Introductions: MacKenzie Boner
Words by MacKenzie Boner
Photos by Yoni Gill
Earlier this year we launched a new event series titled Introductions in an effort to connect our community in person. Each event would give you a look into that persons life and career.
We were scheduled to host MacKenzie Boner for our first event and like every other event, we decided to postpone for now. That doesn’t mean we can’t introduce you here online.
This article was written by MacKenzie in four parts, each part titled under a different aspect of her life paired with one image.
Encourage Fashion / Jewelry / Thrifting
Encourage Fashion (EF) started in 2013 while I was living in Virginia Beach and itching to find an outlet for all my creative ideas. I laugh when I think about the fact that I started this as a blog / YouTube account (you won’t be able to find those horrible videos now, they have long been deleted). I’ve always been a creative person, and I dive head first into any type of project, so EF was a way to showcase those. I was also in school for Fashion Merchandising at the time, so I felt it paired well with where my head was at. I wanted to be able to connect with others in the most MacKenzie way possible; on the internet while showcasing projects and sharing my style.
As I got older and moved back to the Midwest, EF morphed into more of a fashion / lifestyle focused website. As I evolved so did she. I like to refer to her like she’s a person, but a person walking in stride with me through life. Similar to Beyonce and her alter ego Sasha Fierce. You can’t have one without the other.
With all the projects in my life I decided back in 2014 I wanted to take a stab at jewelry making. I’ve always been inspired by my father and his career path as a tool & die maker, which pushed me to start working with different mediums. I opened an Etsy shop for a short time, then moved again and put it on hold.
Fast forward to 2018, when I got re-inspired to make jewelry again. This time I felt it was a truer version of me and my taste. As I’ve grown over the years so has my website and all my passion projects. As I was morphing into the truest version of myself, Encourage Fashion was as well. Now EF encompasses my love for thrifting and sustainability, jewelry making, and my style. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Mountain Dew
The one thing that hasn't changed over the years is my affection for Mountain Dew. When I say Mountain Dew has been a part of my life for years, I’m not kidding. My father drank it everyday since I can remember and I just got hooked on it because I wanted to be just like him when I was younger. It didn’t stop at drinking it, I grew up a huge tomboy and I remember my parents buying me a Mountain Dew bandana I wore everyday when I was in elementary school. Over the years my love for that green drink hasn't changed. I will admit I have attempted to give it up, or at least limit my intake, but it’s almost like a piece of me is missing when it’s not around.
Mountain Dew has grown to be a more active piece to my whole image. With my desire to showcase every side of who I really am and social media making that easy, I talk about it all time. I even created a highlight on my Instagram titled Dew It to house all of that content. Now people send me memes, recipes, and anything Mountain Dew related whenever they can and I love it.
Stiff Crowd w/ The Boner Sisters
November 2018, while celebrating with a few cocktails for Thanksgiving, my sister Briana and I dreamed up an idea and decided to start a true crime podcast. We both love true crime a little too much and it blossomed into such a great bonding thing for us. She got her masters in forensic science back in 2018 and while she was going to school I would look at her textbooks and ask her questions about all of it.
Our dynamic and dry humor made for a great start, then we threw in some Midwest true crime, some wine, and it became a weekly thing since February 2019. We chose to stay focused on the central part of the US because we were born and raised here. There are some strange and wild stories from this area and we wanted to give Omaha and the surrounding cities a time to shine in the true crime universe.
It’s nice to have that same passion for a topic that can bring us together every week and honestly it’s been helping us to stay current on each other's lives. We’ve also learned so much about Omaha, Lincoln, and all the little towns sprinkled in-between.
Cool Slut
When it comes to my closet and everything I wear, about 85% of it is thrifted or vintage. My best friend Kaitlyn is also an avid thrifter like me. As we’ve built our wardrobes over the years, we would still find such good pieces that we really didn’t need, but had a really hard time walking away from. Then one day we decided to put our heads together and Cool Slut became a passion project for the both of us.
The idea behind the name Cool Slut was that we wanted the brand and everything we sold to make the people wearing it feel empowered to be themselves, no matter how weird, wacky, or unique they were. We were down at Archetype in Little Bohemia brainstorming ideas and needed some fresh air so we traveled to a thrift store naturally. As we walked in, the song Cool Slut by Chastity Belt came on and we knew it was a sign we were on the right track.
We not only source all of the goods, we also hand make or upcycle some of the pieces in our shop. Using old fabrics to make reusable bags, upcycling simple pieces to breathe life back into them, or even reworking vintage jewelry into something more updated. It gives us a creative outlet and helps the environment at the same time.
Every iron I have in the fire I never want to take out. All the projects I have come together like an intricate puzzle, and if one piece is missing it feels incomplete. As the years have gone on, I’ve grown to appreciate the passion projects and the Omaha creative community, they have formed me into the woman I am today.
Contributors
Writer:
MacKenzie Boner is a blogger, thrifter, photographer and jewelry designer based in Omaha, NE.
Photographer:
Yoni Gill is a lifestyle and wedding photographer based in Omaha, NE.