I could hold a pencil, I have been drawn (no pun intended) to art and design. Never once did I question my purpose or what I wanted to do with my life. I just always knew in the core of my soul that I wanted to be an artist. In some ways, I didn’t choose art - it chose me.

 I took art classes throughout middle school and high school. I never even considered majoring in anything other than design when I started looking at colleges. I graduated from the University of Illinois with my bachelor’s in Industrial Design (product design) and got a job as a graphic designer a few months later. After working there for 7 years while building my own business on the side, I made the biggest, scariest leap of my life and took XO Art & Design full time. I have never looked back and I never will. I absolutely LOVE what I do and that I get to be creative every single day of my life.