background
born into an absolutely amazing family. used to sit on top of my dad’s drafting table and draw on really big sheets of paper at age 3. when asked by my parents what i did everyday in kindergarten, i replied, ‘play, play, play.’ loved riding my big wheel with my big brother. disliked broccoli. got a ‘needs improvement’ for talking too much in first grade. went through 4,153 pieces of sidewalk chalk by age 8. my mom made me write thank you letters to everyone for everything. am now very grateful for that. she really is always right. had a ball in high school. went off to college. graduated with a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1997. sigma cum laude and everything, but had no job. decided to go to europe. traveled with only my best friend and my backpack for 3 months. soaked up different cultures. met wonderful people. came back to the states. found job as art director of houston’s city magazine. worked there almost 3 years. retired at age 24. decided to work as freelance designer for cool companies; like mercedes-benz and heb/central market. also started to design custom stationery on the side. left again in 2001. for another 3 months with same best friend and same backpack. this time to australia and new zealand. met more wonderful people. went skydiving. scuba diving. and climbed a glacier. money ran out. came home. continued with freelance career. began selling stationery nationwide. in 2002, went on a date with a boy named wooch. fell in love. in 2008, we welcomed our kiddo, pace.

partnerships
once upon a time, i did the designing, printing, trimming, folding, packaging, marketing, order-taking, order-filling, shipping, invoicing, and stocking of a line of cards sold online and in stores nationwide. along with running a corporate design business. but that was a wee bit hectic for my taste. some days it was really nuts. and i had to get so much help from family and friends who i’d rather have been sharing wine with. (not that counting envelopes at 10 pm on a saturday night wasn’t fun) so now i partner with companies i feel passionate about. i draw and design, they handle the rest. these are big, clever companies who produce impeccable products. i am a little company of one who gets to draw and design 'for a living'. i am grateful. my life is simpler and happier. my work is even better. and i know it is in good hands from the moment it leaves mine and lands in yours. you can purchase my art from these wonderful companies: family/baby/kid stationery and invitations at tinyprints.com, wedding stationery and invitation suites at weddingpaperdivas.com, and lunchboxes at getyubo.com.

inspiration board
to me design is about the spontaneity of life. family. old storybooks. nature. kids. travel. and my very own vintage toys. i love to make things. i love that people use my illustrations to illustrate their style. i like to send fun packages to people in the mail. when i’m not designing, i tend to eat too much ice cream for one person in one sitting. i wear jeans and flip flops in corporate settings. i do triathlons. i know that my girlfriends and i are way too loud in public places. i love making my family laugh. i love that my husband lets me pick the movies. and quite best of all, i love to chase pace around.

thank you for visiting and for your interest in my art.

feel free to drop me a line with any questions. it’d be great to hear from you. jillsmith@jillsmith.com