Thoughtful Articles

Art has been inseparable from my life since before I can remember. Ever since I could hold a crayon I have been drawing. My early childhood was spent in the fields of rural Oaxaca, where I had plenty of time and space to let my imagination run free.

When I was 9 we moved to the states and I started school, where I signed up for every art class I possibly could: painting, drawing, watercolor, photography, photoshop…I loved them all. Little did I know that these lessons and projects I enjoyed so much were building the foundations of my future career.

Although my school years were very successful (I gave my class valedictorian speech, had straight A’s across the board, and a full ride scholarship waiting for me) something in me still pulled me toward the creative world. I ended up saying no to college and instead diving off the beaten path and into 7 years of exploration and freelance creative work- I spent what would have been my college years instead traveling the world, learning lessons from following side tracks, and surrounding myself with creative and interesting people from many different countries and walks of life.

This was a time of little life stability and no routine at all, but the freedom and possibility were expansive. I never had a permanent address but I always had one more creative gig coming down the pipeline, one more art idea to make, one more reason to pack everything into boxes and move somewhere new.

This lasted for most of my late teens and twenties, but as I grew older I started to long for a little more grounded lifestyle. Unsure of how this would manifest itself, I put my trust in the universe and waited to see what would happen.

One day I was scrolling on instagram when I saw one of the owners of Slow Yourself Down post on their story that the company was looking for a graphic designer. I sent a reply saying “Hi!! I think this should be me!” And a month later my partner and I were moving into a treehouse on a dirt road on the north shore of Kaua'i.

I had never been anywhere like Hanalei, and the incredible energy of the Slow Yourself Down compound was immediately entrancing (those who have been there know what I’m talking about.) The owners had lived an even more interesting and unusual life than I had and I was instantly inspired by the feeling of true community and intention that they embodied. I took this feeling and ran with it, beginning to channel the slow yourself down vibes into the art that I was creating for the company.

This started around the compound with writing signs and adding lettering to the incredible Kevin Ancell Murals, and spread through the logos, website graphics, stickers, posters, and designs that now go on all our clothing.

These days I no longer live in the treehouse in Hanalei, but the energy of Kaua'i has stuck in my system and continues to suffuse all the artwork that I continue to create for us to this day. My weekly work meetings are a JOY, as each person on our team feels as passionate about their part of the process as I do about mine. I am in constant amazement that I get to write beautiful words and draw pictures everyday AS MY JOB, and that these pieces go out into the world to help spread the powerful intention that is behind Slow Yourself Down.

In this age of AI, when a computer can make a design in seconds, I truly believe that it is the story and the energy behind the art & artist that become so much more essential. That story, that FEELING… these have always been the things that draw people to slow yourself down.

It is my view that because I am a human being who LOVES creating, a little bit of that love is infused into everything I make, which means that when you wear an SYD tee shirt or walk through our compound, or even scroll on our website, all these little bits of art art tiny love notes from my heart to yours.