I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina with my best friend, and we pursued our teaching careers while living there. We lived in the same apartment building in NoDa, and it was the perfect little area of town to explore. We always joked that “we don’t leave NoDa.” If anyone wanted to hang out, they had to come to us! It became such a special little spot for us.

While living there, my BFF and I went to the Front Porch Market in South End. There were thousands of people, hundreds of vendors, and artists everywhere selling their work. We were completely obsessed and honestly in awe. My BFF looked at me and said, “You have to make a CLT coloring book and do one of these.”

And from that point forward, that was the goal.

I started drafting the Queen City Coloring Book, and this one came together much faster—it only took about two months. I started partnering with local stores, and orders began coming in. It was exciting to see something that had started as an idea actually becoming a real business.

I’ve always loved Sex and the City, so the Purse Edition felt like the perfect next idea: a coloring book that could actually fit in your purse and go with you around the city. It was made for city girls on the go—for my own city girl era.

And then, somehow, I landed the Front Porch Market. The thing my BFF had told me I had to do was actually happening.

That opened up a whole new part of this journey. I made so many friends within the local artist community and even started hosting Sip & Color events. I did a few of them, and it was so much fun watching people sit down with my artwork, make it their own, and genuinely enjoy it.

I lived in CLT for about a year. I also had a farming boyfriend who lived in the very, very south of Texas, so there were plenty of trips back and forth. Eventually, though, I decided it was time to give up the city life and become a farm girl.

And just like that, another chapter began!