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

Eddie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Some of the most interesting parts of our journey emerge from areas where we believe something that most people in our industry do not – do you have something like that?

People often assume creatives are either: sad, doomed, starving artists or famous, special, rich professionals. People often believe breaking into a creative field is inherently more effort than it’s worth, unless they were born with this mysterious, beautiful thing called “talent.”

But in reality, the creative industries are like all of the others: an endless array of real, hard-working, regular people, making good, honest money doing a variety of interesting things.

Eddie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Eddie Fieg and I’m a freelance illustrator and graphic designer in Chicago, Illinois. I specialize in artfully crafted, illustrative design solutions for brands and organizations of all sizes. My clients include: Spotify, Kraft Heinz, Chicago Tribune, Blue Star Press, Itzy Ritzy, CommScope, and lots more.

I love to create bold, colorful, elaborate characters, scenes, and layouts. In particular, I relish anything cute, whimsical, bright, and playful. I create work for all sorts of things: campaigns, publications, environments, packaging, merchandise, events, and more.

I hate feeling bored or lazy, so this independent, ambitious lifestyle suits my personality very well. I enjoy working with a variety of clients on a range of projects. Every day is different! I also thrive on the potent mixture of play and labor that comes with creative work. It keeps me feeling engaged, present, and satisfied in my everyday life.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

When I look back at where my creative journey started, it all seems inevitable now. I’m the shy, awkward middle child of divorced parents, raised by my single mother in a small Iowa town. Growing up, all of my passions revolved around the popular culture I devoured: animated cartoons, comic books, print design, toys, movies, and television. My visual art skills developed alongside these interests and I felt a strong, natural calling toward creative work from a young age. But I was the only artist in my family and I didn’t know any creative professionals or entrepreneurs of any kind. I didn’t have any role models, mentors, or like-minded friends. Even my art teachers were fairly ambivalent, hands-off instructors.

This lonely experience overwhelmed me with prolonged, profound feelings of despair and hopelessness about my future. I didn’t gather enough confidence to move to Chicago until I was 25 and I didn’t earn my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design until I was 30. I’ve since designed my entire professional life in response to my early childhood experiences. Every single day, my goal is to embody the kind of role model I desperately needed myself as a child. My younger self would be astonished at where I am now!

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

Since I work remotely from my home office all day, I’ve found cat sitting and dog walking in my neighborhood to be the perfect, flexible side career! I’ve lived on the northwest side of Chicago for nearly 15 years and I really enjoy participating in my community in this way. And of course, I love meeting so many wonderful dogs and cats!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eddiefieg.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eddiefieg
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddiefieg

Image Credits

Personal Photo by Karl Solano