I'm so excited to be sharing this interview with you! Britt is a hard-working, inspiring, beautiful woman who is the voice behind Gallery No. Eight. Hailing from Toronto, she creates and designs websites, prints, and the girl can seriously do her nails. Check out her instagram and make sure to follow along as she and I are hosting a fun giveaway to go along with this interview!
MSCo: What's a day in your life like?
BD: I
usually try and wake up between 6:30-7, have a little quiet time, then
breakfast, and then get my bum over to my desk usually between 8-9am. Lunch is usually around noon, and after that I'll work again until around 3-4pm.
I like to step away from my computer in the evenings, but after dinner I
will occasionally pop back over just to finish up a few things. Every
day is different in terms of what I'm working on, but it's always a mix
of client work, blog work & so many emails!
MSCo: What prompted you to start your business?
BD: After
starting my blog, I started playing around with it's design & found
I really enjoyed it. Design has always been a love of mine, and blog
design was the perfect mix of art & 'science' for me. I helped a
friend out with her blog, and it grew from there. I now offer branding
in addition to web design, and am thinking of opening up a little print
shop in 2015 :)
MSCo: Is your business your full time job? If not, what else do you do?
If yes, how long were you doing it before it became full time?
BD: Yes,
I work for myself full time. When I graduated university, I'd already
been working at this for a few months. I did apply to other jobs &
even internships, but never heard back from any of them. I took that as a
sign to continue doing what I was already doing & just grew it from
there.
MSCo: What would you tell your 20-year old self?
BD: To
work hard at what I want, and to take more chances. I remember
discovering the youtube beauty scene in 2009, and was thisclose to
starting a channel. I'm still kicking myself for not!
MSCo: What's the worst job you've ever had?
BD: I
can't say that I've had too many bad jobs in my life (so far!), and
even the ones I didn't enjoy I definitely learned from, so I try &
look at it from that perspective. (Boring answer I know!)
MSCo: What's the best piece of advice you've ever gotten?
BD: This quote: http://www.goodreads.
MSCo: What's the hardest part about pursuing a "non-traditional" career? The best part?
BD: I
think the initial reaction from family & friends was the toughest -
they just didn't see it as a 'job' and didn't understand what I did.
And that frustrated me for a while, but I started 'inviting' them into
my process more, and talking about my work & what was going well,
what wasn't, etc, and I think they slowly began to 'get it' :) The best
part is definitely my work environment. I work by myself, in a nice
quiet space, and that is absolutely my best working condition. I know
that isn't the case for everyone (and some just won't understand! To
those I suggest reading 'Quiet' by Susan Cain :) ), but I really do my
best work alone, in a quiet space.
MSCo: What or who inspires you?
BD: Gosh
- tough question! I think people who constantly explore and push and
discover new methods and ideas and designs - that's incredibly
inspiring. And I think genuine authenticity is beautiful - not hiding
behind perfectly styled shots (although I must admit to be guilty of
that!), but people who are so able to open up their hearts & share, that always gets me.
