A Bit About Me! Part II

My last blog entry was October of last year, which is ironic because that was literally a few weeks before I made some very drastic changes to my life. The blog was an introduction to myself and my life, and then a week after it I made that information very inaccurate.

So let's try this again! (And let's not have previous events be the trend. Please.)

Hi! My name is Lara, I'm a writer and an illustrator. Currently I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I work for a sign making company that provides "wayfinding" for offices/hospitals/airports/etc. (The Pentagon and Netflix, to namedrop.)  I do customer service, production floor assistance, and I'm being trained to do technical drawings! It's a heckin nice gig, I'm very lucky. As my friend would say, it's a unicorn job.

When I'm not doing that, yes, I am still an illustrator and a writer! I'm unable to be a full time artist for now, but I still squeeze it in whenever I can. I've self published one book, Be Kind to Me, which you can get from my Etsy shop! I'm constantly jotting down new ideas and make time for them wherever I can.

I'm excessively proud to say that I'm a Self Sufficient One Woman Show these days. About damn time. Couldn't have gotten here without overwhelming support from friends, family, and... you guys! (One Woman Show is kind of a lie, nothing can survive in isolation. But you get what I mean.)

Things are pretty great right now! I mentioned in my last (first) blog that I've battled anxiety and PMDD, and I seem to have managed to discover the root cause of both and in one fell swoop I pulled that out last October. It was a long time coming and so much self examination and WORK went into hitting that point, but once I realized what I had to do there was no going back.

It's been a battle and a journey and a joyride since then, I can't express my amazement and gratitude. This is a state of being that I never thought I'd get to experience, and every day is beautiful because of the weights I've shed. Even the days that are hard, challenging, borderline bad, it never feels as bad as it used to.

I want to take a moment to sincerely thank everyone who commissioned me last fall. I had to leave my home, my life, I was new to supporting myself and I needed work, desperately. The commissions bridged the gap between jobs. SO much gratitude. I will try not to be disgustingly mushy. THANK YOU. I never cease to be amazed by the overwhelming support I receive when I need it. As someone constantly afraid I'm not worthy of things, it's a lot to fit into my heart. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Enough with the sappy stuff though.

Things that are new in relation to lara jean doodles:
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Commission prices are going up! THANK YOU so much for all the interest in and support of my work. I never want to make myself inaccessible to my lovely supporters, and I'm doing my best to always keep prices low. However I've realized recently that I was undercharging for the amount of time and energy I was putting into commissions (I wasn't even making $10 an hour on them anymore lol), and it had been more than 5 years since I last revisited what I charge. It was time. My prints and mugs are still the same price! And as always, if you want something custom, something mini, please let me know and I'll be happy to work with you and your budget. My standard commission prices are all listed for color images, but I can do black and white for less! There's always an option, so let's talk. I want to make something for you!
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That said, I also now work a full time day job. Thankfully I work with excellent people at a job that suits me, so I'm not drained to zombie level functionality by the time I get home, however it takes up most of my day most of my week. This severely hampers how much commission work I can take on and how fast I can get it done. I'm always willing to put you onto the waitlist, and I do my best to keep you in the loop about where I'm at in the queue and share updates as your project progresses. Again, don't hesitate to get in touch! Let's talk!
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If you're thinking about getting a portrait for a holiday gift (I can't believe I'm saying this) you might want to ask for it... NOW. My slots at holiday time fill up SO FAST and if I want to guarantee shipping in time, it's never too early.
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You know what to do: go to my contact page and send me an email!
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I'm sending out a lot of sunshiny vibes to you all,

Lara Jean