Because it is gratitude that Mellour attributes to her current success as an entrepreneur in the fashion and lifestyle space. Reading her poignant, thoughtful post Why Gratitude is So Important makes that all very clear. It was only one year ago that she was “jobless, other than my blog which wasn’t full time yet, not sure where I’d be living in the following month, single, and lonely. I had picked up my life, left my boyfriend of 5+ years and moved to the desert alone.”

To help herself get out of that particular funk, Mellour started a simple gratitude exercise: everyday, she devoted a Facebook status to something she was thankful for that day. Whether it was something small, like “my favorite hummus from Trader Joe’s” or something more substantial, like her health, Mellour realized that by viewing the world through rose-colored glasses, her world became much more rosy.

But that’s not where her story starts. It starts, of course, in Washington State, as a young, ambitious girl with her sights set on Los Angeles. She remembers of growing up Goldendale, “we left the door of our house unlocked and I was born in the same room in the same hospital as my sister and my mom.” It was idyllic, nurturing and gave her the time to “make up dance routines or plays and put them on for my mom,” which of course now feels like foreshadowing to the businesswoman’s creative career.

“I moved to LA to become famous,” Mellour says simply, and began taking acting classes at Joann Baron DW Brown Studio in Santa Monica. But she “eventually fell out of love with acting and became pretty depressed” once she realized the creative opportunities the city of dreams offered her turned out to be more like a nightmare for a woman with so many original ideas of her own. Thankfully, a friend suggested she start a blog and “six months later, I did.”

She says of this transitional period, “I felt very defeated but I made a commitment to focus ALL my extra time to my blog. I set small goals like saving up for a new computer. I hired my aunt to take my photos at a rate that I could afford. And slowly things began to turn around.”

Mellour quickly turned her passion project into a full time career, cultivating a loyal audience based on sharing her genuine enthusiasms for everything from Forever 21 to Playa del Carmen. And, of course, there’s that trademark wit and open mind that, when combined with her jet set lifestyle, makes her the kind of aspirational best friend her audience can’t get enough of.

Indeed, in an industry often criticized for its inauthenticity and facade, Mellour is a refreshing, candid voice full of self-awareness and honesty. She’s bright, thoughtful and isn’t afraid to stand up for herself (do yourself a favor and read her blog post No Grit, No Pearl for a frank and brave account of bullying). 

That’s not to say Mellour puts her entire life on display. She’s carefully curating a brand that represents who she is without completely laying it all out there. “I am pretty complex,” she explains, “and it’s hard to know what to show and what to hide.” She mentions that she’s particularly passionate about politics but understands the dilemma: “I feel like expressing those ideas could help boost me further if it doesn’t ruin me.” 

Mellour currently has big plans to expand her brand empire. She’s working on transitioning Kier Couture into a lifestyle blog with a focus on design and travel and evenhas designs on a book deal. There’s also a line of products in the worksfeaturing trendy catchphrases and clever lines, with a portion of the profits going to ocean clean up and litter removal— two causes that are close to the humanitarian’s heart. While “Goldendale will always be home,” the world is now Kier’s playground.