Anniversary Collection, Summer 2024

I distinctly remember the phone call I made to my mom on the morning of June 25, 2014. I had just opened an Etsy shop, chock full of a very random assortment of painted mason jars, papercut artwork I’d made in my classroom during free periods, and a few paintings I’d taken down from the walls of my bedroom in a house I was sharing with four other girls. “I’m only saying this because you’re my mom,” I said, while walking to buy a coffee that I had, with $13 in my bank account, no business buying, “but I really think that this is going to be big.”

I was wrong in many ways, including the fact that I would never sell a single mason jar, but in several (very big) ways, I was also right. The small decision to put myself out there and try and sell some of my artwork paved the way for many bigger decisions that would all eventually lead me to where I am now, celebrating ten years of being lucky enough to do this job.

As I have reflected on the past decade, I’ve been revisiting some of the ideas, processes, and media I have loved exploring throughout my career so far. As I grow and change as an artist and a business owner, I’ve realized that reflecting and looking back is just as important as planning and looking ahead. When I sat down to write my artist’s statement for this collection, I thought I’d do something a little different this time- rather than write specifically about the twenty pieces that make up this series, I thought I would put a few thoughts and images together to help share the story of how I got here, and to (hopefully!) provide a glimpse of where I’m going.

One of my biggest goals as an artist is and has always been to make art that resonates with people. To everyone who has shared with me that something I’ve made has done just that- reminded them of a person or place or thing that they love, or an experience that they’ve had- I really cannot thank you enough. I am really lucky to be surrounded by good people- people who, since the beginning, encouraged me by reassuring me that what I was doing was worthwhile, and that my work was really good (even though a lot of it, especially at the beginning, really was not). Any success I have had this past decade is a direct reflection of the people around me- including you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you- as always, the best is yet to come!

over the years

“Make Things Co.”- my Instagram post from 6.25.14 to announce that I’d opened an Etsy shop

A painted mason jar- the first item I listed in my shop (it never sold, but I did hold onto it)

Carving a linocut printing block in Bethany Beach, 2014 (once I realized the mason jars most likely weren’t going to catch on, I tried something else!)

One of the first “prints” I made- an illustrated metro map of DC

My first commission- a wedding gift for my friend and then co-worker, Kathryn, to give to her sister. From 2014 through 2017, most of my commissioned artwork was for weddings/wedding gifts

My first wedding invitation design for my friend Alli’s wedding- I learned a lot about the printing process through working with her on these

A decorated Starbucks cup (most likely made during a planning period at school- oops)- I have always loved making artwork with and on unconventional materials

December 2014- selling at Eastern Market in DC with my now-husband, Dylan

My first (and one of my only, ha) logo designs for my husband’s old food truck and restaurant business

One of the many iterations of Business Card Design I went through before saving up and hiring Holly Hollon to do my branding in 2020

Fall 2016- sketching outside the Met for a SOREL campaign. I was chosen to be part of the campaign as an aspiring illustrator, and was able to shadow artist Katie Rodgers in her studio for a week in NYC. Watching Katie work as a professional artist was incredibly empowering for me- it was the first time that I really realized a job like hers existed, and the experience gave me hope that one day, I could do something similar.

Popping up at Anthropologie in Georgetown in spring 2017, right before I made the jump to full-time artist

I met Nathalie Hudson, co-owner of Dante NYC, in early 2018- I have worked with her and her husband on artwork for their restaurants since then, and they have been such wonderful clients and friends, and have taught me so much about creative collaboration

In summer 2018, I traveled to Nantucket, MA to paint shoes for a weekend for Nantucket Sole- the trip was so inspiring to me on so many different levels!

After years of creating wedding paper for other couples, I was so excited to design for my own wedding- the hand-painted table numbers each featured a location of significance for me and my husband

In summer 2019, I traveled to NYC for a live illustration event- I took a photo of Washington Square Park and painted it, adding in a little girl (maybe foreshadowing the birth of my own little girl, who I’d meet two summers later)

During quarantine (2020), I began to branch out from watercolors and experiment with new mediums- seashells and a picnic basket are just a few of the things I started painting on with acrylics

In the summer of 2020, I hired Catherine Dolaher as my Studio Manager- working with Catherine has made me a better artist and business owner, and I am so grateful for the support and guidance she has provided me over the past four years

In May 2021, with Catherine’s help, I launched our first collection of wallpapers and home textiles

The first pair of many shoes/items I’ve painted for my daughter, Bryn- I used this photo as a pregnancy announcement on Instagram

Bryn and me at the Southern Living market in Charleston, SC, in 2021- she was just a few months old here! I will be forever grateful to Catherine, my husband, and my mother-in-law for all of their help that weekend- it was a lot of hard work, but such a dream come true to have my artwork recognized by such a well-known publication!