My creative journey started when I was 12 years old after a school painting project revealed a passion for art that has never left me. I was also fortunate to have many incredible art teachers throughout elementary school and high school who encouraged me to keep creating and developing my skills. That experience sparked years of experimenting, learning, and developing my own creative style through curiosity, persistence, and countless hours of practice.

Everything changed during the COVID pandemic. After nearly two years out of work, I packed up my life, left Ontario, and moved to Alberta with my mom after the pandemic forced her to close her clothing boutiques. What started as a fresh start became the push I needed to finally bet on myself.

I began building my creative business from the ground up, teaching myself digital design, web design, marketing, and everything else that comes with running a business. While I have no formal post-secondary education in art or design, everything I know today has come from years of practice, late nights, continuous learning, and refusing to give up.

I create under the name @rawartofficial. "RAW" comes from my initials and reflects both my identity and my approach to creating. My work is bold, playful, nostalgic, and a little chaotic, inspired by retro aesthetics, internet culture, memes, humor, and the little moments that make life memorable.

Some of my biggest inspiration comes from spending time with the people I love. Whether it's an inside joke with friends, a family gathering, a road trip, a hilarious meme sent in the group chat, or one of those random conversations that leaves everyone laughing, those moments often become the ideas behind my work. I love creating art and greeting cards that remind people of someone they care about, make them laugh, or capture a feeling they'll instantly recognize.

Every greeting card begins with my idea. I write every joke, develop every concept, and art direct every design.

When I first launched Hot Mess Paper Co., I illustrated every card myself using Procreate. As my one woman business grew, I realized I couldn't create new collections fast enough while also wearing every hat. I manage everything from designing and marketing to customer service, wholesale, social media, and website management.

Today, I use AI as one of the tools in my creative process to help produce the illustrations, but the creativity behind every card is entirely my own. Every joke, concept, character, layout, and creative decision comes from me. AI helps me bring my ideas to life more efficiently. It doesn't create them for me.

Every card is also made to order rather than mass produced. Creating on demand helps reduce waste, avoid unnecessary overproduction, and allows me to build my business more sustainably.

Whether I'm designing a greeting card or creating an original painting, I love experimenting, trusting the process, and letting each piece evolve naturally.

In 2025, I launched Hot Mess Paper Co., a greeting card brand for the girlies, besties, and hot messes who believe stationery should actually have a personality.

My cards are made for celebrating life's biggest milestones, roasting your best friend, encouraging someone through a difficult season, or simply making someone laugh. I believe greeting cards should feel personal, memorable, and just a little unexpected.

Within months of launching, Hot Mess Paper Co. began finding its way into boutiques across Canada and the United States. Watching something that started as an idea become part of people's celebrations and everyday lives has been one of the most rewarding parts of my journey.

I believe how something is made matters just as much as how it looks.

Instead of mass-producing thousands of cards in a factory and storing excess inventory, every Hot Mess Paper Co. card is made to order. This helps reduce waste, avoids unnecessary overproduction, and ensures each card is created specifically for the person who ordered it.

I also choose to work with trusted, ethical production partners who prioritize quality materials and responsible manufacturing practices. My goal has always been to create products that people can feel good about buying—not only because they make someone laugh, but because they're made thoughtfully and with care.

When you support Hot Mess Paper Co., you're supporting an independent Canadian artist and a small business built from the ground up. Every order helps me continue creating original artwork and brings me one step closer to my dream of becoming a full-time painter.

Hot Mess Paper Co. is proudly based in Alberta, Canada.

Every card starts here—with my ideas, my sense of humor, and my creative direction. While I design every card myself, I work with trusted production partners in the United States and Europe to bring my creations to life.

Producing cards in multiple regions allows many orders to be printed closer to their destination, helping reduce unnecessary shipping distances while keeping delivery more efficient. It also gives my small business the flexibility to adapt as international shipping costs, customs requirements, and tariffs continue to change.

No matter where a card is printed, every design begins with me in Alberta.

Every card sold helps fund my biggest dream: becoming a full-time painter.

Greeting cards have allowed me to build a creative business that supports my original artwork, giving me the freedom to continue painting, experimenting, and growing as an artist. My hope is to keep creating work that brings joy, starts conversations, and reminds people not to take life too seriously.

Today, my work lives on walls, in mailboxes, and in people's homes across North America. Every collection is built around my own ideas, my own sense of humor, and my belief that creativity doesn't have to fit into a traditional box.

And honestly, I feel like I'm only getting started.