As a girl who has majored in everything from Education to Graphic Communication but settled on a Communication Degree with an Art minor I left my undergrad working in the field of Human Resources.... I have two words: creatively stifling.
While I loved the networking and people aspect of HR, what it did was hide my creativity behind business suits and the monotony of any typical 9-5 work day. During my time working in the business world I kept my passion for design working on photo card greetings for friends and family. What began as a hobby slowly evolved into what I now call my DREAM JOB. But freelance isn't all DREAM. Freelance as a FULL-TIME mom means the ability to take on jobs around my family. While I have awesome flexibility I also have the 'take the job when it comes' mentality - you never know when the next job will come so all too often it means I am busy non-stop for the fear of lack of work. I cannot imagine going back to a job that finds me --- dare I say it ---- CREATIVELY STIFLED.
The past two years I began substituting in my daughters' elementary school to supplement the design work I was taking on. Education and becoming a teacher was always something I thought I would do. In fact, I even dabbled in Masters courses ---- dabbled meaning - I took ALL required Masters in Education courses shy of Methods of Teaching Reading and the last step: student teaching. To say I was destined to teach on some level - well, that path was ended when I took on an even greater role: MOM. So, to substitute I learned is the next best thing - I get to go into schools, inspire and work with kids but go home and still do what I love most professionally - design.
My design work ranges - from small business branding, to invitations, creating personalized stationery and endless custom requests I enjoy meeting people from everywhere. I have made 'friends' with people I have never met face to face through my ETSY shop and through the wonders of social media. I have created wedding suites without actually meeting the bride. I have introduced babies to the world through announcements having never met the parents. The clients I have most enjoyed working with are the educators, the teachers, the parents. I understand them. I am a mom. I am a girl who grew up in a 'teacher' home. My mom was a teacher. I married a teacher. It's a world I know, and one I love. Because if it were up to me - I would give all I could to the educators of the world. The truth: I'm not there yet. I give often. I give a lot. I donate quite a bit, particularly to schools....and then I realized....having been substituting I have discovered ways to make classrooms more 'joyful'. I have discovered ways I CAN impact classrooms. I can do both - I can design and inspire - using my designs to support learning. The best way I can do this is to create an affordable product that teachers and parents like while still giving back. And today - it begins.
Today is the day my facebook page reached 100 fans. And now that the ball is rolling, I won't look back. I love to design, but I think this may be the best direction I have taken. For my 100-fan thank you I have offered a free 2-sided Postcard Printable (a fan-favorite by elementary school teachers)
- it will be up for free download through next week 7/27 at:
FREE 2 sided Back to School Postcard
Thanks for stopping by!
