I had the pleasure of connecting with a great graphic designer that I met while cruizing on Etsy! Her designs are awesome and I was delighted to interview her! Read below on Eden and her business!
1. Tell me about yourself.
I was always into fine art growing up, and even considered art school, but ultimately got a degree in business with a major in marketing. During my 15 year career in marketing, I picked up graphic design. My employers were thrilled to not pay an outside graphic designer for brochures, etc., and I really enjoyed the work. I became interested in invitation design specifically, after designing items for my own wedding in May 2008. My last job was Director of Marketing & Communications for a medium-sized civil engineering firm. I was laid off in May 2009 after six years in that position. Troubling as it was, being jobless allowed me to consider the possibility of opening my own design firm and doing graphic design full time. From there, Eden Creative Studio was born. In addition to my Etsy shop, I provide graphic design and marketing services for local and national corporate clients.
Outside of Eden Creative Studio, I enjoy spending time with my husband and our cats. I have recently started taking classes to learn American Sign Language. I also volunteer for my local animal shelter, am a vegetarian and regularly practice yoga.
2. What inspires you the most?
I think artists find inspiration all over. You almost can’t hide from it, nor can you turn it off. When I see something beautiful, something just clicks. I might see a logo on a grocery bag or a local farm landscape and find inspiration from that. I’m also a pop culture junkie and am often inspired by trends.
3. How do you find time to do it all?
I work on my Etsy and graphic design businesses full time (often more than full time) and it seems fairly easy to manage my time. I enjoy it so much it doesn’t feel like work, so I have a harder time making myself stop working than anything else!
4. What is your typical day like?
I wake up, feed the cats and go into my home office where I fill orders, answer convos, and work on orders in progress. I usually go to the post office every day before it closes. They know me very well there! At night I go to yoga or my ASL (American Sign Language) class. Before bed, I often work on my little Acer netbook answering convos and reading the Etsy forums. I love to read so I usually indulge in a few pages of a book before I fall asleep.
5. Which is your favorite product you sell on Etsy and why?
My favorite item changes daily and it’s usually the latest item I have designed. I recently entered the world of wedding invitation design and I am particularly enamored with these:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=41637540
6. Do you have a blog, twitter, website or Facebook?
I do not blog right now but I do have/participate in the following. (I love Twitter!):
Website: http://www.edencreativestudio.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/edencre8ivstdio
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/edencreativestudio
