Illustration, Graphic Design and Printed Goods
 
 
 
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I love hand lettering song lyrics, certain phrases jump out to me and I feel this urge to put them down on paper with some lovely watercolours. Netflix has had some wicked documentaries lately, including one called Avicii: True Stories. I didn’t know much about Avicii to be honest, I had heard a few of his songs, and learned of his passing last year, but that was about it. We were running out of things to watch so we decided to throw on this documentary, it follows Avicii around from his humble beginnings to sold out concerts and all of the ups and downs in between. Going into the documentary knowing that it doesn’t end well is tough (Avicii committed suicide last April at the age of 28), but the message I took away from that documentary has stuck with me. Don’t sacrifice your own well being for your craft. Surround yourself with people who truly want the best for you, not just something out of you. Make time for the things and people that you love. Most importantly, value yourself and what you do beyond any public recognition or financial gain. So wake me up when it's all over When I'm wiser and I'm older All this time I was finding myself And I didn't know I was lost
Rocking my Henley Tee from @buttercreamclothing today and feeling so cozy now that temperatures have cooled off again. I am so grateful that I get to work with businesses that are run by such amazing people, like Candice. I never thought that going to markets with my punny greeting cards would open up my world to all of the creative entrepreneurs I now get to work with as their graphic designer. Watching all of you evolve your businesses, and being able to be a part of that journey, brings me so much joy. I can’t wait to share with you all of the fantastic local projects I’ve had the pleasure of working on this past month. Stay tuned. Photo from @buttercreamclothing
I’m working on finishing up some pet portraits this week of some pups that have crossed the rainbow bridge ❤️ I completed this sweetie earlier this year for @sewshannonyyc , I loved how he’s all snuggled up in the blankets 💕
Things have been busy, busy, busy over here with lots of great design projects coming in from entrepreneurs (so much love for you guys!). I’ve started working out of the house more, setting up at local coffee shops. I never understood why people would work at a coffee shop if they had the option to work at home, I mean that’s the dream right? What I wasn’t noticing was that there are a million things to distract you at home (laundry, dishes, cuddling with the dog for the hundredth time that day 😆) whereas at a different location I buckle down and get to work. I’m curious where your favourite places are to go work remotely, let me know in the comments so I can build up my coffee shop library! Places that are cozy and not crazy busy 🙏☕️❤️
You may have noticed that things are changing over here at @anyadventuredesigns. I started this little company in 2014, then I operated as Becky Warren Design, I had just quit my office job and had no idea what my next steps were. I knew the 9-5 didn’t work for me, I loved the work but struggled with the lack of value I felt from the company I was working for. I had taken an art department from 3 people down to just me (don’t hire anyone else, I can do it all!), yet my compensation did not change and wasn’t going to change, so I took the leap. I started drawing more and tried my hand at a market or two, felt the rush of excitement from someone buying my work and wanted more of that feeling. Fast forward 4 years, at least 50 card designs, many markets and hundreds of cards printed, folded and packaged by my own two hands… and my restless soul wants something more. The further I got into making products, the more lost I was feeling. I felt competitive with other makers, I felt burnt out from spending so much time in production, I felt my self worth completely defined by whether a market went well or not. I knew it wasn’t the life I wanted to build for myself, yet I was hanging on for dear life because I had worked my ass off to build something for 4 years, literally all of myself had gone into this dream. In the back of my head a voice was telling me it was time to level up. I remember talking to Laura from @drops.of.gratitude at a workshop put on by @outsidetheshape, she was telling me how she had enlisted a business coach, and was working with a group of women who were all looking to level up their lives also, and that it had been an integral part of the success of her business now. This conversation sat in the back of my mind for a long time, and ultimately was the inspiration behind me reaching out to @mandybalak and @theaceclass_ to start the process of having a network of women and a coach to take me from a place of uncertainty, to becoming a leader within my own life. This is why I love having conversations with people about the path they’ve taken to get where they are, you never know when you will meet someone that will spark a change within you 💕
Throwing it back a few years today to a magazine advertisement I worked on for Teletoon Studios. The fun part of this project was that I was given the background illustrations and the main character art and had to tie in the text and add illustrations to turn a scene from the Adventure Time show into a full page ad. I recreated the foliage and the water and added the snail character into the background, I also took existing illustrations and photoshopped them together to create this new scene. It may seem simple but this kind of work took multiple rounds of approval through a ton of levels of the company due to the nature of copyright of characters and the internal branding of Teletoon itself. Projects that tie in my illustration skills with graphic design are my favourite to work on, and I’m hoping to work with more great clients this year to utilize these skills 🙌
Well yesterday was a weird day with social media taking some time off 😆 I definitely thought I was getting hacked, so thank goodness it was just some kind of error in the system. I took the day to get some serious work done offline, including doing up drafts for some custom wedding signs I’m working on for a lovely bride to be 💕
It’s @theaceclass_ day! One Tuesday a month this group of ladies meets for 3 hours to connect and grow our businesses. We share our triumphs, our struggles, our business lives, and our personal lives. Sometimes I leave feeling inspired, and sometimes I have to go home and decompress for a few hours because the conversations leave me full of questions for myself. What this group has taught me is that whether you’re at the beginning of your career, or you’ve been in the corporate world for a while, we’re all just trying to find our way in this world. We’re all succeeding somewhere, and struggling somewhere else. We’re not perfect, and that’s perfectly ok ❤️ thank you to @mandybalak and @frontier_leadership for bringing us all together this year 🙏