We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Allie Norman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Allie , thanks for joining us today. In our experience, overnight success is usually the result of years of hard work laying the foundation for success, but unfortunately, it’s exactly this part of the story that most of the media ignores. So, we’d appreciate if you could open up about your growth story and the nitty, gritty details that went into scaling up.

When I began my 5th year of freelance a bit over a year ago – I knew I wanted to expand. I set out to find 2 inspiring partners who were amazing business women as well as super talented designers. After meeting with a few I struck gold with my 2 business partners Kaitlyn and Sarah. We started a collaborative studio called Studio Garden Party that allows us to take on larger projects together, while working on long term clients, and smaller projects for our own studios in tandem. It’s the best of both worlds and collaborating after working solo for so long has been a dream.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I currently run an award winning design agency called Girl That Designs out of Portland, Maine. I am also the co-founder of a collaborative design agency called Studio Garden Party. I focus on lifestyle branding and packaging in the hospitality and lifestyle realm.  A Boston native, I grew my love for adventure and design, going to school in the mountains of New Hampshire at Keene State College. After school I lived in Boston and worked as an Art Director for action sports company Bern Helmets. During this time I created illustration for packaging, goods, print ads etc.

After a year at Bern I wanted a new adventure and moved abroad to Rome, Italy and worked as a tour guide around Europe.

6 years ago I started my agency Girl That Designs and have since worked with hundreds of brands to bring their vision to life. I have also spoken for Adobe Live, won a Bronderson Award, and have been featured in Maine Home and Design, Logo Lounge, Portland Press Herald, and AIGA. You can see my current work and follow along on all my design adventures at @girlthatdesigns

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I met both my business partners for Studio Garden Party via Instagram! It was love at first sight when I saw their work and slid into their DMs to chat design! Sarah I had known for years before starting the agency and knew she would be the perfect fit and Kaitlyn has been the most amazing addition we couldn’t live without.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I challenged myself to make work and share it everyday for 100 days, this is how I shared what type of work I wanted to be making, my dedication, and also gave me some time to try out new styles. and built my community slowly over the years. Its been amazing seeing these connections flourish and see how my community has grown organically throughout the years.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girlthatdesigns/

Image Credits
Photo of me on bar at belleflower, cheese louise – Christina Wnek @christinawnek Grass Beer Pic, Beach Beer Pic – Dawson Renaud @dawsonrenaudfilmandphoto Beer w/ fruit and purple background – Derek Bissionnette @dbfoodphoto Soleil, Fika, Garden Party – The Harpers ( Annie and Rachel Harper ) @harper.photo.co.