New direction

Turning to a new platform to communicate and connect. A place that feels safe and encouraging. Somewhere to share, learn and grow. This is going to be quite the adventure as I experiment. Let's do it!

Thank you for being here and baring with me as I explore this new world. I’m looking forward to connecting with you.

Quick illustration of my childhood home sometime in college, maybe 2018? Wish I would have added some of the landscaping — so many missing bushes and trees.

Humble beginnings

I grew up on a hobby farm in rural Ohio with two sisters, and two brothers. We had a pirate ship in our backyard, a large garden, small orchard and lots of room to learn and grow. I loved playing outside and caring for our various animals: chickens, geese, a donkey, goats, rabbits, cats and more. I knew from a young age that I loved being outside and I loved animals (for a long time, I only drew animals). I’m the second oldest and was always pretty shy as a child. I’d say I finally came “out of my shell” when I got to high school.

I’ve always had that creative itch — the desire to draw and create with my hands to bring an idea to life. In high school I took both an Adobe photoshop and Adobe illustrator class, which were my first steps into digital art and design. I didn’t even know what graphic design was until my teacher told me it was something I should consider as a career. Since I also loved math and science, I had a hard time deciding what to pursue after graduation. After much consideration and deliberation, I felt called to a creative field and settled on Graphic Design.

Drawing from high school, I think senior year, 2015?

1. Why here — why now?

Since I’ve been feeling drained by social media, I wanted to find a new space to learn, grow and share. After following a few others on Substack (thank you

Green Graphic Design

and

Blue Raspberry Patch

), this started to feel like the right place for me.

Substack feels like a place where I can dig deeper. I care about every word on the page and it seems like many others do as well. Thinking about a space where it’s not all about the catchy headlines or simple phrases? I’m on board.

I’m also over here silently hoping that writing here will help me find my voice.

2. Goals for this community

I want this community to be enjoyable for all involved. It may be inconsistent, it might be raw and unfiltered, and it might not always relate to you. I plan to take breaks when I need to, adapt with your requests, and figure it out as I go along. No more putting too much pressure on pushing out content, following the algorithms or chasing numbers.

Right now, I just want this to be a safe space to share more openly and give as much as I take. I really want you involved, so please reach out if something resonates or calls you to connect. If you want to hear about something specific, I want to know. Help me craft a space that brings you joy and provides value.

3. Experimental stages

Right now I’m thinking RLC Roots will either be a monthly or bi-monthly newsletter (I really don't want to clutter your inbox). I’m currently writing at 10pm to get some lingering thoughts out of my head and get my first post knocked out.

I’ve been brainstorming a newsletter for a while and have a wide range of topics in mind for future posts:

• Visual branding tips

• Design resources and tools

• More about me

• Inside look at my design and illustration work

• Business updates

• New services

• Low waste swaps and ways to live more sustainably

I’d love to cater this space for you, so if there is something you are curious about or want more details on — leave a comment and I’ll add it to my list.

4. Renee Lynn Creative?

I started Renee Lynn Creative LLC back in March 2021, shortly after a cross-country move from the midwest. It was quite the wild ride — both the road trip west and the path to starting my business (Fun Fact: I’d never been to Oregon before we moved out here, not even the Pacific Northwest). No one in my immediate family had ever started a business and no one had moved so far away, so this was all new to me. I remember feeling a wide range of motions, but I’d always felt like this was what I was supposed to do — I just thought it would be later on in my career.

Photo by Riza at Steeza Shots.

While deciding on a name for my business, I quickly realized that I could spend forever debating on the perfect fit and I didn’t want that to hold me back… so I went with my own name. Since I offer a range of services from bespoke illustrations to carefully crafted visual brands, I settled on adding “Creative” to finish. If you spend time in the design world you might know Aaron Draplin, Chipp Kidd, or Milton Glaser. There are quite a few designers who make a name for themselves and are simply known by name, so I thought why not me too?

Side note: One of our friends in college (shoutout Tyler) thought “Reneelynn” was a pet name because my now husband used to call me “Renee Lynn” when we were dating. When I started brainstorming, the memory of Tyler putting everything together when he found out my middle name was Lynn kept coming to mind and it just felt right.

I’m sure I’ll be sharing more details as I go along, so I leave you with that for now.

5. Shoot me a message, comment, email, whatever works for you.

I want to use this space to connect more deeply, strengthen relationships, and share honestly about me and my work. If there is something you want to know about, I want to hear about it and make this space more enjoyable for us both!

You can check out my website below if you want to know more about me before next time. Thanks again for being here, I’m excited for this new adventure!

---