Aqua & Opal Studio - Stationery Design
I started Aqua & Opal Studio back in 2017 as a side hustle to stay creative outside of my full-time job. I learned how to edit scanned watercolor in Photoshop and Illustrator. I taught myself hand-lettering. I learned to edit hand-lettering in Illustration and Photoshop. Worked with vendors to print greeting cards, notepads, reusable canvas bags, art prints, and gift tags.
I bought packaging materials to get the products out. I kept track of orders through Etsy and had orders out the next day. I also had to keep track of expenses and taxes. I would post to social media platforms - Instagram and Facebook, was well as Pinterest. I wrote blog posts and created all of the graphics for my business.
Some professional development to grow my business was going to a Creative at Heart conference in 2017, which helped me gain confidence in starting my business. I took free online classes, listened to podcasts.
As much as I thought it was fun to have my own product based business, I decided to close my "doors" in December 2021. I wanted to focus more on serviced-based work and keep making stationery for fun for family and friends.
A few of the designs that were in my shop.
A few email designs used through MailChimp.
A few blog post graphics for the website. You can see how the brand evolved over the years.
Some social media static graphics for Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.
A few lettering videos that I thought would be fun to show people how to letter on various surfaces.
Made some review graphics to add to my Squarespace website.
A few graphics created for Etsy listings that also were used for social media.
Designed Etsy banners for the shop. I would switch them up for each season.
A few photos of pop-ups I did at craft shows and a store front.
