Terrah Holder and Krystle Kelley always loved being in front of the camera and seemed destined to become models.
“I remember the first time I walked down the runway which felt like walking down a plank. The agents and scouts ended up rejecting me, and that was the first time I thought I was ugly,” said Krystle describing her first photoshoot in San Diego at the tender age of ten. “I couldn’t stop crying. It was a bit traumatizing.”
However, she persevered with modeling just like Terrah, who start modeling at the age of twenty.
“I grew up in a small town in southern Utah where there weren’t any modeling options. When I moved to California that obviously wasn’t the case,” explained Terrah. “It’s a tough world. However, I learned a lot about the industry itself and self-acceptance. It also taught me a lot about business.”
Unfortunately, modeling careers can be short-lived ride. Often, by the time a model turns twenty-five, their career in modeling is over. Some ex-models go on to develop successful careers outside the industry. Cindy Crawford, for example, went on to develop a furniture line through Rooms to Go. And, former Victoria’s Secret model, Heidi Klum, became a TV host for Project Runway and a judge of America’s Got Talent.
“After I turned 25, no major agency would re-sign me. I decided to make a blog about modeling,” explained Krystle. “While I was learning to make a website for myself, I soon realized that I was naturally gifted with HTML coding and designing websites. At that moment, I realized I should be designing websites for profit.”
Soon after, Krystle teamed-up with her friend and fellow model, Terrah, who shared her passion for web development. In 2013, Terrah graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business marketing. In 2014, the two re-invented themselves and set about web design as a full-time career.
“I began to feel that the modeling industry was losing momentum and large companies were reaching out to influences to represent their brands rather than the Cindy Crawfords of the world,” stated Terrah. “It was then that we began to see small businesses take root in the social media world. Krystle and I found that there was a niche in this world and have focused on the web design and creation of small brands and how blogging and social media play a huge role in all these small business successes.”
The skills they both developed in the fashion world are now being applied to their new business venture with Desert Pop Design.
“Modeling has helped me look at websites through a beauty and fashion lens. I’m very visually creative, and the websites I design reflect that. I make sure every website is beautifully appeasing, so you want to be on the website for long periods of time,” explained Krystle.
Desert Pop Design can be found online at : www.desertpopdesign.com