the path to rara avis design
Why do I do what I do? How did Rara Avis Design take shape?
I founded Rara Avis Design to create unique and engaging promotional tools for other business professionals. That’s the soundbite.
As cheesy as it sounds, why I specialize in print and product specifically, goes way back.
Product and RAD Promo
I've been fascinated by promotional products since I was a child. Not joking. My mom was active in the school PTO and fundraising, so I was exposed to more branded sample pens, notepads, coffee tumblers, and mousepads than any child would know what to do with.
Print, Book Design, Specialty Publications
I have been a writer and storyteller my whole life. In middle school, I worked on the school newspaper and yearbook staff, getting to pitch concepts for fun page spreads and write fun, snappy recaps of memorable school moments. In high school, I wrote and distributed DIY newsletters and zines that got me in more trouble than they were likely worth.
Bringing it Full Circle
Flash forward nearly 15 years and a lot has changed, but a lot hasn't.
In 2019 I worked at a custom t-shirts & promo business. While working my full time job, I pitched, wrote, and designed an entire 60-page feature "zine" for the first ever Philly Freelance Fest. In 2020 I got to design a book that sold thousands of copies and made my client *very* happy. This year I'm working on another book for print, a Revised Second Edition of a hugely successful ebook that sold over 10,000 copies as an ebook alone!
So it only seems fitting that I would build my business on the pillars of lifelong fascinations (the printed word and promotional swag) and the thing I actually went to school for (art & design).
Off and on my entire adult life, I have started and abandoned various ventures in design and storytelling. But I don’t consider those false-starts as failures anymore. If there’s one thing I know now, it’s this: the more times you start and hit a wall and start again, the closer you get to rounding that corner and finding your way.
Above: IYKYK, it’s probably time to take some Advil.