I wanted my first message for this blog to be all about gratitude and the power of friendship. Without the creative collaboration of cherished friends, photographer, Gina Weathersby, set stylist, Nora Martini, and food stylist, Jeff Martin, this whole endeavor would just be some files on my computer. The best thing about getting older is that you realize how important friendships become after your children can take care of themselves. I have always believed that your life has many stages and opportunities happen when they are meant to happen.
Everyone talks about following their passion, and I have been lucky enough to do this for the past 25 years. Working as an illustrative designer, I have been creating brands and images for clients that reflect their message to their customers. I have been fortunate to have my images on products that have appeared in Target, Williams Sonoma, Michaels, Yankee Candle, and many boutique shops across the United States. I even had one of my designs featured by Oprah in her O magazine! Now, in this time of my life, I am ready to create my own brand with a signature style that I hope connects with people.
I created my first MODbotanical about 9 years ago! It was the Good Gourd wall hanging and it came to me after a visit to a road side vegetable stand in the fall. I was so inspired by the shapes and colors, that I went back with a pantone selector and a camera. I have always had a retro feel to my work, and I have loved the mid-century modern era. I didn’t know at the time that I was creating a new line, but I did know that I was really satisfied with the look. I loved merging my love for nature with a mid-century modern expression. I know now that I was on to something, but back then I was not at that point in my life to do anything more than add it to my portfolio. I kept coming up with new themes to this same look, but just another portfolio image. Then, about 4 years ago, I was hit with an idea! I have collected vintage textiles for years and I rediscovered a beautiful silkscreened fabric panel that I hung in my family room. It was huge covering the wall from floor to ceiling. I loved the dynamic it brought to the room and as I stood back admiring it, I was struck with the thought, “I wonder if I could make something like this?” I immediately went to the internet to research fabric printing and found a digital printer that could take large files. I will never forget the excitement of receiving my first sample in the mail!
Again, opportunities happen when they are meant to happen, you just have to be open to acting on them at the right time. I reconnected with my friend Gina Weathersby through one of my clients. We had worked together early on in my career and our styles really click. She was working on a new path in her own life and I was grateful when she asked for some graphic assistance. I love collaborating with creative people and working out of my house makes me crave social interaction. Gina introduced me to a creative group that met Monday mornings at a local coffee shop called Redtree Gallery. The group is Creative Juice and the members come from different backgrounds that are held together by a need for creative expression. We share ideas, trials and triumphs in our personal and creative endeavors. With the support of Gina and this group, the idea of launching my own brand started to seem like a goal I could start to envision.
This whole vision finally came into view the day Gina offered her talents and her amazing style to my designs. She also brought in another old time friend, Nora Martini who has been styling sets with her own unique approach. The funnest part of collaboration is letting go of your own ideas and being open to other perspectives. For the first time, I was the client! Gina and Norah put together the sets and I came later in the morning to such a spectacular surprise! I would have never put together the ideas that they presented to me. The day was filled with laughter and inspiration which was actually the best part of it all! You can see Gina’s blog post about the day by clicking here. Gina also introduced me to her food styling friend, Jeff Martin. The two of them created some of the most beautiful food images with my fabrics as backgrounds. I remember asking Gina after one of our shoots, “what is the vehicle we should use to show these great photos?” where she quickly responded, “a look book of course!”. I had never even thought of that before. Now you can see the final Look Book at issue.com. I hope you enjoy it half as much as we enjoyed creating it.
The greatest insight I have realized from this experience is that working with others brings so much more joy to anything you might think you can do yourself. This is not just in my final product, but my quality of life. The journey is so much more than the destination, so why not travel with your friends!
And for my friends, I am truly GRATEFUL.
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