…buuuuut after a few short months in the “real world”, I found myself feeling burned out, hopeless, and longing for a creative outlet to bring me joy and fulfillment. Almost daily, I would cry on my way home from work, knowing that I wasn’t doing what I was meant to do, but completely lost without direction. I never had a Plan B because I never thought I would need one.

SALT + LIGHT Creative Co. started in November 2020 as a creative outlet and refuge from the draining corporate world where I felt purposeless and longed for something bigger than myself. I found some old art supplies from high school and started painting after work to decorate my home. Through that, I found joy again! Little did I know it would soon become my saving grace.

In February 2021, with much convincing from my now husband, I hesitantly hosted my first solo gallery show. I wasn’t expecting much because no one really knew about my business, but to my surprise, I was overwhelmed by the number of kind strangers who came by and appreciated my work!

That day, I was able to donate a portion of my proceeds to a local animal shelter, allowing for 20 cats and dogs to get their rabies vaccinations. It lit a fire in me and was my confirmation that my purpose is to create things that spark joy and do good.

So… I was relentless in working toward that dream. I listened to dozens of podcasts to learn business basics, watched way too many YouTube videos to learn how to build this very website and how to use different design programs, and read multiple books about creative entrepreneurship. Between my office job and my growing business, I was consistently putting in 80+ hour weeks for months. It was starting to seriously affect my physical and mental well-being

I had to make a decision.

In November 2021, exactly one year after starting SLCC, I took a huge leap of faith and quit my job to pursue my dream, not knowing what lay ahead, but confident I was making the right decision.

Since then, it has been a long journey of really high highs and some seriously low lows, a few tough lessons learned, many failures, but even more successes, and a whole LOT of personal and entrepreneurial growth. I wouldn’t change a thing.

I have big plans for the future of this business and how I can use it to do good in my small corner of the world. I’m just getting started!

Thank you for being here and rooting for my business! You’re supporting my growing family, my big dreams, and my community. You have no idea how much that means to me!

XO, Julia