First joining us as a Designer on Dogwood Hill’s in-house graphic design team, then moving to Design Director and as a new Dogwood Hill artist in 2019, Lucy Young has worn many different hats as part of the Dogwood Hill family. We are now thrilled to introduce her as our new Creative Director! We are excited for her to take on this new role and we’re confident she will bring to it the same level of artistry and graciousness she has demonstrated since she first began working for Dixie in early 2018.
Be sure to head to our website here to scroll through Lucy’s Dogwood Hill artwork in our latest Holiday and Valentine Collections. Her artwork is also well showcased on her Instagram page. Not only does she have a knack for darling illustrations, but her calligraphy penmanship is exquisite. Below we have included some images of Lucy’s studio as well as some shots of her artwork and calligraphy.
Lucy kindly answered a few questions for us today about what her new job will entail, her creative vision for Dogwood Hill, and even gave us a few hints about what fun new products may be on the horizon!
What responsibilities will your new role as Creative Director encompass?
As the Creative Director, I will put on many different hats throughout the week! I am the main point of contact for our amazing artists. I receive their artwork and review it with our owner, Jennifer Hunt, to make sure it is exactly what we need before building out the products. I then work with the designers as they are building out the suites to give feedback and encouragement as they are working. This takes up a majority of each day! I also work very closely with our incredibly organized and talented Project Communications Manager, Dana Vick, to make sure all of our projects and deadlines are met. We also work together with Jennifer to prepare for photoshoots and carefully curate which suites will be styled and shot for our website, social media and our wholesale catalog. In between art and design reviews, I work with our PR team to help with any special requests and collaborations. All of these responsibilities tie in to my main goal of communicating the Dogwood Hill story and style on all of our platforms. With each suite that is designed, every styled shot of our product, every blog post—all of it should point back to our vision of blending custom art and gorgeous design to create products that inspire our audience and consumers!
What are some of your creative visions for Dogwood Hill in the next year or so?
I want to continue the vision that our original Creative Director, Holly Hollon, and our owner, Jennifer, have worked so hard to bring to life for Dogwood Hill, making each launch a beautifully curated selection of only the best art and design! My hope for this year is to help create enough time and space for our artists and designers to have some breathing room to really explore and push the limits with their work. There are always a million things going on—new ideas we want to test out and deadlines to be met—there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get it all done! We are working on implementing some new communication strategies and deadlines within our workflow, so I am hopeful that this will help create that space we need to work from a place of peace and inspiration rather than pressure and hustle!
Are there any future new Dogwood Hill products or collections coming out this year that you are particularly excited about?
Jennifer is constantly coming up with new ideas of ways we can bring our artwork to new products and mediums. We have a few things in the works that I am hoping we can launch in 2020. I’m also getting SUPER excited about our spring and summer collections that will launch in March and May! Be on the lookout for all of that colorful goodness coming your way!
Can you give us any hints about holiday artwork you may be working on for the Holiday 2020 collection?
Oh this is fun! I am really excited about bringing some coastal colors into my collection this year. I’ll be posting sneak peeks as I am working that you will see on my Instagram account.
Do you have any creative mentors? If so, what has been their most valuable career advice?
Holly Hollon has been an amazing mentor in so many ways! She is always willing to give design advice and share resources. I feel comfortable coming to her with questions and for guidance. She is such a gift! I am the most grateful for her reminders to not undervalue my work. She encourages me to be proud of my art. To hear these words of affirmation coming from one of my favorite designers really feeds my creative spirit. I also am inspired and pushed to be a better designer by my fellow designers at Dogwood Hill. We have such a great team and we all work to build each other up. I learn so much from our team every day!
Are there any particular creative influencers that you follow for inspiration?
I love following Emily Jeffords on Instagram! While our artistic styles are different, I resonate so much with her teaching style. She is a huge advocate for the progress and process of art, which is something I tend to forget when I am trying to meet deadlines. Her feed is gorgeous and inspiring—I never feel that sting of comparison when I see her posts. I leave feeling encouraged, which is what instagram should be for!
How would you explain Dogwood Hill in five words or less?
Gorgeous (we use this word so much when reviewing the art and design!), Polished, Inspiring and Flourishing
Lucy, her husband Patrick and their pup, Galley
Studio shots photography: Brenna Kneiss
Family photo photography: Natalie Blevins