Scene: Pre-revolution Romania, 1980s. The whir of a sewing machine punctuates Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” which provides the soundtrack to a young girl’s slumber…that young girl is Ioana Chiorean (yo-wAH-na Key-o-Rh-ee-an).

The ones working the sewing machine were her mom and dad, both in their early 20s, engineers by day with a flair for the arts. After a long day’s work as engineers, they would come home and dive into their love of art and culture. Her mother, a true force and a mental giant who could problem solve with sheer ingenuity and create with an all-encompassing perspective. Her father, a painter and sculptor, created fashion illustrations, and planned his outfits around his socks. Together they created bespoke clothing pieces for colleagues, friends and beyond; making it happen even with limited access to fabrics and no formal training in fashion. They also published a fashion column in their university’s magazine, which won national awards.

Ioana’s early exposure to this creativity and ingenuity allowed her to exist within a “whole world of possibilities.” She learned to channel what she felt into something tangible which sparked joy, and would later become a career doing what she loves and is a natural at.

“In retrospect my whole life I was prepared for this.”

Ioana shares further: “Seeing my parents create modern pieces no one could readily buy, observing and soaking that up, not knowing that later, I would also be building things from nothing.”

After immigrating to the United States as a teenager, with her political refugee mother, Ioana studied chemistry, cultural anthropology, and American Studies at university, and worked as a corporate manager. She then left her nearly 13-year corporate position without a solid plan B and found her way in the world of film and fashion, through a series of synchronicities. Ioana learned and navigated the industry “guerilla style,” with no actual mentor or formal training other than immersion and observation. Many of the world’s best artists start out as gifted imitators, and then create their own style and vision, something Ioana is very familiar with. “Whatever one does creatively,” she shares, “they have to excel at translating what they imagine into something tangible. Makeup and hair, as an example, can range from enhancing a person’s natural beauty to transforming a person completely to match the narrative of a commercial, editorial or film. The vision and skill-set shifts accordingly. ”

Now, Ioana is a gifted and multi-faceted freelance stylist, primarily a fashion stylist, who often provides makeup, hair, wardrobe, and set design for Narrative Media. As a creator, designer, and stylist Ioana continuously researches the latest trends, learns new skills and techniques, as well as selects the best products and sources pieces from local designers for each job and client.

On working with Ioana, Narrative Media Founder, Andrew Poag shares that Ioana’s gifts are a prerequisite to a great production. He cites her keen ability to “make on-camera talent feel at ease,” and continues to describe that, “many of the folks we work with are not used to being in front of the camera, so part of her role is to lighten the mood, when appropriate, and make them feel assured and relaxed before we begin.”

When asked about this praise, Ioana seems to downplay her own importance. Since Narrative Media is prone to working with “real people” (i.e. hospital staff, philanthropists and college students) as opposed to actors who are playing characters, Ioana depicts this part of her job as purely “describing to them what the process is like, what to expect and generally putting them at ease.” It goes much deeper than being an amiable, good conversationalist, however. She has to be able to read the room, from the client, to the talent and to the crew, and it takes some finesse navigating the different personalities involved while focusing on her job responsibilities. Being a female in an often-male-dominated field comes naturally to her, as does creative problem-solving. In an industry where being assertive is not always welcome, Ioana doesn’t take for granted that her work and relationship with Narrative Media always feels energetically aligned.

She also is able to embody the tone of a project. Something Ioana emphasizes is striking a balance between timing, mood, and the importance that hair and makeup, wardrobe and their styling play in a project production.

“Without attention to wardrobe, hair, makeup, set design, lighting, and the rest of the components that go into a production, cohesive pictures wouldn’t exist – these details play a massive role in conveying content and they should not be an afterthought; and with Narrative Media, they’re not.”

“It is key,” she says, “that clients realize the value in all these details so that layers of context are communicated.”

Ioana describes the beauty of working with Andrew and Narrative Media’s close knit crew as inclusive, collaborative and non-limiting, where everyone’s different styles and nuances add a lot to an “already-great base.” Andrew is the type of Director who approaches his work and those involved with genuine curiosity, which Ioana affirms is a key component to success.

Andrew wants the input of everyone on set, he trusts his team, and he encourages them to push boundaries. This fosters open communication, transparency, and connection among crew members beyond the set – they become friends, gain familiarity with each other’s working style, and learn to support each other both inside and outside the context of a project. So, if Ioana notices something that would enhance a scene, or if the talent opens up to her and shares something that might change the way things are presented on set, Ioana feels comfortable conveying that message (to whomever is best-suited to receive it) and ultimately improving the outcome of the piece.

She continues to say that, since Narrative Media is an intimate production crew, it is clear that everyone’s feedback is welcomed and valued. And that feedback is a two-way street; it’s not always noticing things and sharing, but sometimes it’s being asked or invited to participate in multiple ways, or doing a little detective work yourself. Having a multi-skilled crew where everyone can focus intently on his or her specific talent adds to the level of comfort, mimicking a tribe or small village, where the effort is communal in order to achieve the greater good. For example, Andrew might ask her opinion on colors and aesthetics when thinking of how to achieve a certain look, evoke a specific feeling, and, because she’s been trained to see the bigger picture as well as honing in on the details, she may notice things that others might not.

Thanks, in part, to her studies in cultural anthropology (observing and dealing with human culture particularly with respect to social structure, language, art, technology and so on), Ioana is most gifted at collecting and bridging information, then translating it through her desired medium. She brings that skill to set and uses it to inform her plan for executing the vision — she notices how things are supposed to be done from a technical standpoint, and knows how to adapt, integrate, and problem-solve. Whether she’s working on hair and makeup, wardrobe, art, set design, or co-directing, with or without a bountiful budget or flexible director, she asks plenty of questions, finding the common threads and weaving them together with the intention of enhancing the outcome of the project as a whole.

This is especially helpful when working with Narrative Media because of the nature of their work – more often than not, they are capturing real-life situations rather than creating fictional characters. Ioana gives an example of some projects that allowed her to channel her fact-finding skills into her aesthetic for the task at hand. In the handful of pieces created for Rowan University, Ioana says it was beneficial to have them share some fun facts about the students on set in order to showcase their natural personalities on screen, adding to the authenticity of the project. Learning details about them — distinct facts can often dictate a look, motif, or visual element seen in the final product. Ioana says, “showcasing details accentuates the story further; acting as a visual booster to whatever we’re trying to convey.”

When asked about the seemingly colossal difference between making a living within a corporate structure and more free-range artistic expression, Ioana divulges that what appealed to her the most was the contrast between the monotony of the daily corporate structure to having every single project represent a new challenge.“Some projects are more demanding than others, and I enjoy a good creative challenge; it’s exhilarating, rewarding, and enriching. She continues on to say that

“I like to build characters’ stories through wardrobe, makeup and set design by combining my passion for anthropology and fashion. When you have a great director, story and crew, you can really rise to new levels in production and reflect meaningful moments for viewers that resonate with their lives.”

Ioana is excited about working on future projects including an upcoming indie film where she is collaborating with the director on costume design. You can see examples of Ioana’s work on her website, ioanachiorean.com.