Today we’d like to introduce you to Carrie Sengchanthavong.
Hi Carrie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
If I really think about it, I’ve always been creative. I just didn’t always have the language for it.
Growing up as a first-generation Southeast Asian American, I learned early on how powerful stories, culture, and self-expression could be. Creativity became the way I processed the world and connected with people. What started as simply loving fashion and putting outfits together eventually evolved into styling, then creative direction, producing shoots, casting talent, building concepts, and creating a world that helps people feel something.
My journey definitely hasn’t been linear. I’ve worn a lot of hats over the years, and every season taught me something different. Instead of boxing myself into one title, I allowed myself to explore. That curiosity led me to work across fashion, editorial storytelling, brand campaigns, community events, and creative productions. Along the way, I realized I wasn’t just interested in making beautiful images. I was interested in building worlds where people could see themselves, connect, and belong there too.
One of the things I’m most proud of is building community through creativity. Whether it’s collaborating with local designers, photographers, models, musicians, or anyone who wants to begin their portfolio. I’ve learned that the best ideas are rarely created alone. Nashville has given me so many opportunities to grow alongside other talented people, and I’ve tried to pour that same encouragement back into the community.
As I’ve grown, my work has become less about chasing trends and more about creating with intention. I care about storytelling, culture, emotion, movement, and the feeling someone walks away with after experiencing a project. Every photoshoot, campaign, or event starts with asking, “What story are we trying to tell, and how do we make people feel seen?”
Personally, my faith has also grounded me in this season. It’s reminded me that creativity isn’t just about producing something beautiful. It’s a gift to steward. That perspective has changed the way I approach my work. I no longer feel like I have to prove myself through constant output. Instead, I create from a place of purpose, gratitude, and service.
Today, I see myself less as just a stylist or creative director and more as someone who helps bring visions to life through my lens. Whether I’m styling a campaign, directing a concept from start to finish, connecting talent with opportunities, or building community, my goal is always the same: to create meaningful work that leaves people inspired and reminds them that creativity has the power to connect us all.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all, and honestly, I don’t think I would want it to be.
One of my biggest struggles wasn’t a lack of opportunity. It was believing I was allowed to call myself a creative before anyone else did.
For the past seven years, I’ve worked full-time as an ICU nurse while building creative projects on my days off and even after my exhausting 12-hour shifts. Nursing taught me compassion, resilience, and how to care for people during some of the hardest moments of their lives. At the same time, there was always this part of me that came alive through storytelling, fashion, and creating. For a long time, I felt like I had to choose between those two identities. Eventually I realized they were never competing with each other. They were both rooted in the same thing, serving people. They just look different from one another.
Another challenge has been comparison. Social media makes it really easy to believe you’re behind or that you have to constantly perform to stay relevant. I had to learn the difference between creating to express something and creating to be seen. That’s a lesson I’m still learning. The projects that have meant the most to me have always come from slowing down, being intentional, and making something honest instead of chasing what was trending.
I’ve also learned that building something meaningful takes time. There have been seasons where I questioned myself, worked long shifts at the hospital, then stayed up planning shoots, recruiting talent, styling wardrobes, and hoping people believed in the vision as much as I did. There were moments when I wondered if it would ever become more than just a passion project.
Looking back, I’m grateful for those seasons because they taught me patience. They taught me that community is more valuable than competition, and that some of the best opportunities have come simply from showing up consistently, treating people well, and creating from a genuine place.
I’m still on the journey. I don’t feel like I’ve “made it,” and I actually love that. It means there’s still room to stay curious, keep learning, and keep creating work that feels true to who I am.
So if I must struggle. I am going to struggle well with God on my side.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At the core of everything I do, I’m a storyteller.
Creative direction, styling, casting, concept development, community building. Those are all just different ways I tell stories. I’m less interested in creating something that simply looks beautiful and more interested in creating something that makes people pause, feel, or see themselves differently.
I think what naturally sets my work apart is perspective.
For the past seven years, I’ve worked as an ICU nurse. When you’ve spent that much time witnessing life, death, grief, resilience, and humanity in its rawest form, you can’t help but carry a different perspective into your art. Nursing taught me that life is incredibly fragile, but also incredibly meaningful. It made me realize that what people remember isn’t perfection, it’s actually how something made them feel.
That realization completely changed the way I create.
Whether I’m directing a campaign, styling an athlete or musician, recruiting talent for a concept, or simply having conversations online, I’m always asking the same question: How can this help someone see the world, or themselves…a little differently?
I’m probably most proud of the communities that have formed because of that mindset. Some of my favorite projects aren’t necessarily the biggest ones. They’re the ones where photographers, videographers, models, makeup artists, designers, musicians, and people creating their very first portfolio all came together because they believed in a shared vision. Watching people discover confidence, make new connections, or realize they belong in creative spaces is more rewarding to me than any single image we produce.
I also hope people know me for creating with intention and purpose. In a world where it’s easy to chase algorithms, I am constantly trying to return to honesty. I care deeply about authenticity over performance. My goal has never been to make content for the sake of content. I want every project to have a heartbeat, every wardrobe choice to say something, and every visual to leave someone with a feeling long after they’ve scrolled past it.
I don’t think my work is about fashion. I don’t think it’s about being a creative director either. Those are simply the languages I speak. What I’m really trying to create is perspective, connection, and spaces where people feel seen and heard. If someone walks away from one of my projects feeling more human, more inspired, or more understood than when they arrived, then I know I’ve done my job. And I’ve done it well.
Any big plans?
If you had asked me this a few years ago, I probably would have given you a very specific five year plan.
Today, my answer is much simpler.
I want to go wherever God leads me and wherever His will takes me. The older I get, the more I realize that some of the greatest opportunities in my life weren’t ones I planned. They were the ones I simply just said “yes” to. I’ve learned that purpose isn’t always something you chase. Sometimes it’s something you faithfully steward, one step at a time.
I hope I never stop evolving. Curiosity has been one of the greatest gifts in my life, and I want to protect it. I want to keep asking questions, meeting people who see the world differently than I do, learning new skills, exploring new cultures, and allowing every season to shape both my work and who I am as a person. I simply just a “Student of Life”.
Of course, there are dreams I’d love to see unfold. I’d love to continue directing larger campaigns, collaborating with brands and artists who value meaningful storytelling, traveling to create, and building communities where people feel inspired to express themselves rather than perform for approval. But I’ve learned to hold those dreams with open hands.
If I can continue to make meaningful work, love people well, remain teachable, and faithfully steward whatever God places in front of me, then I’ll know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seng.themuse/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sengthemuse
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sengthemuse?_r=1&_t=ZP-97nKwDwkIW7
