How my 5 year old turned me into a designer.

I've been an artist ever since I was old enough to scrawl crayon on the walls of my bedroom, but if it weren't for my daughter, I don't think I would have ever taken the step into becoming a designer.

I grew up in the Appalachian mountains of NC, but Millie  (my oldest child) was born in Ohio.  When she was 4 years old, we picked up and moved back to North Carolina and it was really, really hard on her.  In addition to leaving her school, home, and all the friends she had ever known, she also had a brand new baby brother who suddenly took up all my time.

I was in heaven-- I was back HOME.  Back in the south, around all of the plants, animals, river hippies, rednecks, and pimento cheeses that I grew up around, but Millie was miserable.  Any time I wasn't actively engaging her, I would find her sitting alone in a dark closet sucking her thumb.  Millie is an artist to the core, and one day she drew this picture of a sad unicorn which perfectly expressed both of our feelings about the situation. I knew something had to be done.

Millie drew this picture of a sad unicorn a moth after our move to NC

That night, I started drawing coloring pages for her. Just black and white drawings that she could color in during the day.  For me, it was a way to show her affection during those times that I had my hands full with the baby.  As the subject matter, I chose plants and animals native to the southeastern US, so she could learn about her new home, and feel a little more connected here. 

 

It worked. Every morning, Millie woke up and I provided her with a new coloring page. Cottontails, Eastern box turtles, dogwoods, passionflowers, etc...  Each day, she grew a little happier and settled.  One day, while on the phone with my sister, Kelly I updated her on Millie's progress.  Kelly too had moved far away from home, and said "you know, I wish I could get these drawings made into sheets or something for my son's room." That was it.  I called my cousin, who had studied fibers and textiles at SCAD to get some advice, and a few weeks later I had created my first fabric design. 

I wouldn't say the rest is history-- but it's certainly evolved from there. You can check out my new website and etsy sites to view some products that grew from that beginning-- and you'll be able to see that many of my original drawings for Millie are still use use in these designs. 

Most importantly, Millie has settled in to NC, and is loving it.  She has started school (more adventures on that to come,) and is now an unofficial expert on all things related to NC wildlife.