Some of my most encountered questions when I first started Our Heiday was how I learned my painting style, how I learned to letter, and what mediums I used - expected when you’ve got a girl publicly trying to make her way out of a potentially lifeless career to pursue something wildly different. As I mentioned before, I’ve never had any formal training and so much of my aesthetic has been shaped by a hunger to learn more about the things I’ve always been intrinsically drawn to. Creativity is not original, it’s cultivated.
As we grow this company, one order and person at a time, I’ve realized that my artistic pursuit is so informed by creating work that lasts beyond the palette. This doesn’t take away from the painting I do; our collections and patterns are essential to who we are and seeing an original transform into the final product is Christmas every single time. But with our team rapidly growing and a company to run, I consider so much beyond the art itself - how my designs will affect and inspire our team, what it says about who we are together, and how it speaks to the current market gaps we seek to fill. It's been an important lesson for me that the mission becomes larger than myself and these internal conversations cement the vision beyond the paint strokes. We want our people to thrive both in and out of work. Seeing that creativity, design, and a robust culture can do that establishes our purpose. And purpose makes work that lasts.
Maybe you're not leading a team and working as a freelancer or an independent designer. I don't intend at all to minimize these amazing careers that are so tied to actually making the work, creating the designs. It's holy and magical that our minds can lead our hands to make something beautiful. When I reflect back to the beginning, I loved that I could give myself to the entire creative process and so much of my growing pains was realizing that in running a business, you release much of that creative control, even with a small team of designers. So for a practical dose of advice, I've found that my most timeless, effortless designs came from trusting my honed hand, and intensely examining the spaces and people I love to see how my art could fill them. If I could forever create for the ones I most admire, what would I want to offer?
So whether you're creating alongside a team or alone, here's to remembering that we are at our best when we value coexistence. The impact lasts far beyond the art itself.
cheers,
pat
