From Student to Stationer - my journey

my graduation announcement - I screen printed it myself! 

I first knew I was interested in graphic design back in college. My initial major was art + design - I had briefly considered graphic design, but my vague knowledge of graphic design was ‘logos and stuff’, and I thought art + design would provide a broader foundation while I figured out what I wanted to do. Well, all of my friends in school ended up being graphic designers, and when I saw the things they were creating, I knew I wanted to be a part of that. The first year of classes at design school were very physical (we didn’t even have computers! Except for my digital imaging class!), so the things they were doing with paper really spoke to me. I loved the iterative process, and the physicality of it, and the fact that graphic design in the real world often served a concrete purpose beyond just looking pretty.

I decided this at the very beginning of my spring semester, but at that point, it was too late to transfer until the end of the semester, so I ended up just sneaking into my graphic design major friends’ classes when I could, soaking everything up that they were learning, and creating their projects in my spare time. Once I transferred, I loved every minute of my time as a graphic designer.

It was when I was in college, my cousin asked me to design her wedding invitations. I have loved weddings since forever (tbh if I could be a professional bridesmaid I probably would, that is how much I love weddings), and I was so excited to design those invitations for her.

As I continued school, and eventually graduated, and tried to find a job, invitations just kept popping into my life. I did my own graduation announcements, baby shower invitations, programs,  save the dates, and invitations for my friends and family. I even did an elopement announcement! It was such a breath of fresh air to me.

At the time I was doing freelance corporate and web design, and it felt so intense and constrained. Either I was working with people in a larger company who didn’t really care about design - they just wanted something that looked halfway decent for a good price, or people who were paying a lot of money out of their own pockets to follow their dreams, which meant they were super picky and had a very low tolerance for the iterative process that comes with design work. I learned a lot doing that work, skills that I still put into practice today (I cringe when I think about how I worked at that time), but it was hard work that ultimately didn’t bring me any joy or sense of accomplishment - just stress about what was to follow. Meanwhile, doing these side projects were the best. I was supporting the people that I loved, I was creating things that really excited me, and I was proud of, and I loved the entire process. I decided to add invitations as a service, and I created a card line to be sold on Etsy.

So at this point I was doing web design, branding, invitations, and trying to sell cards. It was a lot to balance, and because I was focusing on so much, I wasn’t truly focusing on anything. I think if I had been really busy and successful at all of those things, I would have kept on, but I was just doing a little bit of everything, so I felt like I was failing at everything. It took my birthday (does anyone else just think about everything they haven’t accomplished on their birthdays, or is that just me?) to make me realize I wasn’t going down a path that would make me happy or bring me the success I wanted. So, I decided to focus on my favorite, which meant wedding stationery. I haven’t looked back - I still love it as much as I did when I made that decision, and every day feels like an opportunity to learn and grow. I feel so lucky to be doing what I love, and to be waking up most days excited for the challenges ahead.

Tell me your story in the comments! I want to know how you ended up doing what you’re doing.. and if you think it’s what you’re meant to be doing, or if you’re still trying to find whatever that is.