We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Delaney Gibbons. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Delaney below.

Delaney, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

I’ve been dreaming of running my own shop for a long time. The obstacle that kept me from ever moving forward was what exactly I wanted my shop to offer. I wouldn’t say I have a short attention span, but rather a lot of different interests that constantly battle for my full focus. I love to make things – I have explored hand sculpting with clay, wheel-thrown pottery, portrait painting, gardening, upcycling thrifted products, and refurbishing furniture, to name a few. I’d love to take another woodshop class, learn to embroider, make textiles, and explore working with resin. I’d like to learn riso printing and welding. Every time I watch a competition show about interior design or floral design, I wonder if I’ve missed my true calling and look to see if there are any interior design or topiary art classes to join nearby. Bottom line is every time I get close to nailing down what it is I want to spend a lot of time making and turning into a business, I start to feel a sort of FOMO for the projects and interests I’ll undoubtedly be pushing aside.

When a downsizing wave hit my company in 2022 and I was laid off from a job I loved and excelled at, the thought of trying to go out and find that corporate stability again felt suffocating rather than hopeful. Layoffs seemed like a steady constant all around me. Maybe now was the time to push through the barrier and finally start my business so I can work for myself once and for all.

In an effort to learn more about starting and running a business, I invested in a course geared toward creatives, called “A Sale A Day Business System” created by Mei Pak. (creativehiveco.com)

True to form, I started the course over at least 3 times due to my shifting interests. I felt discouraged at times, but the lessons were still helping me take a different approach to looking at what I can offer. I eventually noticed there was one constant throughout each of my business ideas. It was not a specific medium or object, but an action: gifting.

Now, I am on my way to building a company I feel so proud of and confident in, where I am not beholden to one form of making, but can tie my different interests together by an overarching goal: helping people create special memories and moments through thoughtful, artisan gifts.

Delaney, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m originally from Philadelphia and moved to New York City for college to study art and writing. I graduated from Parsons The New School for Design with a BFA in Illustration, and from Eugene Lang College with a BA in Creative Writing. I also graduated with a mountain of student loan debt and no savings. My very encouraging mom’s only request was that I secured a job that provided health insurance. Degrees in illustration and creative writing simply weren’t enough for me to land a salaried position right out of school, so I made the decision to lean into the design skills I’d picked up, and hope that I could find a way to utilize art and writing along the way. I landed a job designing ads and writing copy for a digital advertising company. After sharpening my design skills on the job and working on personal projects in my free time, I got a job as a digital designer in marketing at HarperCollins Children’s Books. I used illustration every chance I could to add personality to things like email campaigns, social graphics, and seasonal landing pages. I started to take on freelance projects as well, and continued working on personal projects when I could.

After 9 years in New York, I was ready for a change. My now-husband and I then moved to Chicago, where I joined a technology startup called dscout as their first marketing designer. It was there that I got to dive into more than just digital marketing design and found a love for visual brand development. I assisted with creative copy, helped redesign their blog and careers page, and I helped guide the brand’s visual direction with custom brand illustration and iconography. I also got to work on things like event design, notebooks, and business cards. It was a great experience, but I was feeling pretty burnt out after two years of constant learning-by-doing. I decided to leave that job and try freelancing for a while (and maybe even start that business, finally). Freelancing full time lasted less than a year before the instability of a non-steady paycheck proved to be too much for my anxiety. But I made some great connections and got some good experience under my belt that would prove useful down the road. In August 2019, I joined 2U, Inc remotely as a Senior Graphic Designer for Content Marketing. It was here that I realized my affinity for editorial design, art direction, and conceptual thinking. I gained valuable leadership experience, including project management, organization and defining processes, as well as mentoring junior team members. After three years, just when I was feeling ready to move upwards towards a manager role, I was laid off.

After a decade spent working my way up in cross-functional design roles, the thought of having to go in search of corporate stability yet again felt discouraging. During the pandemic, I’d moved to Iowa, and also lost my mom to cancer. I was in my early thirties and battling some major inner demons and existential crises. Continuing to build a career that hinged on working for other people just deflated me even more. It seemed like the right time to give my business ideas, and freelancing, another shot.

I had a good first quarter of 2023 freelancing, and where this second quarter lull would have previously had me frantically searching available jobs on LinkedIn, I’m trusting the process this time around and seeing it as an opportunity to work on building my business – Gibbons Gift Co. – a shop of artisan goods themed around gifting (think hostess gifts, holiday decor, and wrapping paper). I’m taking everything I’ve learned in school, on the job, and in my spare time (I’m a big fan of e-courses, webinar tutorials, and sites like Skillshare) and putting it to use in building a responsible company that is rooted in the values that matter most to me. Gibbons Gift Co. is inspired by my family, especially my mom, who adored giving and was the embodiment of Christmas spirit. I would love to open up a brick and mortar shop here in my new home of Ames, Iowa one day.

I understand now that varied interests are not some kind of red flag. I have always felt like I wasn’t enough of an illustrator to be considered an illustrator, or enough of a designer to really be a designer, and definitely not enough of a writer to be considered a writer. There always seems to be that annoying little voice inside telling me that other people are able to be artists, but I have no business calling myself one. Well, all the positive quotes and self help books in the world won’t silence the hater that is Self Doubt. It’s truly a matter of ignoring the voice and trudging forward until you forget about it. And then when it creeps in again, repeat. Trudge. Repeat.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I’ve only started to gain some clarity about this in recent years, and the threads are not yet fully connected, but I feel that my maternal family is an integral part of my creative journey. Death almost feels as though it has its own seat at the dinner table in my family – we know it could show up at any time, as it often has. Most recently, I lost both my mom and aunt to ovarian cancer in 2020, four months apart from each other.

I was very close with both of them, and since their deaths were so unexpected and close together, my relationships with them feel unfinished. I’ve sifted through some of my mom’s things in the months since her passing, which brought a bit of comfort at first, but was soon followed by an emptiness. I’d try to feel close to them by wearing my mother’s sweater and my aunt’s necklace, and rereading our favorite poems.

Eventually, I was able to pinpoint a few specific moments when I felt a strong connection with all of my family members who’ve passed: sitting by calm water, looking up at the night sky, gardening, cooking or baking in the kitchen, when I’m creating something, and when I’m preparing a thoughtful gift.

I remembered that my most cherished memories are a swirl of family holiday celebrations when I was younger. Christmas was my mom’s favorite holiday and season, and friends and family know her as the Queen of Christmas.

In the business I’m creating, Gibbons Gift Co., it is a chance for me to channel that warm, giving spirit that is ubiquitous throughout my family. The more I work on it, the more connected to them I feel, and I know I’m on the right path.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

With today’s technology and social media, I think there are a ton of great resources available out there now, for all different kinds of creative niches. The trouble is finding them (and then making the time to actually do them!). I think it’s a really great thing when professionals create widely accessible learning opportunities, like online courses and workshops, that are gleaned from their real world experiences. Below are some that I’ve taken and highly recommend: • “Dark Art of Creative Business” by Jessica Hische
• “Passion to Paid” course with Lauren Hom
• “Flawless Typography Checklist” from Jeremiah Shoaf / Type Wolf
• “A Sale A Day Business System” by Mei Pak / Creative Hive Co
• A variety of courses from Melissa Yeager available on her website
• There’s also an endless supply of easy-to-follow tutorials from working artists on Skillshare (there is typically a free trial available for new users, and I’ve often seen discount codes)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://delaneygibbons.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gibbons_made
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/delaneygibbons/
• Other: Follow @gibbons_made on Instagram to receive updates about the launch of Gibbons Gift Co. ahead of the 2023 holiday season!

Image Credits
Delaney Gibbons