Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Kelley

Hi Emily, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

I started Land & She in 2016 while working as a graphic designer full-time for an agency in Philadelphia. I worked everyday in a cubicle, and during my down-time I would doodle in scrap paper and notebooks to relieve some of my stress included with the job. Those doodles turned into block carvings and drawings that were the first pieces I created for my brand. During this time I also religiously read the “Life In Business” column on Design*Sponge and it gave me incredible motivation and hope to hear stories of creative businesses thriving on their own. It was a different time back then, in which it was new to be creatively free with your passions, unlike today where we see it everywhere on social media. These stories gave me hope that one day I would live the creative life I dreamed of, and to leave the dreary-ness of a 90 hour work week in a cubicle – long story short, eventually that dream came true.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

Is starting a business or a creative pursuit ever a smooth road? I would love to hear from those who say it is. The biggest struggle to overcome is fear. Fear that you aren’t good enough, fear that you can’t make a living off of your art, fear that no one will like what you create, and fear of how long this journey will last. Ask most creatives and they will tell you its a career of high highs and low lows. As long as you are willing to remain true to yourself, compromise, grow, and adapt, you can make a living from your art. It takes an incredible amount of work, but if you believe in what it is you are doing, you can see through the struggles like when you’re in a creative dry-spell, or when there isn’t a client in sight.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?

I specialize in printed artworks, both block-printed and digital. I am most proud of my conceptual mind when it comes to my image-making. As an artist that also has a background as a strategic and conceptual graphic designer, I enjoy when I can bring complex ideas into my art and simplify them into one image. I think that is a strength of mine and something I am most proud of when it comes to my work. I also think most people recognize my art because I infuse a sense of peace and calm into my images as much as possible. I want the viewer to almost pause and take in the image and let it be a moment of joy and reflection within their day.

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?

Remain true to your vision as an individual. We are all unique and have stories to tell through our art. Really take some time away from your phone, laptop, and tv, and sit with a journal and write whatever comes to mind. The discovery and exploring of ideas is so important, especially when first starting out. If you do that extra work and thinking, I can almost guarantee that your art will stand out amongst the crowd because you are harnessing your own voice and perspective on the world.

For more practical advice: grab the domain name you are hoping for early enough that it’s still available, be very organized with your bookkeeping (you’ll thank me later), and remember to take breaks.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.landandshe.com
• Instagram: @landandshestudio
• Facebook: @landandshestudio

Image Credits

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