finding passion :: ellie of mint

images via mint

i’m a big fan of mint. not the holiday flavor that gives you fresh breath & a chill, but the fabulous design blog run by ellie snow. ellie was recently laid off from her graphic design job and is making a go at being a full-time blogger & freelancer. her etsy shop, hello tenfold, is fresh * clean * sophisticated! read on to find out how ellie found her passion…

you’re a blogger, a freelance graphic designer, a wife, and an etsy shop proprietor. what other passions do you have? and what’s really getting your creative juices flowing right now?

I love taking photos and reading! I just finished Water for Elephants and now I’m reading The Séance by John Harwood. I guess you could say I’m an inspiration sponge, so when I’m feeling stuck creatively I like to sit down with a big stack of design magazines and books.

tell me about an obstacle you overcame (or are overcoming) in turning your passion for design into a business.

Time management and balance are a couple things I’m working on. I’ve realized that although I put a lot of hours into my business, I’m not always being productive. When most of your work is done on the computer, it’s hard not to get side-tracked, or multi-task to the point of being unable to focus on one thing at a time. I also need to get out of the house more during the day, and an exercise routine wouldn’t hurt!

your shop, hello tenfold, has an emphasis on classic typography, sophisticated colors, and modern touches. Tell me about your process in visualizing and designing a new product.

It really depends! Some clients are very specific about the look they’re going for, and I take inspiration from photos they gather for me from wedding blogs and magazines. From there, I spend time looking through fonts and deciding which ones have the right feel for the project, and then I just start “playing” with illustrations, layout, and patterns. Sometimes it’s a quick process and other times it will take many hours to get things right.

what is one thing you struggle with on a daily basis in living out your passion for design?

Design is such a personal process for me, and I put a lot of myself into each project I work on. So, I’m trying to get a thicker skin and not be so hard on myself when the first attempt at a project isn’t perfect. I’ve found having creative hobbies that are totally unrelated to the creative things I do for work is helpful. For example, I love taking pottery classes. I’m pretty bad at it, but it’s nice to let go and make something for the sake of making it, with no expectations for how it should look in the end. That way, I can focus on the process and not the product. It’s easy to lose track of that when you make your living from something creative!

visit ellie at mint or at hello tenfold.