Creative Crush // Chloe Marty

Last year, the lovely ladies of Postmark Society hooked me up with the most KICK ASS PEN PAL! Chloe and I instantly hit if off, and we keep our conversations to good old snail mail (it's pretty hard not to pick up a phone and call her since we have so much in common!) WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS : My favorite part of running my own business is the flexibility of my time! Being a stay at home mom to a toddler, is made possible by the fact that I am able to schedule and budget my time for what works with our routine as a family. It allows me to be that SAHM, but also be able to contribute to my family's income, do work that I enjoy, and keep my creative juices flowing.FAVORITE CANDY/TREAT : I rarely meet a cookie or pie I don't like. Baked goods, in general, are a favorite.WHAT'S A RECENT FAVORITE FIND : There are too many to pick just one! Every year around this time, I scour the internets to find neat shops to feature as a part of my gift guide (on my blog at the beginning of December)! Many of the cool items I find, I end up getting as stocking stuffers for my family members.

Along those lines, I just discovered Benny Gold, and I love their hipster-y tees, hats, socks, iPhone cases, pens, and key faubs. The artist series of paper airplanes are pretty cool, too. And, I am a big fan of the whole "Stay Gold" mantra that the brand is based off of.

That's on the more masculine side of things, so for the ladies, I am loving Erica Tanov, especially the pillows, quilts, and candles in her home goods section. The scarves and leather goods accessories are beautiful, too.

TELL US HOW YOU GOT STARTED WITH YOUR BIZ : Out of college, I worked as a marketing director for a real estate-related company. In addition to making the marketing plans, I also ended up making the ads that we placed in various web and print outlets. That gave me my first taste of commercial design. As I delved deeper into design and started taking on work, I focused on logos and branding for the commercial side of my work.

I taught myself Illustrator and Photoshop. I also took some courses through the Art Institute so that I would have a more structured design education, and knowledge of HTML, CSS, and Flash.

I have always loved paper goods and sending correspondence the old fashioned way. So, it was a very natural progression for me to focus on designing announcements and invitations. That remains the largest part of my design work.

WHY DO YOU BLOG : I blog because I enjoy it. My blog is an outlet where I can showcase any and all of my interests; a place where my interests in fashion, decor, design, and food/healthy living purchase valium online for come together. In the past couple of years, my blog has become even more focused on my personal life; so it now chronicles a lot my family's life including the growth of my son.ANY ADVICE FOR FELLOW ENTREPRENEURS :  Stick with it and surround yourself with people who support and believe in you.

Building a business takes a long time. Often we have a lot of enthusiasm in the beginning of a new venture, but as time passes and our expectations of success aren't met as quickly as we had hoped, our enthusiasm wanes. Sticking with it and cultivating that passion and enthusiasm is key.

Likewise, surrounding yourself with people who cheer you on will make your journey that much easier, and it will help you keep that enthusiasm.

WHO'S A FELLOW ENTREPRENEUR YOU'RE CRUSHING ON RIGHT NOW : I honestly have not been keeping up on other creatives recently! And, I am way behind on my blog reading other than fashion blogs, which I am obsessed with lately. I mostly keep up with people through Instagram, which is a huge guilty pleasure. Many of the people I follow on Instagram aren't necessarily "creatives" by craft, but I really enjoy following along with their adventures on Instagram. Most of my Insta-faves are other moms, which is a phenomenon that tends to occur once you are a mom yourself. Some of my current favorites are @ascotfriday, @aninebing, @__paw, @fathersdaughtr. For fashion, I love @happilygrey, @ivanarevic, @erinmayshed, @paigedenim, and @lizzyvdligt.

Get to know Chloe!  Blog / Instagram / Portfolio / Twitter / Pinterest / Shop