Today we’d like to introduce you to Johanna McShan.
Johanna, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I’ve been an artist my entire life. I love drawing, painting, interior design, graphic design, photography, you name it! I love it all. I pursued art after high school and in 2008 graduated with a graphic design degree from Texas State University. For my college graduation present I received a Nikon DSLR. A few snaps later, I immediately fell in love with photography.
Instead of using my graphic design degree, I dove into photography. One year later I opened my own photography business called Hanna Mac Photography. Things went well. I developed a devoted client base, won several awards and got published in several magazines like Parents Magazine & Baby Talk Magazine. A photograph of my dog and newborn was even put on a billboard for a hospital advertisement. I attribute most of my success in photography to my college degree. All of the hours spent studying things like negative space & advertising really stuck in my mind and played a huge role in how I saw the world through my lens.
During my time as a photographer, I never stopped doing design work. I have been designing stationary and art for Minted for several years now. I’m very grateful to have had my artwork chosen for their Pottery Barn Kids collaboration. Seeing my work in PBK Magazine has been the highlight of my career. During one of Minted’s holiday card challenges I started brainstorming ideas for a Texas themed card. I couldn’t stop coming up with ideas. I stayed up for hours sketching all things Texas. I woke up the next day and thought, “I have to do something with these ideas!” And then it came to me……put the designs on shirts!
So, I did. But being a mom of three, it was hard and took time. I persevered though and 6 months later, Misha & Hunt was born. I named the company after my three children because they were my greatest inspiration for it. They even helped design some of the shirts. Three months in, things are great and we love seeing people represent our brand and support Texas at the same time. It is so amazing that we get to show our love for Texas through art. And what’s more is that we are bringing something new to Texas shirts. We offer both modern and vintage inspired designs.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I am the designer & owner of Misha & Hunt. It is a modern & vintage Texas inspired t-shirt company. Its family owned and operated. Our children even help design some of the children’s shirts. Currently it is a one-woman show. I do everything from hand-drawing the shirt designs to the packaging to the customer service. The only I don’t do is the screen-printing because as a mother of three, I don’t have the time. It started as shirts for children only but adults started requesting the designs in their size, so a few weeks later we expanded to offer adult sizes as well.
First, I hand draw nearly every design with pencil. I then trace it with magic marker, snap a picture of it on my phone, email it to myself and then trace it in Illustrator. From there it is sent to our amazing screen printers at Print This in Zorn, Tx. Together we perfect the ink colors and voila! Shirts are created. We create Texas inspired shirts out of a vast love for our state. Being Texan is a way of life and we are proud to be born and raised here. We hope we can spread our love for Texas through our art.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
There is a lot of competition today which makes it tough, but social media and all of the multiple platforms available for submitting work makes it so easy for artists to get a kickstart. You can simply upload your artwork and cross your fingers. Most of the time, the only thing you’re putting at risk is your self-esteem. If you’re passionate enough and persistent you’ll survive in the art world.
As long as cities continue to support local artists, we will all thrive. But we as artists also have to support our local retailers. Don’t sell to everyone who asks. Be loyal to those who continue to support you as an artist.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Our shirts are for sale on our website www.mishaandhunt.com. We also offer wholesale. Our shirts are available at the Pomegranate in Gruene Texas, Lot 59 in New Braunfels, Texas, Natural Baby in Fredericksburg, Texas and at the Paisano Hotel in Marfa, Texas. You can support us by following us on Instagram at @mishaandhunt or on Facebook at @mishaandhunttx.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mishaandhunt.com
- Email: howdy@mishaandhunt.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mishaandhunt/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mishaandhunttx/
Image Credit:
Hanna Mac Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
