Why I created Valentine Design Co
I grew up constantly playing outside, and drawing in my sketchbook. Later, I found myself studying illustration in college, because I wanted to use art as a means of more deeply connecting with myself and the world around me.
A scientific illustration I created as a college student while studying examples of the Fibonacci sequence or “the golden ratio” in nature.
Concept sketches I created as a college student, for a poster advertising an event at my local community art education center.
I have since used the transformative and connective power of visual communication & design in so many settings —
from designing and illustrating my college newspaper to distill rich information that readers can digest;
to working with small businesses in the Richmond area to turn their passion and dedication to their work into a visual personality (branding) that their audience could become loyal to;
to working with national brands to enhance the experience for the users interacting with their websites…
…Then, in 2020, I was less than a month in to living alone in a small studio apartment, when the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly entered our lives.
I started working remotely and got cut off from seeing my community in person for the first time in my life. I felt so lonely and disconnected, as I stared at screens and sat in a small corner for 8+ hours a day.
The few times I left the small box I was living in was to go for bike rides with a local queer bicycle collective and to sink my hands into the soil of the small raised bed garden behind my apartment. Along the way of finding glimmers like this to keep me feeling like a human again, I also dusted off cherished hobbies I had forgotten about - like drawing.
COVID-19 was a wake-up call for me. I knew that over my career journey, I had slowly strayed away from the purpose that drew me to practicing art in the first place. As I followed a path I felt was expected of me, less and less was I going out into my community with my drawing pencil - more often than not, I was sitting indoors alone behind screens, doing work that didn’t feel very aligned with my humanity.
I changed everything and set myself on a new course: I traded my desk work for a farming apprenticeship in 2022. I let myself grow so much that year - I touched soil and used my whole body daily, I lived more seasonally and connected to the natural world around me, and I built a community with the group of apprentices I was living and working with. I slowly steered myself back to my purpose.
I created Valentine Design Co to bring connection back into my art and design practice.
Within my work now, I have the privilege to choose to work with values-aligned clients as we collaborate on our mutual growth and align with our purposes.
I also have the gift of being able to develop intuitive art-making programs for my local community, and to continue to work part-time with a local farm-to-table business.
A view of an impact report design I designed for Southside ReLeaf, a local organization focused on addressing environmental injustice in Southside Richmond.
A community collage-making night I hosted at a local queer community event venue.
If you’re looking for a design-minded partner to help you grow your visual communication and increase connectedness, let’s work together!
Or, maybe I’ll see you at my next art-making event or at the farmer’s market.
💜