Who is PSYCHOTIC LEOPARD?: Interview with Lisa Johnson

I:  You are an artist, writer, editor, jewelry-maker and designer.  How does this play into the products featured on Psychotic Leopard?  

Psychotic Leopard's Lisa:  I learned that I have an eye for detail when it comes to shopping, and have a skill for finding all kinds of wacky treasures, both in and out of stores.  I love extreme clothing or fashion, crazy animal prints, and anything that has a "way-out" sense of style.  

For me, fashion is a tool to connect.  People constantly come up to me in restaurants or on the street and tell me they love something I have on or how it’s like nothing they ever saw before.

I:  What gets you excited about buying stuff and then selling it to others?

Psychotic Leopard's Lisa J:  When I shop, it’s like I am going out into the world to bring back food to feed my babies. If I don't get a good energy off the product, I don't buy it.  There are certain things I personally am attracted to, such as anything African, Mexican textiles, and I can’t resist well-made southwestern stuff, especially cowboy boots, though I rarely wear them.  Point is, I’m always thinking of the specific someone who’s really going to love it.  

I:  What do you mean by "someone really specific is going to love this?"

Psychotic Leopard's Lisa:  I visualize very clearly in my head the exact type of person that I know would be rocking the item or outfit I am putting together. Since I am really visual as well as a writer, I make up labels for the style type on my own that I see in my head as the type of person that I think would like the stuff.  For example, I recently sold a J. Crew red and black plaid crossbody bag, and used the words, “lumberjack” and “mountain man” to describe its style, because I envisioned some bearded guy in the forest chopping wood.  Some of my favorite general styles to buy are steampunk, boho, indie, hipster, urban fashion, industrial, rocker, riot grrrl, fetish, thrasher, and festival wear.  A fun tag I recently discovered was “hellraiser” and it made me think the word “barbaric,” which, believe me, I’m going to create a style persona for!  

I:  Where have your products, art and/or writing been featured?

Psychotic Leopard's Lisa:  My "Books by the foot" art was recently featured on Buzzfeed and received over 25,000 hits in one day and went viral - it was crazy!  I currently have over 1,300 active listings on EBAY with my products under the store name: PSYCHOTIC LEOPARD as well. I've  also written for Tearsheet Fashion Magazine, Playgirl, Writer's Digest, Fit Pregnancy, and Mothering Magazine, plus a number of others.  Another proud achievement was my book, Rite of Passage:  Tales of Backpacking ‘Round Europe, whose first printing of 10,000 sold out within two weeks.  That was unexpected and totally incredible!

I:  You definitely like to keep busy.  Have any other big projects currently in the works?

Psychotic Leopard's Lisa:  Are you kidding?  Of course! My next book is in the proposal stage right now.  It’son how to get out of a toxic marriage, effectively navigate the legal system during a high conflict divorce, and heal yourself and your family.  Obviously, it’s a subject I have learned a lot about in the past four years, and I plan to use my own experience, as well as a lot of research I’ve been gathering on the topic.  Being on Dr. Laura Berman’s national radio show, Uncovered Radio, a handful of times in the past four months allowed me provide input to people in situations similar to mine, and now I need to step it up a notch and do another book.  I’ve already been helping people with the information, and I want to reach a broader audience.  Hopefully, I can start to pitch it this summer (2017).  

For now, if people would like to check out my recent writing, you can go to the Blog section of the Psychotic Leopard site at https://psychoticleopard.com/blogs/news