Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayleigh Eilenberger
Hi Kayleigh, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
From a young age I’ve always loved art, I was lucky enough to grow up in a house that had a killer arts & crafts room because my mom was a crafter. I loved drawing and creating.
In my early 20’s I decided to pack up my life and move from my small town of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania to bright and sunny Ocean Beach, San Diego. A year after living there I enrolled in the San Diego Community College district to continue studying Graphic Design. When the time came to finish my degree I applied to Long Beach University and Otis College of Art and Design and got into both. I decided to follow my art school dreams and go to Otis and move to LA.
Otis turned out not to be for me, I had a full schedule and worked full-time to support myself, so I chose to withdraw in order to protect my mental health that was hanging on by a thread. I decided to bartend full-time while figuring out my next move, which lead me to my first real design job on an in-house marketing team for a vertically integrated cannabis company.
I spent 3 years on the team where I learned soo much and grew as a designer. I eventually moved on to another creative job for a year before deciding to go back to bartending so I could branch out on my own to start freelancing and open an online shop.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It certainly has not been a smooth road, but every road has bumps that’s how we grow as people. Mental health was definitely a struggle especially while I was at Otis. I should have been a Junior when I transferred in, but instead they transferred me in to the Junior class at a Sophomore level because they don’t credit their classes like public colleges, leaving me to take 8 classes at a time while also working full-time. This was extremely difficult and lead me into a mental decline, ultimately leading to my decision to withdraw from the school.
Imposter syndrome has also been a struggle, as I’m sure many can relate to. My time at Otis really left me depleted and feeling like I wasn’t good/talented enough to make it as a designer, but getting the job on the marketing team really turned things around for me. I had talented mentors and got to put my skillset to use and learn new things, showing myself I could do it. As with many artists who start their own business imposter syndrome still creeps in, but I don’t let it get to me the way I have in the past.
Finances is also a struggle that I’m sure many can relate to. Los Angeles is a very expensive city to live in, and the cost of living is always rising which makes it harder and harder to run a small business, along with the rising cost of goods.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My goal is to spark moments of joy within people when they connect with my work. I have a silly, quirky personality and I like to incorporate that into my work. I love using bright colors and creating art with food and humor as the subject matter. Working in the service industry for years, food & beverage is a huge part of my life, and I believe it brings people together.
I love illustrating new stickers and greeting cards. I have gotten so much joy out of creating food pun greeting cards, and I love when I’m doing a pop-up market and people see my cards and laugh. Growing my greeting card collection is a goal for 2025, and I’m already off to a good start.
I’ve also started incorporating mental health into my works, I have a crewneck that say “trying my best”. I woke up one day and said to myself I need a shirt that let’s everyone know I’m just trying my best over here and thought it’d be something other’s could relate too. I plan on creating more apparel and items that are geared toward my fellow neurodivergent’s.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I used to believe I was person with bad luck, I lived by Murphy’s law, “anything that can go wrong will”. You’d often hear me say “if it weren’t for bad luck I wouldn’t have any luck at all”. Now I mainly believe life is what you make it, good and bad things happen to everyone and it’s how you handle those things that sets the pace for what will happen next.
Now don’t get me wrong, you’ll still hear me say, “just my luck” when something unexpected/bad happens, but I don’t let it affect me the way I used to. I try and look for the positive to turn things around.
I think more than good luck or bad luck to be successful in your life and business you have to believe in yourself and keeping moving forward no matter how small the step.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bananapressdesign.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bananapressdesign.co/
