About Me
Minnesota Roots
I was born in Missouri but grew up in Minnesota, where the majority of my family lives. As of October 20th, 2018 I will be living in Florida! I am a little nervous with a lot of excited for the new chapter in my life. I have family in Florida who is helping me in making the transition. I lived there around six months when I was about 10 years old and ever since had always said I would go back and now that I am 26 I finally am! Not that I haven't loved my time in Minnesota, especially living in Detroit Lakes which has over 400 lakes, festivals, a ski lodge and many more attractions, but I am ready to trade in the snow for some ocean.
How I got into Graphic Design
My parents always say that ever since I could hold a marker there hasn't been a day where they haven't seen me draw or create something. I've always enjoyed doodling and computers always came easy to me. I would even make games out of Microsoft Powerpoint for my younger siblings. So naturally graphic design became a good blend of the two. When I was in Highschool the new thing would be that our homerooms would be sorted by which career we were gravitating towards. I was walking down the hall with the question of what should I be when I grow up in the back of my mind and then I heard the word 'advertising' and the decision was made that fast. I didn't know why I hadn't thought of it before. Once I got to college the major they offered wasn't specifically labeled advertising but rather Graphic Communications but it still fit the description of what I needed to be able to take my career in the direction I had envisioned.
Lakeshirts
Lakeshirts is a company from my hometown of Detroit Lakes, MN that produces products (mainly clothing) for destinations and colleges all across the country and its territories (and Canada eh). I am currently employed as a production artist specifically working on the C-YA line along with creating my own line art and side projects as requested. I have worked for Lakeshirts since February of 2016. It is once of the greatest experiences in a work environment I have ever had. We exceed expectations in our products yet take pride in our value of the culture within the company and the outside community that supports us as we support them.
Minnesota State University Moorhead
In spring of 2015 I graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead with a degree in Graphic Communications, meanwhile working full time. There I received a well-rounded education taking a range of graphic classes from Web & 3D Modeling to Print, my emphasis. The greatest learning experience I had was a two-part year long class that was simply called our Senior Project. We got the choice of picking a mock business that we conceptualize or any business that is already established. I made more pieces than required which really pushed me creatively and in learning more technique, and overall made my project that much more effective.
Why the Elephant?
The elephant comes from my Grandma Sue, whom I am very close to, told me when I was younger that her favorite animal is an elephant. One day I was thinking about how I would probably get a tattoo in honor of my grandma and how it would be cool if she came to the appointment to witness it happen. Then I thought it would be amazing if she would get a matching tattoo with me, she's spontaneous enough that I thought she might just go for it. So I proceeded to ask and without much thought she went for it! So now we both have matching elephant tattoos, so I have chosen to honor that with my logo as well. Then to my surprise, turned out my grandpa wanted to get a tattoo too.. so now we have his choice of matching eagles. And to answer your question, yes, Grandma is ready for tattoo #2! My grandparents also enjoy being known as the quote "Badass Grandparents" around town. Easily, one of the greatest things I've done.
