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

Susan, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with important influences in our lives. Is there a historical figure you look up to?

The historical figure I most look up to is Johanna Bonger, painter Vincent van Gogh’s sister-in-law. Van Gogh-Bonger was the key player in the growth of Vincent’s posthumous fame.

Johanna had found herself a 28 year old widow with a baby in the 1800s, without any means of supporting herself, living in Paris where she barely spoke the language. Vincent and Johanna’s art dealer husband, Theo Van Gogh had tragically died within six months of each other. All that was left was the inherited 400 paintings, several hundred drawings by Vincent, and an enormous trove of letters that the brothers had exchanged. They were all she had, and they weren’t worth anything.

Vincent had died without the artist having achieved renown — Theo had managed to sell only a few of his paintings, so it would seem to have ensured that Vincent van Gogh’s work would subsist eternally in obscurity. Vincent, the tortured genius, who had alienated dealers and otherwise thwarted his own ambition time and again during his career became a star and one of the most beloved figures in the history of art. That happened in large part thanks to Jo van Gogh-Bonger.

Johanna was petite and riddled with self-doubt, had no background in art or business and faced an art world that was a thoroughly male preserve. In her diary she had written “Life is so difficult and so full of sadness around me and I have so little courage!” and yet she was the spider in the web, she had strategy.

Until recently, Jo van Gogh-Bonger was previously known to have played a role in building the painter’s reputation, but that role was thought to have been modest — a presumption seemingly based on a combination of sexism and common sense, since she had no background in the art business.

With little else to financially support her and her baby, Johanna was faced with the daunting task of getting Vincent’s work seen and appreciated as much as possible.

She pored over the letters exchanged by Theo and Vincent for clues to what was behind Vincent’s art. She found details of the artist’s daily life and tribulations — his insomnia, his poverty, his self-doubt — were mixed with accounts of paintings he was working on, techniques he experimented with, what he was reading, descriptions of paintings by other artists he drew inspiration from. He often felt the need to put into words what he was trying to achieve with color. Vincent described his harrowing mental breakdowns and his fear of future collapses.

She did a lot of other reading as well, undertaking what amounted to a self-guided course in art criticism. A quote from her diary seemed pertinent: “The lot of critics is to be remembered by what they failed to understand.” As if to steel herself for her task ahead.

Jo began to circulate in society and found a community of artists, poets and intellectuals. By the end of her first year on her own — living with Vincent’s paintings and his words, reading deeply, immersing herself from time to time in these gatherings — Jo had experienced a kind of epiphany: Van Gogh’s letters were part and parcel of the art. They were keys to the paintings. The letters brought the art and the tragic, intensely lived life together into a single package. Jo realized the art that was being produced had followed rules on what and how to paint and was inauthentic and an artist had to look within for guidance. Bringing an artist’s biography into the mix was simply another step in the same direction.

The letters also pointed to the audience Vincent had intended, the common people and reinforced Jo’s own longstanding convictions about social justice and purpose in life. After reading Vincent’s letters, she understood what the tortured soul must have felt, in those times when everyone turned away from him.

She knew an art critic, Jan Veth who found Vincent’s paintings “nearly vulgar” but she was determined to persuade him to appreciate the paintings, telling her diary, “I won’t rest until he likes them.” She explained that she had begun reading the correspondence between the brothers in order to be closer to her dead husband, but then Vincent stole his way into her. Jo’s effort to bring Vincent’s life to bear on his art seems to have worked. “Once having grasped his beauty, I can accept the whole man,” the critic wrote.

Critics complained at first about Jo’s amateur enthusiasm. Each man found it unprofessional to look at the paintings with the artist’s life story in mind. Yet somehow she got them to drop their guard and simply look and feel along with her. When they looked at the paintings, they saw not just the art but Vincent, toiling and suffering, cutting off his ear, clawing at the act of creation. They fused art and artist. They saw what Jo van Gogh-Bonger wanted them to see.

Jo learned the tricks of the trade — for example, to hold onto the best works but to include them as “on loan” alongside paintings that were for sale in a given show. She knew that if you put a few top works on the wall, people will be stimulated to buy the works next to them. She did that all over Europe, in more than 100 shows.

A key to her success was in selling the works in a controlled way, gradually introducing van Gogh to the public. For an exhibit in Paris, she sent 100 works but stipulated that a quarter of them were not for sale. The dealer begged her to reconsider; she held firm. Bucking her tendency to doubt herself, she proceeded methodically and doggedly.

She started holding her own openings and critics came from all over Europe. The hard work of translating the artist’s vision into the vernacular was mostly done by this time. The epiphany to sell the art and artist as a package, everyone in the art world seemed to know Vincent personally, to know his tragic lifelong struggle to find and convey beauty and meaning. The event cemented the artist’s reputation as a major figure of the modern era.

So, why do I look up to Johanna and the influence they’ve had in my life?

I deeply appreciate her resilience, work ethic, determination, ability to effectively strategize, and openness to understand what makes people tick and how to influence them.

I consider myself to be an underdog. Very few things have come to me easily and I have to work very hard to succeed. Like Jo, I too suffer with a great deal of self-doubt, have had a number of significant obstacles to overcome, and have often felt belittled and discounted because I don’t come across as confident in my abilities. I have been side-lined at former workplaces and have had to learn to stand up for myself.

I enjoy the challenge of proving myself to people who underestimate me and love understanding what influences people to appreciate things. I feel as though if we all cared to understand how and why people came to hold their beliefs, their struggles and adversities in life, perhaps we would have more compassion. Perhaps we would appreciate and understand more and judge less. I’d like to think this is how I approach my clients. I love getting to know them, hearing their story, what drives them and helping them to succeed by creating authentic and original designs that sell their mission. So much art, illustration, and graphic design is inauthentic … created by Canva, AI, or the like and doesn’t speak to the client’s individuality.

I strive to learn what visually makes them happy and try to incorporate it into my work as a graphic designer. Often I find that people don’t really know why they like a style or visual, I find it is often cultural and societal influences, or simply something they themselves don’t understand about themselves. I have a background in Sociology, so I appreciate learning the whole picture, and like Jo, the ability to sell the design and client’s story as a package.

I appreciate her cleverness and creativity and see her as a role model to press on and do the best I can with what I have. I love her ability to land on her feet and by way of educating, opening people’s hearts to the unconventional and unusual. To learn and grow with compassion for those around us and live a life of purpose.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

ABOUT ME:

I am Susan Stehfest, owner of SMS Graphic Design, LLC and am a highly experienced, multi national award-winning, and versatile designer who is passionate about what I do.

My clients will tell you that I am very empathetic, easy to work with and have a unique ability to “get” their desired look and feel in their marketing — sometimes even when they didn’t know what it was. I enjoy learning their personal style and taste, their business stories, what makes their product unique, and what drives them to do what they do. With this knowledge, I love to deliver a finished product that makes them break into a happy dance.

HOW I GOT INTO MY INDUSTRY:

From the time when I was in grade school, the subject I most excelled in was always art. From then on, I knew I wanted to work in the arts, and when I was in college a friend was leaving her position as a prepress person at a nearby printing company. I applied for her job, got it, and learned a lot about what goes into printing publications and the foundations of graphic design. With this experience as a footing, I continued on to work at two colleges as their graphic designer. In 2020, I decided to work for myself and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know my clients and delivering designs that they are proud to use as part of their branding and/or marketing materials.

MY SERVICES:

I create a wide spectrum of web and print media:

-branding
-social media graphics
-email marketing
-magazine layout
-illustration
-web graphics
-illustration
-signage
-web design
-labels and packaging
-vehicle wraps
-billboards
-and much more!

WHAT SETS ME APART FROM OTHER DESIGNERS:

PROBLEM SOLVING: Have you hired a graphic designer and been frustrated by the way you can’t seem to “get” a visual and subjective need across?
I have a solution for that. My process is to listen carefully to my client’s needs, have them fill out an extensive questionnaire, and help them create a mood board before even embarking on the design.

I also offer “Live Design” services. This brings my clients into the design process as I act as the hand guided by the client’s directives live over Zoom, so they are pretty much guaranteed to get exactly what they want. This is highly time effective in managing the back and forth of email edits, so it can lower the hours and cost. In doing this, my clients take ownership of the collaborative designs AND it’s a lot of fun.

In addition:
• Decades of Experience — unexperienced designers especially often don’t know how to prepare files for print and this costs the client money
• Research and Ideation — I have a detailed questionnaire for clients and work with them to create a mood board to “get” their style and meet their needs
• Versatility in Style (IE: I’m not a one-trick pony)
• Ability to Draw — believe it or not, many designers can’t draw a stick figure. The ability to draw helps a lot with illustration and design.
• Being Intellectually Curious. If I don’t know how to do something, I will figure it out or refer my clients.
• Strong Work Ethic to Ensure the Work is Done Correctly
• Being Empathetic, Kind, and Patient
• Having Integrity

SOMETHING I’M PROUD OF:

I have received over 45 multi-national awards

SOMETHING ABOUT MY WORK THAT I’D LIKE TO SHARE:

I’ll let one of my clients speak for me:

I have worked side by side with Susan for years now, and have enjoyed the process very much. Susan is a total professional, and her creative mind is a wonder. She takes feedback well and always knows how to add an amazing artistic touch to any project. I’m more than happy to throw my praise behind her work any time, and I know anyone who uses her design services will find themselves with a great working relationship as well as an end product they will be more than happy with.
– Patrick Lochelt, Advisor, Parnassus Literary Arts Magazine

SOME OF THE PROJECTS I HAVE WORKED ON INCLUDE:

-a 100 page holiday program for the Boston Pops
-a national travel magazine with a circulation of 500,000
-Parnassus, a multiple national award-winning literary arts magazine which has included illustrations showcasing short stories for authors such as Stephen King, Junot Diaz, and Gregory Maguire
-promotional material for Racing Against the Clock, a documentary featured on Netflix
-and numerous marketing materials for Northern Essex Community College, including their college logo.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I’m just going to admit it, I grew up in a family of paupers. Or so I was raised to think so. Yes, we ate a lot of food out of the dented can area, cheese ends from the deli, and fruit that was on life support, We were encouraged to think poor and conserve, save – lather, rinse and repeat Don’t even ask for reasonably priced, let alone expensive things. Live a very modest life and don’t feel worthy of stuff that costs money.

So flash-forward to adult Susan trying to run her own business. When a potential client would come to me, I would have my pauper hat on and be thinking they probably are broke (because that was my ingrained mindset) and give them a very low estimate, feeling unworthy of asking for the going rate. Then after being hired I would pour my heart and soul into the project for probably what worked out to be the same money I’d be making as a Walmart greeter. Not a stellar business plan. Ouch, that was a painful lesson.

Flash forward even more and today I’m still learning, but am working at a reasonable rate and getting better clients.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My business partner is Rose Lowry, a lovely person and a fabulous graphic designer. I met her through a business networking referral and was hesitant to meet with her, thinking it would be a waste of time. I didn’t think there was much value in meeting a competitor in my line of business, but what the heck, I’d do it anyway.

Holy cow, was I wrong. We hit it off and to her credit, she reached out to me and we met for dinner. Next thing I knew, we were referring clients to one another, meeting with other vendors in our field together, bouncing ideas off one another, and working over Zoom and in-person together. I even ended up going to her birthday party! So, not only did I inherit a great co-petitor, she became a good friend.

Contact Info:

• Website: smsgraphicdesign.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/smsgraphicdesign1
• Facebook: Facebook.com/SusanMStehfest
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/susan-stehfest-53ab2b2a
• Twitter: twitter.com/smsgraphicdesgn

Image Credits
All portfolio images are credited to “Susan Stehfest, SMS Graphic Design, LLC” Photo of self: “Trayce Gregoire Photography”