GET TO KNOW OUR DESIGNERS FOR WORLD CREATIVITY DAY

To celebrate World Creativity and Innovation Day we asked a few of our designers to tell us a bit about themselves and their creative process. We believe in living a creative life and finding what makes you happy! There’s no one way to express an artistic talent or find your happy. It might look different for each person. So, we hope that some of our team’s shared experiences will help inspire you on your own journey! 
 

JANNA 

My name is Janna Wilson and I’ve been with Happy Planner for almost seven years. 

Q: How does art help you in other areas of your life? 

“I would have to say…other areas of my life actually inspire my art and help balance the creative frenzy I live in. Because everything I do in my job is so highly creative and heavily computer/digitally aided, I find it’s imperative to do activities that allow my creative sensibilities to rest and recharge. I love gardening (this year I’m focusing on a cut flower garden); tactile, mundane handiwork projects like calligraphy, sewing/stitching; and I love cooking, hosting and even housework. Ah—the wonderful monotony of folding laundry!”  

Q: What makes you really happy?  

“My family! Evenings spent in our tiny kitchen, cooking and chatting with my husband at the bar, best when me and/or kids are dancing in the kitchen, listening to good music—just this simple, good stuff. I literally have a sign in my kitchen that says ‘Happy Place.’ And sitting down to a meal all together. It sure means a lot more now that their grown and busy!” 

Q: Describe your planning style (list-maker, likes to write out details, needs to plan in advance, last-minute planner, planning cadence (do you plan monthly, weekly or daily).  

“I’m all of the above! Although you might imagine I do have a vast collection of stickers, I never use stickers in my planner, purely a functional planner here! I use my stickers regularly though and send them in mail/letters often! I love the dashboard layout best for general planning. I use my ‘frankenplanner’ for fun dates, due dates, managing work projects, budgeting and even documenting life! I keep a separate “tending list” notebook with running lists and a commonplace notebook that has everything from my garden plans, to bits of journaling and documenting life, books I’m reading, quotes etc. “  

Q: What are your top 3 favorites/picks from our latest Spring 2023 collection? 

Faith Mood Frosted Happy Planner - “I love keeping track of my Bible readings in this bible planner and the top section of the Faith layout is a great place to capture what I’ve read and studied through the week. I love the dividers with inspiration, reminders and truths about God and my faith. I’m going to use this planner for my everyday planning too— I’ll just cover up the observation and application headings with a white sticker.” 
Moody Florals Notebook - “SO GORG! I can never have enough notebooks!” 

Homesteader Classic Zip Pouch with Pen Loop - “Bees are everything! I love this vintage pattern and colorway with the contract of gold.”  

 

KRISTINE 

My name is Kristine Billon and I’ve been with Happy Planner for seven years. 

Q: How does art help you in other areas of your life? 

“Art impacts my life in so many ways! It’s something I’ve leaned on throughout my life to help express myself creatively and it helps shape my view of the world around me through seeing other’s different perspectives and experiences. When I look at someone else’s art it feels like I’m looking at the world through their eyes which has always been fascinating to me.” 

Q: What makes you really happy? 

“At the end of the day it all comes down to the people I hold closest to me. But I also really love travel. And my cat. And maybe chocolate. 😊" 

Q: Describe your planning style (list-maker, likes to write out details, needs to plan in advance, last-minute planner, planning cadence (do you plan monthly, weekly or daily). 

“I am definitely more of a last minute planner type but I like to be free with it - I try to foster a sense of play. It can be fun to get messy and just create, even in my planner! My goal is to plan weekly and I always prioritize my stickers before everything else.” 

Q: What are your top 3 favorites/picks from our latest Spring 2023 collection? 

Glossy Tortoise Expander Discs - “Living for these!” 

Softly Modern Happy Planner - “It was really fun designing this planner, I really love the soft color palette and modern feel.” 

Faith Mood Value Pack Stickers – “These faith stickers are so beautiful and functional and I will be relying on them heavily as I plan my way through this Spring!” 

TRACY 

My name is Tracy Marsaioli and I’ve been with Happy Planner for two and a half years.

Q: Where do you find inspiration? 

“Inspiration is literally everywhere. I find it in many of the places you would expect like Pinterest and social media, but it goes way beyond that. I find a lot of inspiration when I travel and experience new cultures or just new cities. Colors, patterns, and design is everywhere if you’re looking for it. I try to bring as much outside inspiration to my design as possible.” 

Q: Favorite holiday or holiday you like to celebrate and why.  

“Halloween is absolutely my favorite holiday. It has been since I was a little kid. I love the chance to dress up and be someone else for a day or at least a few hours. I really enjoy carving pumpkins and decorating my house for Halloween. Most of all, I love the trick-or-treaters. We get a lot of them in my neighborhood, always over 100. I really like to see all the kids in costume. Everyone is so happy and having fun. I love seeing both kids and adults happy and Halloween is a fun time of year to experience that.” 

Q: Describe your planning style (list-maker, likes to write out details, needs to plan in advance, last minute planner, planning cadence (do you plan monthly, weekly or daily). 

“I’m a monthly planner. I love viewing the month at a glance and seeing everything that I have going on. I don’t over decorate my planner, but I do use some stickers and I definitely use different colored pens and markers. I use my planner as an all-around life planner, not just for one specific thing. I keep a lot of plans on the calendar on my phone but for the whole picture it’s always in my paper planner. I don’t see that changing any time soon.” 

Q: What are your top 3 favorites/picks from our latest Spring 2023 collection? 

“This is a tough question because I think the team did such a great job overall. It’s hard to narrow it down to just three. For the sake of this question, here are my picks in no particular order: Celestial Elegance, Nordic Brights and Fun Illustrations.” 

GIULIANA 

My name is Giuliana Rendon and I’ve been with Happy Planner for almost four years. 

Q: Where do you find inspiration? 

“I like to find inspo wherever I can! It usually starts by perusing social media, but I also really enjoy going to the mall or Target to see what types of things are trending. Usually there’s a lot of connections to what I see online and what I see IRL. And if I find a trend/style that speaks to me then I’ll try my own spin on it!” 

Q: Favorite holiday or holiday you like to celebrate and why. 

“I’ve loved Halloween since I was kid! I love to decorate my space with Halloween décor and am always on the hunt for new stuff each year. I also really like Valentine’s Day! Not so much for the romance aspect but mostly because I think it’s a fun excuse to love on your friends and make cute Valentine’s crafts! And any holiday that centers around candy is usually a win in my book.” 

Q: Describe your planning style (list-maker, likes to write out details, needs to plan in advance, last minute planner, planning cadence (do you plan monthly, weekly or daily). 

“My planning style definitely focuses around using stickers. I usually start by picking a sticker book to use for my week spread (vertical layout 4-eva <3) and I like to do a good mix of decorative stickers and functional. I’ll make a general list of to-dos for the week and notate any appointments or errands that need to be done on certain days. But I mostly will use my planner to jot down some quick thoughts and feelings and to document any fun happenings or special things that have happened.” 

Q: What are your top 3 favorites/picks from our latest Spring 2023 collection? 

“I think one of my faves for Spring 2023 is the Celestial Elegance collection! I love that it’s a more sophisticated take on Stargazer and it just feels so dreamy!” 

“I’m also really loving the Nordic Brights look too! The colors are so nice and all of the little details make each sticker feel so unique!” 

“I am so excited to use the Tania Garcia Bright Travels sticker book! All of the illustrations are so fun and there’s a really great mix of patterns in there!” 

Whatever you decide to do for World Creativity and Innovation Day, we hope it makes you happy! If you end up celebrating by whipping up something NEW (or you’re just trying out some planner decorating ideas), share with us on social @the_happy_planner. It’s important to make time to inspire yourself and unleash your inner artist.
 

Happy Creating!