We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Emily Teigland a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Emily, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
Often when I bring my work to in-person events, I’m the youngest person in the room. While a high school student, I never advertised my age or student status. Through unexpected and encouraging conversations with customers and fellow artists at events and online, I realized that my age might just be an essential part of my story. By my freshman year of university, I began to brand myself as an artist, business owner *and* full-time student. My customers are incredibly supportive of my journey and I’m grateful for their community. As it turned out, building my brand using my story presented me with new connections, partnerships and opportunities I’m endlessly grateful for. My business has taught me that being the elephant in the room is the key to differentiating my brand from others, whether it’s my products, my content or simply the energy I bring to everything I do.
Now, as I prepare for my final year of university, I’m finding myself faced with a huge question: when I’m no longer a student, how can I continue to be the elephant in the room?
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Hey, I’m Emily! I’m the creator behind Lavender Chai Co. I’m a self-taught artist, business owner and full-time college student with a passion for sharing art. I have always been a firm believer in the importance of access to art supplies and creative tools. I started making Mini Painting Kits five years ago to share my love for watercolor with my loved ones. Since then, my kits have made their way into the hands of creative people all over the world. Lavender Chai Co. is on a mission to make art accessible to everyone, one Mini Painting Kit at a time.
You can find Lavender Chai Co. products online, at one of our Minnesota pop-up shops or in over 100 retailers around the US and Canada.
I’m currently a senior studying marketing and music at the University of Minnesota and you can usually find me hopping between cafes and bookstores, dreaming up my next creative project.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Give yourself opportunities to create- It takes one choice: the choice to set aside a coloring sheet or workbook and give yourself a blank sheet of paper. I firmly believe that every individual is creative and it’s essential we give ourselves the opportunity to exercise our creative muscles. Truthfully, I often find myself gravitating toward the most comfortable outlets for expending my energy and consequently denying myself the opportunity to create something wholly unique and my own.
2. Let yourself rest- On the topic of creative muscles, I’ve learned the hard way how crucial it really is to let your creative muscles rest. For me, this kind of self care extends beyond mental and physical rest. It requires me to give myself space to do other things that fill my cup and exercise my brain. For instance, I love to read and make music and I’ve found that these outlets provides excellent reprieve from a state of perpetual creative output for my business. Taking breaks is not always easy when you’re in a routine, however, the consequences of failing to do so usually look a lot like burnout.
3. Create like no one is watching, because nobody is- Lastly, this phrase has guided a lot of my art over the last five years. At the beginning, I launched my painting kits on a brand-new Etsy shop and an Instagram account with zero followers. I had no fear of judgement since no one was there to judge me. I continue to embrace this mindset when creating today, because in the grand scheme of things, I’m not creating art for anyone’s approval.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
I’d be remiss if I didn’t rave about my favorite book: “To The Lighthouse” by Virginia Woolf is a beautiful novel that’s inspired many of my creative pursuits. It’s a love letter to art, love and those who take the time to enjoy the little things in life. At the end of it all, Virginia Woolf gracefully grapples with the age-old question: What’s the meaning of life?
I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone feeling their own pursuit of creating art might be inconsequent. Woolf’s argument for the importance of creating art is one that will resonate and stick with you for years to come.
“She looked at the canvas, lightly scored with running lines….What was the good of doing it then, and she heard some voice saying she couldn’t paint, saying she couldn’t create, as if she were caught up in one of those habitual currents in which after a certain time experience forms in the mind, so that one repeats words without being aware any longer who originally spoke them.” – Virginia Woolf, To The Lighthouse
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lavenderchai.co/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lavenderchaico/
- Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-teigland/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lavenderchaico
Image Credits
Personal Photo Credit: Madelyn Seemann
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
