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

Grace, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

When I first started my business in 2018, I called it Grace Anaple Design. As time went on, my business became more photography than graphic design. I wanted a name that was less tied to my personal name and would lend itself to a variety of creative services. I also wanted to make sure my name had meaning that also would relate to my mission as a business. After weeks of brainstorming and researching name ideas, and seeing what wasn’t already taken, I went with the name Daeza Creative, and launched the rebrand spring of 2024.

The word daeza is taken from the Persian word “pairidaeza” meaning enclosed garden which eventually would lead to the word “paradise.” My grandpa was Persian, so it was very special for me to find this word in honor of him.

Paradise looks back to the Garden where we see God’s creation on display, while also looking ahead to heaven where we will get to see God’s glory fully on display. God is the ultimate creator, and it is a gift that we as humans are able to reflect Him in being creatives. My mission as a creative and business owner is to honor God through my business and my work. I desire to bring ideas to life and reflect God through the beauty of designs I create and moments I capture through photography.

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

I went to college for graphic design and have always had a passion for photography. I love getting to do freelance photography and design, working with such a wide range of clients. My photography focus is weddings, couples & seniors. My latest passion is concert photography as I’ve been able to get into that over the past couple years. I have dreamed of doing concert photography since high school and it’s been the biggest blessing to see the doors open to pursue this dream.

When it comes to graphic design, I work on projects for everything from branding & logo design, to websites & print. The project I’m most proud of is my clothing brand, WAY. With this brand I’ve been able to use both my design and photo skills to bring the vision to life.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The biggest way I’ve been able to grow my clientele is through networking. Just about all of my job opportunities have come from word of mouth, I haven’t paid for any marketing. Through my involvement as a Young Life leader, coaching cross country & track, and building relationships with people at my church, I’ve been able to have such a wide range of opportunities. Sometimes I don’t enjoy promoting myself all the time, but it’s important to find ways to talk about your business with others because you never know how your services could help someone out and land you a job as well. I’ve also learned that you should always go above and beyond in your services, the world is smaller than it seems and you never know who else your client knows that could lead to future jobs as well.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

Sometimes running your own business requires taking risks and not fearing rejection. Last summer, I saw one of my favorite bands (Judah + The Lion) would be performing at the big 4th of July celebration in my town. I first reached out to the city and sent my portfolio but they said they already had the position filled. Before I heard back form the city, I also found the band’s manager’s email and reached out to him and also asked if I could get a media pass. I was a little disappointed after the city told me no. But, not too long after, the manager replied, told me he loved my work and said I could get a pass. I expected it to just be a media pass to allow me to bring my camera into the event, but I ended up being included on the band/crew email from the tour manager and he was my main contact for the event.

July 4th finally came around. I got to park my car right in front of the tour bus, watched the band do their sound check and then spent the day in the band’s green room with them. They were all so welcoming to me, coming up and introducing themselves. I couldn’t believe that after all these years of listening to them, I got to spend a whole day around them (although I just let them do their thing the whole day and didn’t talk too long to most of them). I loved getting to take photos during their set, walking around side stage and in front of the crowd barrier. At the end of the night, I got to enjoy the fireworks with the band.

Once I finished the photos, I sent them to the band and everyone was so encouraging. The lead singer even sent me a personal email back saying how I captured moments he always wanted to be captured. It was so encouraging to me seeing the band’s official page, and the individual members post my photos and even use them as their profile pictures. Since that show, I’ve stayed in touch with the manager and now have another opportunity to photograph them this year. Through this experience I learned that you should just give it a shot and send that email, you never know what it could lead to!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.daezacreative.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daezacreative/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daezacreative/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-anaple-695597138/
• Other: WAY – Clothing Company: https://way-cc.com/