cards, and revamped the companies outward appearance to the world. For growth, I inducted the 24/7 Tan Ambassador program which chose 10 local models in the Athens/Oconee area to represent the company at their schools, jobs, and sororities.
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