Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rebecca Atwood. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Rebecca, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I grew up in a restaurant, and by that I quite literally mean that my parents’ restaurant was in the same building as the home I grew up in. As a child it felt so normal, but as an adult I can now see what a unique experience that was. I saw how hard my parents worked and the dedication, care, and passion they put into it. My parents were very supportive of me pursuing my creative interests, and I will always remember my Dad say that you’ll work hard in life no matter what you do, so you should be sure it’s something you love. They encouraged me to study painting at Rhode Island School of Design which was a pretty unique path. My parents always believed in me and they made me feel like I could pursue anything.

Rebecca, 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?

I am an artist, designer, and author. My business is focused on textiles and wallpapers for the home.

My hope is that my designs invite feeling. The way a certain painting or song can evoke a memory or sensation. There’s a way to evoke happiness or calm or groundedness through the way you make your world, whether it’s the patterns on your walls or the colors of the bed you crawl into every night.

I studied painting before starting my career in the home design world working with major retailers here in the US as well as the UK. I started my own business when I was craving a change and wanted to create patterns that felt more personal.

Almost all of our designs originate in my sketchbook. Using watercolor, gouache, or simple pen and ink, I record the beauty I discovers in daily life, or simply makes gestural, meditative marks that often become the building blocks of my patterns. Though my days are packed with the various aspects of running a company, I am disciplined about setting aside time for art making. The sketchbook is a place for play, experimentation, and joy. Inside of it, the process becomes fluid. Being in a flow can feel like diving into water. You’re weightless, floating. You’re easeful. It’s calm.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

My business coach, Holly Howard, always says there’s no business growth without personal growth. I am a big believer in education and we are so fortunate to live in a time where there are so many free and low cost ways to learn.

A few of my favorite books related to business and the creative process include: Big Magic, Joyful, The One Thing, and Radical Candor. I love this video from Simon Sinek, start with why.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My vision is to inspire living landscapes that reflect and shape our inner worlds, promoting harmony and connectivity between the self and its surroundings.

The idea of the living landscape begins within us: in the emotional and psychological territory of the self. This is where memories live, and stories, and feelings, and wonder. Like all landscapes, this internal one is layered and complex, encompassing our deepest desires, our messy truths, our most vibrant visions and inspired dreams. It is through channeling this inner landscape to inform our lived realities that we can create beauty, express truth, and inhabit ourselves fully. And it is through shaping our external environments that we can invite peace, harmony, and reflection into our inner worlds.

My designs are both expressions in themselves and invitations for new ways of being and feeling. By layering our living spaces with meaning and beauty, we can create a “natural habitat” that inspires profound feeling states — expansion, warmth, buoyancy, comfort. These feelings then radiate even farther outward — like ripples in water — to our families, our communities, our visions for the world.

I believe that when we try to understand our own inner landscape, we can feel it more completely. For me, that means landscape drawing. It means painting. It means sitting outside, feeling the wet grass and the cool air. It means looking and feeling.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rebeccaatwood.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebecca_atwood/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-atwood-9a4a677

Image Credits
Blake Shorter, Tory Williams