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Sed ut perspiciatis unde.
SubscribeWe recently connected with Whitney Bentley and have shared our conversation below.
Whitney , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
For years, I created and sold digital illustrations, personalized crafts, and handmade cards to people I knew. The first time I knew I could pursue a full time art profession was when a dear friend commissioned me to create an illustration package for the national non-profit where they worked. The project entailed creating a large collection of illustrations, which ultimately allowed their branch of the organization to transition from using generic stock images, to gaining digital assets that represented their work, members, and founders. My friend described their co-workers reactions to the illustrations and general excitement over my final work. It highlighted for me the intimate joy we share when we feel seen, and understood. I had the tools to make that happen for others, and I was hooked.
It was this big opportunity that also showed me what it felt like to earn a living doing what I enjoy. It was a gratifying experience, that became an “aha” moment in my life. At the time, diminished energy for my job, met with a well timed referral set in motion a work evolution from something forced, to something freeing. I didn’t immediately quit my job and run off into the sunset. It took time to iterate and establish a sustainable business plan. In time, authentic love for creativity became my “job job,” and thankfully an organic wave of interesting projects has followed.
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 background and context?
I am a creative professional who runs Pamoja Keepsakes, a brand that celebrates community and delivers illustrated design for brands, non-profits, and spaces. Pamoja means “together” in Swahili. When I was 9 I lived in Kenya and the experience of engaging with the culture and community deeply impacted my outlook. Pamoja Keepsakes celebrates shared experiences, authentic perspectives, and products that remind us to appreciate the little things in life.
The design services cater specifically to non-profits and illustrated branding for businesses. While there are many “free” user friendly platforms available that offer quick, and even customizable design templates, new entrepreneurs should read the fine print. The issue with these tools is users often don’t actually own the digital assets they create unless they’re specifically paying for licensing. As a result, quick and accessible DIY tools are not really a free or complete solution for commercial clients looking to build a visual brand for their products and services. A few products I specialize in are illustrated annual report design, branded zines, guest guides for rental properties, flyers, and product labels. I have found that hand drawn illustrations combined with graphic design allows for more memorable and accessible digital assets that clients own and can use over and over again. Illustrated design is like the Coke and Mentos science experiment… a client’s story combined with curated design results in a memorable first impression.
Pamoja Keepsakes serves clients through fine art as well. I began oil painting a few years ago and really love the fluidity and relaxation it offers. I offer commissioned work and completed a piece over four days for a gorgeous workspace rental in Seattle, WA last year. Pamoja Keepsakes’ online store sells stickers, keychains, throw pillow designs, and more designs made just for the love of it, with digital illustration.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
One of my biggest goals this year is to focus on discipline. Like many creative thinkers, we so many ideas, but the time, resources, and good habits to execute those ambitions are a lot more difficult to come by. If you work from home, or are self employed, you know that all that free time just disappears if you fail to find ways to stay structured and accountable. I finally read the book, Atomic Habits by James Clear and I cannot stop talking about it. This book was transformative because I’ve learned to approach my daily work and scale my entrepreneurial goals with a sense of gratitude. Instead of beating myself up about how far away I am from an end goal, I’ve found that allowing myself to fall in love with the daily to do list, baby steps, and practice, sets me up for more motivated and positive thinking. After all, the majority of our time is spent in preparation for much shorter moments of achievement. Shifting my relationship from my goals to winning the daily tasks has made me more productive, diligent, and gentle with myself.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
I think often non-creatives forget that creative work is a paying gig and not a free hobby. Design is everywhere around us. Imagine walking into your favorite store and every product is in a black and white box with the same font to label what’s inside. The products are not grouped by category or aisles and you have to sort through everything to find what you need. Chaos. Absolute madness would ensue! How much time would be lost everyday if we have no visual cues or interaction design to guide us to where we need to be?
At the end of the day, I think design is taken for granted because, honestly, when in our days are we not constantly benefitting from it? None of us would voluntarily shop at the black and white box store, but we all need to be faced with that concept more often to fully appreciate how much intellectual property really adds to our lives. Creatives get protective of their work for this very reason, because we know exactly how much value we possess. While online platforms provide more visibility for creatives, in some ways its made the theft of our ideas even more rampant. There is a function, study, and iteration process to come up with great design and that process is difficult and deserving of protecting.
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