How I Got Here

It was 2009 and I was newly engaged and in the middle of a three-year struggle to fit into the mold that was my pre-clinical health degree program. I stumbled upon (literally... remember Stumbleupon?) Etsy while looking for wedding ideas and fell completely in love with the handmade world. It wasn't long before I had started an my own shop called AllieRuth where I sold vintage goods and textiles that I found at thrift stores and Goodwill. Etsy opened my eyes to a lot of different aspects of art and people who were making a living at it—stuff that had never been presented to me as career potential. I felt a little like Alice falling down a rabbit hole during the course of wedding planning and the passion that I'd had for art since childhood was reignited. AllieRuth quickly blossomed into a stationery design company. I dropped my health program for Graphic Design with a minor in Entrepreneurship, With every client, I learned exponentially more about my craft, picking up letterpress, watercolor, calligraphy, sewing, and a multitude of other mediums along the way. Each unique project forced me to think in a new way and solve a new set of problems.

I've found, over the years, that I have quite an entrepreneurial spirit. It led me to expand AR into a few different areas of design, which allowed me to stretch myself, creatively, and be continually challenged in doing what I love most. In addition to wedding stationery, that little company of mine grew into a lifestyle product line which could be found in stores nationwide and abroad. It was a crazy and exciting adventure and one hell of a learning curve. In my time running AllieRuth, I learned so much about myself—my strengths, my weaknesses (hello, perfectionism!)—not to mention how to run a business. My right-brained spirit had to be tamed a little. I didn't mind. I worked hard, hustled, and powered through for five very successful years. Then I had my girls.

When Julep was born, I learned how to juggle. Being a "work at home mom" is no joke and often feels like having two full time jobs. My head and my heart started to clash, and it often left me feeling as if I couldn't really do any one thing to the fullest extent. Then Charlie came along and, well, I had to make what was a surprisingly easy decision—to sell AllieRuth and stay home with them, exclusively, for this short, sweet period in which they depend on me for everything. I still take on a very limited amount of art direction, styling and freelance design jobs on the side because I just can't stay away (and it's nice to have a creative outlet away from the babies!)

Being a stay-at-home-mom has truly been a blessing and I wouldn't trade it for anything. As with anything worthwhile, it's stinkin' hard! WAY harder than running your own company. And by stinkin', I mean lots of times it literally stinks. I won't go into detail. Anyway, I am so excited to be in a place now where I can use what I've learned over the past seven years, coupled with my talents and experience, and begin a new adventure, helping brands like the one I built hit the ground running with a strong visual message.