hello & welcome! – courtney rose design

Thank you for being here! I wanted to share more about myself with you while not writing an overwhelmingly long novel on the ‘about’ page.

I’m Courtney Rose Siemens, the designer behind Courtney Rose Design!

To be honest, I had gone an entirely different direction when I first sat down to write this blog post, and then I decided to start over. I don’t want to solely talk about my business here, if you are on my website or if you follow me on Instagram, then chances are you already know! So, I want to use this space to share some not-so-well-known facts about me to connect with you better and to inspire you in some way, because I value you for taking time out of your day to spend reading this. 🙂

If you don’t already know, I live in a small town called Lucky Lake, Saskatchewan – population of just under 300 people. I moved here right after my husband and I got engaged, and I have been loving the small-town life! The days go by at a slower pace which has allowed me to slow down, be in the present, and enjoy the little moments, rather than always focusing on the future or my next goal.

So, I want to know – how you are taking time to be present and to appreciate the little moments with those around you? leave me a comment below! 🙂

Creating art has always been a form of expression for me. As a child, I was very shy and hated being the centre of attention. However, I loved sharing my art! It was the only form of attention that didn’t send me running to a corner to hide. Looking back on that time in my life, I can see how valuable art was to me as a way to express myself (especially being someone who didn’t show my expressions through sports or talking haha). I hope to talk more about this in a future blog post and about how spending time being creative is necessary, even if you don’t consider yourself a creative person (newsflash – everyone is creative!). You just might have to dig a little deeper to find out how to express yourself creatively and what inspires your imagination!

I find inspiration in many different ways! I’d love to say it’s only when I’m in an art gallery or walking through nature – but the truth is it’s more likely if I’m visiting a cute antique shop and see patterns from old furniture. I have always loved patterns, especially florals. If there is a floral design on a vintage teacup? Well my day has been made (this girl is obsessed with teacups). I have a collection of teacups, but I collect antique ones preferably. I love thinking about the story behind each one and this always brings back memories of tea parties with my great aunt at her cabin, drinking pink grapefruit soda from my teacup (classy, I know).I am also inspired by textures, especially by incorporation into painted rustic style wood signs. Bringing out the texture in the wood grain brings me genuine inspiration because each is truly unique.

I’ve realized imperfection is perfect to me. I incorporate this style into my work which has allowed me to create more freely and really identify what my style is, especially when it comes to calligraphy. I like digitizing my work and not overediting it in order to maintain the true handwritten feel – scratchy lines from where the nib barely touches the page, leaving a slightly detached line. I find I put less pressure on myself this way when I’m creating.

In hindsight, I see how I perceived perfectionism as a “good” thing, without realizing that it was not allowing me to just create and enjoy the process. I now know perfectionism comes from a place of fear. Being able to let go of the desire to be perfect in more ways than one has allowed me to enjoy the creative process and to find my true artistic style. I love embracing the imperfections in my art because it feels so real and personal. Not everyone may like it, and I accept that. Is fear holding you back from reaching towards your potential? Creatively, in your career, or in your personal life?

Thanks for following along, I am so happy (but also pretty vulnerable) sharing this blog with you!