We recently connected with Michaela Yarbrough and have shared our conversation below.

Michaela, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

The biggest risk I took was betting on myself when I took a year-long sabbatical from my corporate dream job to reconnect with my art and ended up starting a small product business selling my artwork.

In 2019, I got my dream job as a packaging designer at H-E-B, a beloved grocery retailer in Texas. I was 6 months into my new job, when covid hit. I was lucky to be able to work remotely through covid, but I came out of the pandemic burnt out from the job and looking for more creative freedom in my work. By 2022, I was doubting myself as an artist and questioned why I was no longer happy with the work I did. I knew I needed to make a change, but I was afraid to jump ship completely, and I considered starting a side-hustle. However, I had run a bakery side-hustle back in 2016, and I knew the time commitment it took to do both roles. I valued work-life balance too much to work 40 hours in my day job, and 40 hours in a side-hustle. I needed a harder break than a side-hustle, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to completely cut ties with my full-time job. I was inspired by Stefan Sagmeister’s philosophy of taking a year sabbatical every 7 years to recharge creatively, that then informs the next 7 years of work. So, I decided to take a risk and asked for a year of unpaid leave from my company to reconnect with my art. Surprisingly, they said “yes”!

During my sabbatical (July 2022 to July 2023), I traveled to 8 different cities, completed 3 art challenges (I even won a few!), and created my first Reel and Youtube Channel. This year felt like my version of Shonda Rhime’s “Year of Yes,” but I like to call it my “Year of YOLO” (You Only Live Once). Around August 2022, I felt more rested and decided to set up my art business to take on some occasional freelance work. This helped with some extra cash when I wasn’t working, but I was itching to try my hand at selling my art as products. By January of 2022, my opportunity came to try my first maker market. It was an AAPI Lunar New Year Market in Austin, and it went incredibly well, which gave me a huge confidence boost. I also found that the maker community was incredibly welcoming, which encouraged me to continue participating in market pop-ups.

By the end of my sabbatical I had a decision to make: go back to my day job (security, work I know) or take a leap and keep doing what I’ve BEEN doing this past year (learning new things, building a brand, creative freedom). It was a SCARY decision, but it also felt natural.

I remembered this quote by Parks and Rec’s Ron Swanson: “Never Half-Ass two things, WHOLE ASS one thing” I realized that I no longer wanted to put my dreams second. (Plus, my position had been filled while I was on sabbatical)

So it was official! I was WHOLE ASS-ING this! I am now a full-time artist + small business owner! It was a risk that has paid off in both my improved mental health and my confidence as an artist.

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

Hi I’m Michaela! I’m a Chinese-American Illustrator & Packaging Designer based in Dallas, Texas. I create digital illustrations on my iPad and create prints, postcards and stickers of my work that I sell in my online shop and at pop-up markets. My work is inspired by food, films, and my asian heritage.

I got my Bachelors of Fine Arts in Graphic Design at Texas Tech University in 2016 and studied under the direction of renowned poster letterpress designer Dirk Fowler along with many other talented staff. After graduating, I worked in advertising as a Graphic Designer in Lubbock and then moved back to Dallas as an Art Director working with clients like T-Mobile.

I am most proud of the work I get to see in the world both my past packaging work and prints that people display in their homes. You can still find my work on shelf at H-E-B like H-E-B Oatmilk and Heritage Ranch Pet Food toppers. I am happiest when I get to illustrate, and I love being able to see my illustrations bring joy to others and have people share or display my work in their own home or work spaces.

What sets me apart from others is predominantly my Asian-American story. I was adopted from China when I was 1 year old and have lived in Texas my whole life. I have spent my life looking Asian, but growing up with white parents & American culture. My work therefore blends my American upbringing with my desire to reconnect with my Chinese heritage as an adult. My style reflects movies and food that helped myself feel seen and I hope it does the same for the people who follow my work.

I would like fans of my work to simply follow me in my art journey. I have improved my video editing skills significantly this past year, and so I would love people to follow my Instagram and Youtube where I enjoy sharing my process, tips, experiences, and artists that have inspired me.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I definitely wish I knew about the inspiring nature of the maker community sooner. During my creative sabbatical, I dove head first into learning as much as I could and really kept to myself during the early months of my sabbatical. The maker community is so encouraging and many are side-hustling it and learning as they go too. They offer a lot of advice and sometimes even feel more welcoming and less gatekeep-y than the design community I came from.

I believe strongly that community wards of gatekeeping and I am definitely an open book when it comes to sharing my process and the things I’m learning. I won’t keep the things I learn a secret and I believe it is better to share knowledge to inspire rather than exclude.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I have such a huge list that you can follow on my newsletter and blog at [michaelamade.com](http://michaelamade.com/), but here are a few resources:

1. Start with Why TED Talk – Simon Sinek (video), on recognizing the purpose behind everything you do.
2. The Power of Time off TED Talk – Stefan Sagmeister (video), helped me rethink my time as a creative and why taking a break or sabbatical can inform the next 7 years of work in your business or workplace.
3. Freelance and Business and Stuff – Hoodzpah (book), on building a creative team around you.
4. Atomic Habits – James Clear (book), a foundational book on setting good habits that lead to huge results.
5. Do Open (book) – David Hieatt, on the power of fostering relationships with newsletters and how email marketing isn’t dead and arguably is more powerful than social media.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://michaelamade.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelamade.it/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelamade.it
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelayarbrough/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC70Q6kLu4nDvuwU1JXiXMjg
• Other: Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@michaelamade.it

Image Credits
Kelly Zhu Photo – (Lunar New Year Photos)