Today we’d like to introduce you to Paisley Sutton.
Hi Paisley, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Winnie Media is a media production company based in Detroit, MI. Founded in 2021 by me, Paisley Sutton, and my mother, Patrice Cheesman, Winnie Media’s mission is to make storytelling accessible to marginalized voices — especially in Detroit.
We started the production company due to a combination of practical needs and a call to larger purpose. While working in the film industry in Los Angeles, I began picking up more freelance gigs that required stronger contracts and workflows. At the same time, my mother Patrice and I were considering starting a business together. Due to our shared love of storytelling, my need to implement more strategic business practices to make the creative process more efficient, and Patrice’s knack for operations and project management, Winnie Media was born.
The company is named after my great-grandmother and Patrice’s grandmother, Winnifred Cheesman, who immigrated to Detroit from Barbados in the 1920s.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. Although it was founded in 2021, Winnie Media is just beginning to make a splash in the Detroit creative scene this year.
I moved home to Detroit from Los Angeles five years ago to build the business, but life pulled me into another direction. I took a job working as a Creative Producer for an LA-based agency, and while I gained valuable skills and experience, Winnie Media took a back seat.
Patrice’s discovery of a new documentary project in 2024 became the catalyst for the two of us to refocus attention on growing Winnie Media. Today, the business is a full-time operation with a team of contractors and collaborators dedicated to realizing the visions of small businesses, artists, and non-profits. Winnie Media’s first film is currently in the research and development phase with production planned for spring 2027.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We specialize in creating meaningful images rooted in cultural preservation, surrealism, and Black pride. Mediums we love to explore include music videos, documentaries, social media campaigns, and photographs.
As of 2026, we’re most proud of the work we’re doing for the Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project, a non-profit committed to commemorating over 90 U.S. arrival sites of captive Africans during the trans-Atlantic human trade. We began creating with MPCPMP in February of 2026 for their Black History Month campaign. Since then, we’ve developed thoughtful social media assets that express the impact of Middle Passage history and the resilience of Black people across the diaspora.
What sets us apart from other creative agencies is our ability to help our clients translate their vision into reality through a visual language bespoke to their brand. We want to personify the ethos of our clients’ businesses, organizations, songs, or life moments, rather than simply capture what’s on the surface.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Intentionality is everything at Winnie Media. We know how much thought our clients put into building their brands, and as a creative partner, we believe the way ideas show up visually in the world requires an equal amount of intention and care.
Over the past five years of creating commercials, music videos, photographs, and more, our team has expanded, our skills have improved, and our resources have grown. What has remained the same since day one is our thoughtfulness. Our favorite compliment to receive from those we’ve worked with is that they can feel the recognizable time and energy put into each project.
We are meticulous about creating not because we’re perfectionists (well, I am sometimes, although I’m learning to let that go) but because we LOVE creating art that conjures a specific emotion in the viewer. That’s what makes art human, timeless, and meaningful.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.winniemedia.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellowinniemedia
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HELLOWINNIEMEDIA
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/winnie-media
