Monday Muse is One! It’s been almost a year since I started illustrating women who inspire me. It seems like I just started doing this yesterday. Within that time, my process has changed from admiring afar, sharing what I love about said muse, to connecting with them and interviewing them to share how they are going after their dreams. I’ve learned so much from these amazing women and can’t wait to share more this year. But, in honor of our first birthday, I thought I would turn the tables and share more about me! One thing I’ve learned this past year interviewing all these amazing women is you have to put yourself out there to get what you want. You don’t get anywhere is you don’t share with people your goals, dreams, and aspirations. Scroll on down to learn more about me and where I plan to go from here.

Let’s start at the beginning, what did you study in school and what did you want to be when you grew up?

So many things! As a kid, I was into everything. At one point I wanted to be an interior designer (living in a loft in San Francisco no less!), a fashion designer (living in NY), a psychologist (I even shadowed one in HS and interviewed him for a project) , go to business school (anyone who knows me knows this is funny!) , and finally I landed on Sports Med (WHAT???? it was my love of playing all sports and being active). So I have a degree in Sports Med. I was all gung-ho until my senior year internship where I decided it was not what I wanted to do 12 hours a day. Too late to change my major, I finished my degree and then did what any new college grad did when they didn’t have a job lined up - I waited tables! And then moved on to a receptionist at a law firm and then an investment company. While at the law firm I tossed around the idea of going to law school (spoiler alert, it didn’t happen), and then at the investment firm, was asked if I wanted to learn more (Nope! not my thing). So I moved home (I was in LA at the time) and decided to at least do something I knew I was good at - Shopping! What I mean is, work in retail.

What was your career journey path? How did you get to what you are currently doing?

Like I stated above, when I moved back to MN, I didn’t know what to do, so I figured retail would be a good place to start. I started at Saks Fifth Avenue. My intent was work in Mpls for a while and then move either back to CA or NY. But plans changed. I was offered a job at a start up retail company that I took a year into my work at Saks. That lasted a little over two months (I didn’t like the direction I saw the business going, good thing as they went under a year or two later), but made a connection with someone who had a friend at Target. She thought I would love working for them. Long story short, I reached out to her, interviewed and was hired. So began my 20 (!) year career with Target. I spent 7 years in stores and the remainder in Store Operations at HQ. Through out my years there I learned a ton! I really loved working there. But, at some point I started looking for creative outlets. Working on processes and spreadsheets, coordinating rollouts and project plans wasn’t filling me up the way it did when I first started. And thus began a multitude of side hustles. I started a blog. Sold Stella and Dot Jewelry. Was a personal shopper - being a stylist if you will. Started making cards and invitations. Pretty soon I was more excited about my side hustles than my day job. And going to work everyday was sucking the life out of me. Literally. I took a 6 month sabbatical and spent that time figuring out what I wanted to do and here we are. Two and half years later, still figuring it out, but SO MUCH HAPPIER. I’ve spent a lot of time on Skillshare, teaching myself anything and everything related to illustrating, photoshop, procreate, you name it! I’ve googled just about anything related to starting a business. I’ve met with some awesome women entrepreneurs how have helped me navigate how to make this dream happen. And I’m still figuring it out to be honest. I also recognized right away that being at home all the time (alone!) was not a good thing for me. As luck would have it, The Foundry Home Goods was looking for seasonal help right around the end of my 6 months and I jumped at the chance to be a part of their magic. I’ve been there 2 years now and I love every thing about being a part of the Foundry Family.

What advice would you tell your younger self?

Trust your gut and go after things you are passionate about, not things you think you should be doing because they are “What you should do when you grow up”. Too often I didn’t follow things that came easy to me because I didn’t think it was something I could support myself doing. Or wasn’t a typical career (what does that even mean anymore!)

Where do you get your inspiration?

It’s everywhere. It could be something as simple a person walking by on the street and I think they have great style. Or when I travel and my head fills with all kinds of images that I want to recreate (which can also be really frustrating because it’s information overload) . Sometimes I go down the rabbit hole that is instagram and pinterest. But I really get inspiration from everything around me.

What are your goals for the next year?

First I want to grow my custom illustration business. The past year and half I’ve been pretty passive about it, not really marketing that it’s what I do. To the point that I get a number of DMs and emails daily asking if I do custom work. I took a look at my website to see why people weren’t connecting that it was what I offered and made some needed changes. I’ve been working on it the past few weeks and have just launched my new pages outlining what I offer and some FAQs. Check them out here, here, and here.

Second, I want to get over my fear of live illustration at events. I get asked all the time if I illustrate at events. I always decline because I’m scared everyone will think my work isn’t good enough or I’m not fast enough. I overthink my work sometimes and it slows me down. But, some of my best work has been done on the fly without me really thinking about it. And I’ll only get better if I push myself. So in this instance, I need to get our of my own way. Gah, that’s scary to put out there.

Third, I want to try and get my prints/cards/stationery in a few local shops. Which means I need to create a wholesale kit, determine product line, prices, etc. All of this is new for me, but I’ve got so many wonderful resources and women who can help - I just need to ask for it!

Rapid Fire:

• Early Riser or Burn the Midnight Oil: Early Riser. Definitely. Even in college I could never pull an all nighter (a long standing joke amongst my friends)

• Caffeine or Juice: Bullet Proof Coffee every.single.am. (but no caffeine after that!)

• Introvert or Extrovert: 100% introvert

• Favorite date night: Sushi. Always.

• Planner or go with the flow: Go with the flow.

So there you have it. A look behind the curtain at the girl who illustrates these amazing women each week.