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

Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry.

Now that my business has leaned more heavily into all things wedding, there have been a lot of wedding trends that I’m seeing from my clients! One of the biggest things is having everything personalized, which shows that the clients went the custom route versus just selecting something online. Similar to myself, almost all of my clients are obsessed fur baby parents and want to add watercolor paintings or linework drawings of their pets to their invitations, signature drink signs, napkins, and more. Watercolor elements in general have really been trending and because I create everything myself, I tag my custom invitation/wedding clients in my Instastories as I’m painting them so that way they get even more excited about the process.

Sarah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Sarah and I’m the founder and designer behind Slate + Brush Design Studio, a company that focuses on creating high quality, timeless pieces. Before I started Slate + Brush though I went to school for fashion design and got a corporate design job out of college. Even though I was designing every day, I didn’t feel creative in my day job and wanted to do something else but wasn’t sure what that could be. My friend’s wedding was coming up and I wanted to create something special for her and her soon-to-be husband, so I took out the old paints from college and made a painting. After getting really nice messages from friends about the painting, I did another one. And then another. Then I created a business Instagram account and signed up for my first show, and then over the years really progressed and expanded. Now four years after starting it as a side hustle I’m a full-time artist! I have two sides to my business: products like greeting cards and notepads, and then the custom side like pet portraits and invites. It has been a wild ride but I absolutely love it!

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

Three and a half years into my business I finally hired a business coach who made so many little changes to my business that truly turned into some big changes that really propelled my business! When I first started I spent endless hours Googling, trying new things, and really just winging it hoping that something would stick. If I had hired a coach who is really excelling in my industry earlier, I would have saved a lot of time, money, and frustration doing it correctly the first time. I’m all about figuring things out on your own for certain things, but it’s great to learn from others who have done it before you!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think my customer service and packaging is really what has propelled my business. For my wedding client, I haven’t paid a single dollar on advertising. Everything is word of mouth and Instagram and I’ve worked with over 100 custom clients. The key is to have such an amazing experience along with an amazing product and then your customers will tell everyone they know about you! They’ll then share on their Instagrams, tell their friends and family, and truly be your biggest fans. I try and make my ordering and design process as fun and easy as possible, and then include some personalized surprises in their boxes. People notice those little things and it makes you stand out from other companies selling the same thing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://slateandbrush.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slateandbrush/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/slateandbrushdesignstudio
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@slateandbrushstudio

Image Credits
Mekina Saylor Photography Magical Photography Diana Santos Photography Vronowski Photography