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My Unexciting Backstory

 

I worked in Corporate America for eight years, at three well-known companies, as a product developer (titles varied). Long story short, Corporate America destroyed my mental health, which admittedly I was prone to (thanks, genetics). It was in the first year of my corporate career that my mood disorder was awakened by chronic stress in an environment where productivity was squeezed out of me (and everyone else) for as little compensation as the company could excuse. Still, I chased dangling carrots and told myself that one day I would be a happy, fat rabbit. Turns out that carrots aren't good for rabbits. 

 

I quit at my third company. I had finally been recognized, promoted, and paid very well, but it didn't matter. My meds (which took years to get just right) couldn't keep up with the stress. The doses went up and my well-being plummeted. I left corporate behind for freelance in the same industry, which was low stress but unfulfilling. After everything I had been through, why was I still working with product? Simple answer: I didn't know what else to do. I only knew that Corporate Shenanigans wasn't a game I ever wanted to play again.

 

Skipping ahead, the hubby and I moved across the country for a lower cost of living, and I closed my freelance business. I said goodbye to a white-collar identity that I had held for eleven years, turned off my LinkedIn app, and started making art. At first I thought I would make my own products, but a voice in my head screamed, "Have you learned nothing!? Step away from the product!" I went to art school and I wanted to make art, damn it, handmade art that people would buy, hang on their walls, and smile at.

 

I majored in Fibers (textile and surface design), so I went back to my roots and started block-printing fabric. The result was my Safe Subjects collection. A handmade house stamp led to my Dreaming Home collection, and I'm currently starting a related collection called Under.  I'm a long way from being financially successful, but everything at this stage of my life feels right—a bit scary and uncertain, but right.