Ever since she Googled the word ‘model,’ “during a boring summer in Syracuse, New York, in 2001,” 25-year-old Isobella Jade has been trying to become one. Her major problem: she’s not 5’9”. She’s Almost 5'4", which is the title of her book about, “the rare side of underdog modeling - as a petite girl.”

Isobella say she has, “been able to overcome the odds, but not from being born lucky.” She emphatically states that she has created her own luck through her will power and persistence and her willingness to take chances.

She relates her trying experiences as having seen, “what happens when you download your photos on the Internet and what happens when you would rather go homeless than stop pursuing your goals,” followed by the success of, “shooting for a national ad campaign and putting brand names on my resume that every short girl in America would scream over.”

Recent success for Isobella has come in the form of shoe modeling for Marshall's, hand modeling for Bon Appetit Magazine, editorial modeling for Time Magazine, body part modeling for TLC, an Urge Commercial for MTV, the lead in a Univision music video for Elvis Martinez, the lead in a MTV music video with Coheed and Cambria, and other modeling jobs with Woman's World Magazine, Stuff Magazine, and the LaCroix handbag company.

Isobella now claims to be New York’s shortest and perhaps most successful petite model and notes that every part of her body has now been captured on film or digitally during shooting and casting.

Isobella’s says her book describes, “ my roots as a model, my mistakes and self-discovery and growth as a person.” She wrote her book without the benefit of having her own computer. She used a demo machine at the Apple Store on Prince Street in New York City. Then she got it published! It’s available on Amazon.com.

Isobella received a bachelors degree in Advertising from New York Institute of Technology in 2004 and she has put her promotional knowledge and communications skills to good use in promoting her own career.

Her initial experience, after putting her portfolio on the web led to free lance work. She eventually realized that was not her goal, she wanted to be under contract with a professional modeling agency.

Many photographers told her she had a great body and at first she thought that meant they just thought she was cute because she was petite and had nice skin, but one photographer suggested she consider body part modeling. “That’s when I started to pursue modeling agencies more seriously,” she said, “because I knew even though I couldn’t offer my height, I could offer my proportioned body and parts.”

Her first real modeling job was shoe modeling for Brown Shoe. She notes, “I am a size six shoe and that is the size you need to be to be a shoe model and most shoe models are not tall.” She found out, “You can go from showroom modeling to print ads directly from just using your feet. It’s also a way for shorter girls to start working with a modeling agency.” She continued, “Once you book a job you will be considered for more work.” Her job with Brown Shoe was obtained through a New York City agency named Flaunt, which specialized in shoe and commercial modeling. She located them by Googling commercial print modeling agencies in NYC, then mailing them a comp card, which she had printed herself.

Since then, she has worked with many brands including: Marshalls, White Mountain, Nina shoes and Hot Kiss shoes. Her career has also been propelled in magazine ads running in Woman’s World, Stuff Magazine, Teen Vogue, and Bon Appetit. She has also gained network exposure on TLC, Fuse network, and MTV, “all by using my perfectly proportioned body and parts, and through my own effort to get work.”

Isobella explained that, “a lot of my first jobs also came from seeking them out, by using the Internet not just as a place to get hits and clicks on my modeling page or website, but as a tool to research and submit proposals to brands and magazines I wanted to be in. This was how I got an agency to represent me and got my first tear sheets, which I then mailed directly to the magazines I wanted to appear in.” Now, she confidently states, “I have really learned how to market myself and I am not afraid to pick up the phone and call a magazine or mail my photo to one.”

Today, Isobella continues to strive toward her chosen path as a model and a writer. She writes daily modeling tips based on her experiences as an unconventional model on three different blogs.

Ever enthusiastic, she also podcasts a weekly show, called Model Talk - which attracts 9,000 listener downloads a week! Her show charmingly mocks America's Next Top Model with her response as America's Tiniest Model, and she explains how the Internet has allowed someone of her miniature status to become a model and tells how she got ahead by being her own agent. Her show is no longer only about her, “It is about inspiring others and making sure a dream doesn't go forgotten.” She urges her listeners to “take a chance and always Aim High!”

She sums up her career by saying, “My first jobs came from understanding that modeling is more than just being sexy, flaunting your poses and posting your photos on the Internet, it is also about using your body to advertise commercial products in ad campaigns and appear in print editorials in magazines and in television commercials. I might not have the height and proportions to walk the catwalk, but I get paid up to $250 an hour just to model my legs!

Visit Isobella’s websites at:
www.isobelladreams.com

www.isobelladreams.com
/ModelingPortfolio

Isobella’s podcast is available weekly on BlogTalkRadio at:
www.blogtalkradio.com/isobellajade

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