Hi, I'm Rory! I make things pretty!
I started freelancing 15 years ago as a graphic artist, and since then I've done a lot of things -- from illustrating children's books and grown-up books, creating music, apps and videos, to UI/UX design, I've even dabbled in interior design and carpentry! Basically if it's about communicating ideas and identities visually, I can do it!
I love this life so much that I even married a fellow creative freelancer! Both of us enjoy the ability to choose our projects, clients, schedule -- this freedom comes in really useful we raise our two toddlers.
Today, my husband and I run Lakewalk Media, a small mom and pop (literally!) creative agency. We collaborate with a lot of freelancers for our projects. A lot of our friends are freelancers and or run companies that often hire creative freelancers. Basically, we're surrounded by freelancers! I love learning from others, so I love hearing from my fellow creatives, especially those who've been in this business for far longer than us. We share war stories and horror stories, and best practices like how to deal with clients, pricing strategies, tax tips -- lots of really practical stuff that you can't learn in a classroom.
No creative want to be a starving artist, but we don't want to just survive either. We want to thrive.
We want to do work that we find enjoyable and meaningful, and we also want to provide for ourselves and for our future while we're at it.
A few years ago we started hosting THRIVE Talks where creative professionals can listen to, learn from, and collaborate with each other. Since we've had kids, we haven't been able to organize meetups or hold workshops anymore. But I still get asked a lot about how to make money from your passions, avoiding burnout, overcoming creative blocks, and a bucket of other really good questions I've asked myself.
We're going to put social distancing to good use and for the next few months, while we're sheltering with my in-laws (Hooray! Childcare!), I'm going to churn out as much content I can and share all I know about getting started in freelance creative work.
I don't have all the answers, not by a long shot! But maybe I know someone who does! I'm blessed to have friends who are much smarter and wiser than I, and I'm still learning how to thrive where I am! My current quest is figuring out how to stay balanced and fruitful as an active mother of little children, which is a whole other level with ten times gravity.
But there's a lot of aspiring creatives out there who are just starting out, and I would love to share what I know about surviving THRIVING as a freelancer, especially if you live in the developing world.
Let's go on a quest!
- Aurora "Rory" Morealis
June 2020
