Today we’d like to introduce you to Clara Warner.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Clara. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised in Austin, Texas and lived in Texas for most of my 24 years. Professionally I’m a communication design + marketing specialist but in my spare time I love everything from afternoon tea and reading to traveling to new places to quilting and scrapbooking. I believe you can never have a cup of tea big enough and that life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.
As to how I got to where I’m at today…It’s always interesting for me to think about this because it’s been such a non-linear journey for me. I think everything began to take shape in undergrad – I didn’t entirely know what I wanted to do professionally but I knew I wanted to travel and I knew I wanted to find a career grounded in creativity and that gave me the flexibility to travel. Since then, I have focused on both of those things – every decision I make is ultimately in pursuit of those goals and building the kind of life I want to live.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. After falling in love with graphic design in high school, I decided that’s what I wanted to major in in college. However, my strong suit has never been drawing or illustration – I work completely digitally – so after struggling through my drawing I and II courses, I was excited to dive into my core communication design classes. The program I was in was very competitive and I always felt like a failure because I never felt as talented as my peers who were fantastic artists. The biggest blow came in my Sophomore year when one of my professors told me I would never succeed in this field and that I should drop out of the program. To say I was devastated would be an understatement. But I persevered; I found a different program that would still get me where I wanted to be and powered through. In the last two years I’ve won two design awards and the satisfaction I get every time I think about proving that the professor wrong makes me completely giddy.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
There are two sides to my professional self: my freelance design work and my lifestyle blog. I get such joy from both sides of my life and can’t imagine giving one up. My freelance business started in college when friends or family needed help with a small project and I didn’t actually think of it as a job, just a fun way to practice my skills. Now I have the opportunity to work with clients I believe in and on projects that make each day exciting. My specialty is branding; with a background in both design and marketing, I love helping brands combine both disciplines to fully develop their brand on all fronts and then help them carry that throughout everything they do. But really I love all kinds of design projects and overall my work is a healthy mix of branding, print, web, advertising, and social media, so no matter what my clients need, I’m here to help.
xoxo, Clara (my blog) started as a daydream. I’ve always loved sharing my adventures with friends and family but never had a “formal” outlet to do so. I would find myself writing blog posts in my head on my drive home or while wandering around Target but never dared to buckle down and make it a reality. Finally, in 2018, I took the leap and xoxo, Clara has become my little corner of the internet to share everything about surviving twenty-something life and helping people plan their own travel adventures.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up I had a lot of hobbies. My summer weeks were always packed full of different summer camps – day camp, theater camp, gymnastics camp, horseback riding camp, sleep away camp – and I loved it because each week was something new. I was always into experiences more than objects and more than anything just liked spending time with friends or family.
Contact Info:
- Website: clarawarner.com | xoxoclara.com
- Email: clara@xoxoclara.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_xoxo_clara_/
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