The Beginnings…

Where did my love of design start?

I remember playing outside in my sand box when my grandpa came over to me and said "Look at what I have for you." He pointed to the patio with 5 sets of Crayola crayons laying on the table. "Grandpa, 5 boxes?"

He replied with a smile, "I want you to have an unlimited amount of creativity and just keep drawing." 

When I got older, I started playing with Fine Artist, (*almost like photoshop but for kids). I made banners, illustrated stories and countless things for my family. My mom used every single magnet on the refrigerator to hang my work!

The funny thing is, I never thought about making what I loved into a career. When my husband was in college, I used to make him memory booklets to send to him when he missed home. I would spend hours making the layouts and picking out pretty fonts. One time he told me that I should design for a living. I was flattered, but I brushed it off. At the time, I was thinking about becoming an elementary school teacher. I loved working with children, but I couldn't keep my mind off design. I knew that I had to do something about it...

My passion was right in front of me all along, but I didn't know that I could turn what I loved into a business. When it was time to choose my major, I picked Graphic Design with a concentration in Interactive Media. (I dabbled in web design for a few years but print was what made me truly happy). I haven't looked back since. I had incredible professors who were also entrepreneurs and loved sharing their experiences of owning a design business. After I graduated from Ramapo College, I quickly discovered that the corporate world wasn't fulfilling. I was still so passionate about design, and I wanted to express my style which lead me to create my own brand of stationary goods. Things have changed, but the fire burns bright.

I started with crayon drawings for my family, and before I knew it, I was printing my wedding invitations. When I opened my creative services, my sister made a beautiful frame containing all of the paper goods that I designed for my wedding. Inside she wrote a quote that I keep in my heart: