Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexis Wesley.
Hi Alexis, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I worked on freelance design work while I went through college and then worked for a few years as an Art Director, got married, had my son, and then set out to start my own business in 2020. While I did love my job as an Art Director and I loved the team that I got to work with each day, I just wanted to create more balance in my life and get some of that commuting time back to spend with my family. It was a scary leap, but the best jump that I have made so far in my life. Today, we have a small team who all work remotely, and aside from client meetings, team meetings, and deadlines – I encourage my team to work when they feel most creative and enjoy their lives while we’re all alive. We work with amazing clients around the country, and I am proud to say that all of our business has come from word of mouth. It’s really amazing to wholeheartedly love what you do on a daily basis, and I can’t wait to see where we are in 1, 5, and 10 years from now!
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?
Considering the timing in which I began my company, it has been smooth. There is, of course, stress with any business owner and an ever-growing list of things to do for our own company as well as for our clients; but it’s my passion. I would say that the biggest obstacles we’ve overcome are creating a culture where it feels like a team, feels collaborative, and doesn’t leave anyone feeling like they’re on an island since we are a remote team. We have implemented tools and processes and have weekly video team meetings to help feel the togetherness of an in-office team. My office is always open for any team members to come in and work if they want a change of scenery, need my help with a project, or just want an office setting. Company culture is so important to me, so I work hard to try to create a vibrant culture within our team that spills over to client relationships. Aside from that, I would say that creating solid boundaries and sticking by them (or knowing when to be a little malleable) was hard. I naturally want to help people, but at first, I was saying yes too much, and I felt stressed, unbalanced, and just felt moody way too often. I couldn’t stop thinking about work to where I would work during hours, go home and be mom and wife until my son went to sleep, and then I would work on my laptop on the couch until midnight and do it all over again. I finally sat back and realized that no amount of money is worth sacrificing quality time with my family and I set my boundaries and have stuck to them. I realized that it’s ok to say no when I need to, it’s ok that not every business or person who reaches out is meant to be a client, it’s ok to take a break when it is needed, and as much as I love helping others…I had to realize that I can’t help everyone – whether that’s putting out “fires,” saying yes to a budget that is too low, or saying I can’t do this by that day. Boundaries for the win!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My company is a culmination of my husband’s and my passions. The pxld creative side is a creative and marketing agency where we provide services like branding, digital and print design, social media management and content creation, website design, commercial photography, eCommerce, advertising, and marketing. We do a lot of branding and package design – which I love, and we’ve been working a lot more with athletes and musicians in the past year or so. I’m proud of everything we do, but it’s awesome to see our big work come to life and plasters a big, cheesy grin on my face. We’ve done pop-up restaurants in California, custom trade show booths, and 18-wheeler wraps…and while seeing packaging on a shelf in a major retailer is awesome, experiential design is so big and awe-inspiring. Working with athletes to create their personal brands or the outfits that they wear while competing is super cool, too. I love it. We’re a small but mighty team, and while we are an agency…people will always come first. Sure, money is important and a necessity, but relationships are what life is actually about. We’re fun people to work with, and we truly care deeply about the brands that choose to work with us, and I think it shows.
Our pxld records side is our eCommerce portion of the business, and we sell records, CDs, stickers, and other print items that can be purchased on our website, Etsy, eBay, and soon we will be on Discogs. We are also in the middle of working on apparel and home goods. One of my designers, Betty, is working on an awesome custom toile wallpaper right now that she’s created by hand, and I cannot wait to launch that!
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was the only girl in the family until I was 17, so I was kinda rough and definitely a brat haha. I grew up being really close to my cousins and my three younger brothers. We would play cops and robbers, I would play with their G.I. Joes and Heman figures, and we’d run around fighting each other with Super Soakers (or I would roll around in the mud while my grandma watered the grass in the summer), dress up like Power Rangers, and we loved to play NES and Sega (Mortal Kombat and Sonic were my jams). I always loved to draw, and I have been enamored by music since I was little. I remember waiting by my boom box, finger on the record button, with a cassette tape in just waiting for a specific song to come on the radio…and then hoping that the DJ wouldn’t talk over the beginning of the song! Haha, I would wait for my oldest cousin to go out with his friends, and I would run into his room and listen to his Outkast CDs while he was gone since he wouldn’t let me borrow them. When I was a teenager, I went to a lot of concerts and loved to paint. Once I moved out of my parent’s house, I would pick up my little brothers and go to the movies, take them shopping, and out to eat, and they spent the night with me quite a bit. I always showed them new bands, and we spent a lot of time just hanging out and listening to music. I’ve always loved art and family…that’s one constant throughout my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: pxldcreative.com
- Instagram: @pxldcreative and @pxldrecords
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pxldcreative
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexiswesleycreates/
Image Credits
PXLD Creative
