We recently connected with Rose Lindo and have shared our conversation below.

Rose, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

After my dad passed away from ALS, my mom was left to raise 8 kids on her own. While resources were limited, we were allowed to be bored, financially literate, and fiercely independent. Boredom is often perceived as something negative, but I think it’s an essential ingredient in so many of life’s recipes. Without boredom, there would be no creativity, and without creativity, this world would be a sad place.

You might think it’s impossible to be bored when there are 7 other kids in the house, and that’s (partly) true. Instead of sitting around staring at screens all day, we played “Ghost in the Graveyard” and “Kick the Can” in our neighbor’s yard long after the sun went down. We put on an elaborate production of Cinderella with handmade costumes and a curtain backdrop that was raised and lowered by my brother to signify various acts of the show. The whole thing was orchestrated by kids with almost no parental involvement whatsoever, aside from getting them to pay us $.25 each to attend the play.

If you’re familiar with Marie Forleo, a business & personal growth expert, you might know about her book titled ‘Everything Is Figureoutable.’ The was the resounding theme of my childhood. Whenever a problem arose, we figured out how to solve it on our own. I’m not sure if this was due to the sheer number of humans required to look after or if my mom did this intentionally, but she rarely meddled when we faced hurdles. She trusted that we would be able to find a solution, and (most of the time,) we did.

Running a business requires you to jump over hurdles on a daily basis while combating boredom and financial stressors. Without these invaluable lessons learned from my mother, I’d be drowning in debt and living in her (non-existent) basement.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

From the time I could hold a crayon, I knew I wanted to be an artist. I was painfully shy, so verbal communication was never a strong suit for me. Instead, I expressed myself by hashing out whatever feelings that were going through my head at the time using a pencil (or crayon) & paper.

Whenever it was time to choose a college major, my older brother convinced me that art was just a hobby, not an actual career, and that I should major in something more practical, like engineering. After following his advice, it didn’t take long before I found myself back in the art department, where I fell in love with the field of graphic design. It combined my love for creativity along with the need to geek out using tech-driven concepts.

After taking out a loan for a failing design studio during my young & naive days, I mustered up the courage to branch out on my own in 2009 & never looked back. For over 15 years now, I have worked as a designer for companies both large and small while growing my own surface pattern design brand. I currently license my work to companies like Canva, Spoonflower, and various manufacturers who print & ship my designs as wallpaper, fabric, stationery, and home decor.

I like to think that my work serves as a quiet retreat in a world that’s often really loud and unnecessarily busy. With hand-drawn illustrations and soft color palettes, my designs are unique and timeless, giving you artwork to enjoy for years to come.

One thing I’m really proud of is the ability to find balance within my home life while giving back to my community. I’ve served as a volunteer for various non-profits throughout the years while helping to raise tens of thousands of dollars for local schools and other organizations. To me, success means nothing if you’re not able to do something meaningful with it.

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

When I first started out as a graphic designer, I took on each and every project that came my way. It didn’t matter if someone needed a website or a t-shirt design – I figured out a way to tackle whatever gig they threw at me. It allowed me to take on a lot of clients, but it also led to burnout.

It took several years to pick up on a few design (and behavioral) patterns that ultimately led me to the lightbulb moment that completely changed the way I work. A lot of people were seeking a similar ‘look’ that could easily be packaged as a template and tweaked to reflect their unique style. Instead of coming up with a completely new project each time I took on a client, I’d sell them a template that could be updated as little or as much as they needed. The templates took off, and I was contacted by several companies to license my designs to them as various products.

The ability to package my work in the form of a pre-designed product allowed me to create an idea once and sell it over and over again. This not only freed up a ton of time, but it also allowed me to find specific niches within the design community. The more niche-specific my work has become, the more freedom I’ve been able to find in every aspect of my life.

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

As someone who lost a parent at a really young age and a nephew two weeks after my daughter was born, my ultimate goal is pretty simple. I want to continue creating work that makes life more beautiful while giving back and finding balance along the way. If your job is keeping you from living your life or you are waiting around for some meteor to fall from the sky before making a change, you run the risk of never getting to do the things you want to do.

My dad is the perfect example of this. In his late 40s, my dad was diagnosed with ALS and spent the next four years being wheelchair bound, unable to speak, and locked inside the shell of a body he once knew. Along with who knows what else, he dreamed of starting a business and making a name for himself in the book publishing world. While he did manage to publish a book before he got sick, his short life serves as a reminder that the pursuit of happiness is time-sensitive.

Getting to live creatively while having the time, freedom, & health to do the things you want to do with the people you love is the best gift you could ever give to yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.roselindo.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roselindoco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roselindoco
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roselindo
• Other: https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/rose_lindo
  https://www.etsy.com/shop/RoseLindoDesignCo