Story & Lesson Highlights with Elizabeth Hunn of London

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Elizabeth Hunn. Check out our conversation below.

Elizabeth, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Autumm! I love warm weather and I’m missing the longer sunny days but it’s so nice seeing all the trees turn orange at the moment. Autumn’s so cozy and it makes me very happy thinking about snuggling up inside with a good book and watching rain outside.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Elizabeth and I’m an illustrator running under the username Dust and Marbles. I’ve been drawing and creating as long as I can remember, always getting carried away with some new project. I’m a big fan of scribbles and messy art, I’ve really been exploring making things that make me happy recently and a lot of that has been journaling or scrapbooking, just wacking eveything pretty onto a piece of paper and seeing what happens. I’ve been selling online for 5 years now on Etsy and create a variety of stickers and bookmarks for my shop, recently making sticker sheets with my new Cricut!

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I wanted to do everything. Be a vet, farmer, ballerina, doctor, astronaut, actor, singer, and so many more. Every job there could be, that’s what I wanted to do. I’d change my mind every couple of days as soon as something new caught my attention but I always had this belief that I would do all those things. There’s something so beautiful about the way a child’s mind see’s the world, without limitation and with endless possibilities. Back then the only thing that was stopping me from doing something was loosing interest in it. There was no thinking about money or what was the right career path. All that mattered was fun and creating and doing.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I’d tell her there isn’t a right way and it isn’t always going to be perfect. So often I’m held back from even starting something by the fear of getting it perfect. Back as a child I just picked up a piece of paper and off I went. It’s something we so often loose as we get older and start to worry about what others think of us. Every decision seems to hold so much more weight. I think I’d want to let little me know that she’s doing exactly what she needs to do, she doesn’t need to be perfect, she can just sit back and enjoy herself and the less she worries the more she’ll be able to take in about the world.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Whose ideas do you rely on most that aren’t your own?
For me it’s my partner. We both studied illustration at university and he’s my second set of eyes. Whenever I’m stuck on creating, don’t know which direction to go or the good old “does this look wonky to you” he’s always my next in command. It’s a big help! So often I get stuck in my own head or too caught up in what I’m doing to be able to see the solution and it’s great to have someone to give me that insight. Even if it does sometimes take several times of being told before I take it in…

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
I don’t think I could! My family’s support and encouragement has been so crucial in me choosing to pursue art, I don’t know if I’d have the same drive to create without it. Nowadays there’s so much pressure to post online and find validation from others on our work, but even as a child, when I’d get caught up creating something, be it a painting or story or a badly sewn dress, what made it worth it was presenting it to parents at the end to see their reaction. As time goes on, I’m trying more to create for myself and use art as a way to step back and reflect, but even then, it’s always fun to show someone else. Praise makes us feel like we’ve done a good job.

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