Paper Raven Co. Blog

Hello friends in love + equality, happy March! I can't believe it's already here, and as I am writing this, my balcony door is open and the first breezes and rumbles of a March thunderstorm are rolling in.

This month, I created a new illustration for our Desktop Wallpaper, starting with a pencil sketch, painting with india ink, and finally lining with my Faber Castell Artist Pitt Pen. The colors for this one gave me a bit of a time, but when I popped in that spot of lime, I was in love. I hope you enjoy it too!

 
Here's a close-up of my inking process:

I love to see when others enjoy my freebies, so feel free to post a pic and tag me on Instagram as @PaperRaven.Co - I would be thrilled to check it out and send some good vibes your way.

Every month, I create a special, original illustration for email subscribers to download and use for their enjoyment on their desktops. This December, I created a mini calendar backdrop with hand-drawn type and lots of festive flourishes. I used my trusty Tombow Calligraphy Pen to do the lettering ;) Just my way of saying thank you for taking a step alongside of me on the journey of building Paper Raven Co. So without further ado... 

A few months ago, my life changed suddenly and drastically. 

After working for a year as a Product Designer at my full-time job, I was called into my boss' office and laid off with absolutely no warning - a month after I had moved my whole life across town for my job, and the day before I left to go on a week-long vacation overseas. 

I was shocked and angry. But as I drove home that day, with the slow, seeping realization that my life had just changed completely - I was overcome with a strange feeling of peace. Real peace. I was angry and confused, but I was not worried. 

The universe had just shoved me into the reality I had already been working towards for the last 2 years of my life. I had been planning to give my leave in August, but my lay-off was in April. It was a few months earlier than I had planned, with a little less savings than I had planned, but as I made the phone calls to my boyfriend and my family, I was met with nothing but support. "If anyone can do this, it's you."

My boyfriend and I left the day after my lay-off, and standing in the fields and pastures and high places and castles and moors of Scotland, in this beautiful, free and completely thrilling moment of my life, I made a promise that I was going to whole-heartedly follow my dream. That I was not going to give up, and that I was not going to fail. 

3 months later, I have been consistently making the salary I would have made at my full-time job, but now it's completely through my work for Paper Raven Co. 

And that is why I am here. This awful, unpredictable thing happened to me. And because of my business, it didn't crush me. I did not allow my lay-off to be a source of self-doubt and depression; instead, I made it into a springboard for growth. I am free. I am happier than I have ever been.

Being able to do this full-time has led me to questions about my community and how to really connect, and that is my goal for this blog. I want to share my humble knowledge with you, bring you into my studio, and answer your questions. I want to share my successes with you, and the moments when I am feeling doubt (because we all do and it's a real thing). I want this blog to be a source of inspiration, and a fun and happy place to come to.

If you are working on your day-dream, keep going. Do not give up. You never know when life will unexpectedly flip upside-down, and being able to rely on yourself and the work of your own hands is an incredible sense of accomplishment.