[title subtitle=”WORDS Liesel Schmidt
IMAGES courtesy Canon Reed, Cheeky Darling”][/title]
Looking online for downloadable digital templates for cards and invitations can sometimes turn into an endless search that leads from one website to another, all without finding the perfect one. And while some people would just settle for something close enough to what they had in mind, the truly creative and doggedly determined take the frustrated search and use it as inspiration.
Meet Canon Bey Reed. A thirty-four-year-old wife and the mother of two young children, her life is already hectic with running a household. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll find that she has an amazingly creative mind and an undeniably entrepreneurial spirit—two things that have driven her to be successful as the digital diva behind the whimsical clipart brand she named The Cheeky Darling.
Originally begun in 2011 as a way to bridge the gap between what she personally wanted and needed to see and what was actually available online, The Cheeky Darling gave Canon an outlet for her artistic brain to make the designs she saw in her mind’s eye. More than that, it gave her a way to turn her ideas into profits. “Back then, I had just gotten serious about wanting to grow my photography business. Photo albums and senior graduation cards used background patterns that all seemed very standard and lacked anything that was really unique, and I wanted something that wasn’t distressed or faux antique,” says Canon. “I really wanted something fresh and fun, like my work. Unfortunately, there weren’t many options in 2011, so I started making my own. I told myself that if I was going to spend so much time on making designs, I should sell them. It went great; but at the time, Etsy didn’t have a digital download system. There were problems with each seller using a different system, so I stepped away until 2014, when I had my son. Being a mother actually renewed my love for color and playful things—plus Etsy had their new system.”
Scrolling through The Cheeky Darling’s page, it’s clear that the new system has yielded great things for Canon—as has her renewed creativity. Design after design, the options she offers are amazingly unique and truly fun, not to mention versatile. Ideal for everything from invitations and announcements to scrapbook paper, stickers, and textiles, the designs can be easily downloaded and printed in a variety of sizes without losing the incredible detail and rich colors. Naturally, Canon has the virtual world covered, as well; and her clipart can even be used for adding that perfect touch of something to websites and blogs. “I have a lot of stationery companies, party planners, and textile companies as clients,” says Canon. Not surprisingly, some of her biggest sellers are her floral patterns and anything holiday themed. “My personal favorites are scenes,” she says. “It used to be patterns, but making scenes feels like I’m carving something with shadows and highlighting. I also love a funkier mid-century palette of mustard greens, pale blue, orange, and pinks. Even so, I do love color trends and forecasts as much as anyone. It’s fickle and fleeting—it seems like it all changes faster every year!”
While she holds no degree in the arts, looking at the many designs of clipart that bear her mark makes it abundantly obvious that Canon lacks no shortage of natural ability. “I’ve always been creative—though not always conveniently,” she says. “My whole life, I’ve been able to see things in a different way. I’m mesmerized by how the light hits things, and colors can stop me in my tracks. I sometimes embarrass the people I’m with because when I see something beautiful about a person—even a stranger—I have to tell them!” Canon laughs.
Clearly, Canon doesn’t allow social norms and commonly held expectations of interaction to impede her personality, and that personality is something that definitely pops on the page. Looking at her designs, it’s impossible not to get a sense of the fun, creative woman behind them and want to get to know her and how she does what she obviously does so well. “I find inspiration everywhere, but my best things come when I’m not searching for inspiration,” she explains. “I work on the bones of something first, sketching on paper or in Illustrator. I’ll think about the basic shapes that make the picture and then get more detailed, paying close attention to the feeling I want it to convey. For instance, is it playful? Which kind of playful?
It’s also easy to get caught up in detail and color, but those things come last. I love making a design in several color ways.” While creativity is in no short supply, confidence is something that Canon has often struggled with. “I don’t have a great deal of self-confidence or confidence in what I’m doing,” she admits. “Even though I’ve been successful, I’ve found that, the better you do, the more you think about what comes next and whether it will be well-received. Conversely, sometimes the designs I’m not truly confident about actually become huge successes.”
As busy as she is creating her designs, Canon understands the importance of balancing family and work life. Fortunately, she has an incredible support system and an adoring fan-base at home. “My family is all really proud of me and what I’m doing,” she says of her husband Renner, Lavaca High School boys basketball coach, their six-year-old son Gus, and three year-old daughter Emet. “I was paid in 2018 to speak and draw at a conference near Times Square, and you would have thought that I’d won the Nobel Peace Prizewith how they bragged! Even if I was the worst and never made a sale, they would be cheering me on. I definitely got lucky with them.”
Of course, productive creativity needs to be fueled by downtime, and Canon unplugs from her work by painting, building forts with her kids, and “saving trash to repurpose—I have a slight hoarding issue!” she says with a laugh.
Going forward, Canon would love to break into illustrating children’s books. For now, however, she’s definitely proud of what she’s done so far. “I feel amazing about how much I’ve been able to do as an entrepreneur. I have a lot of customers outside of the U.S., and it feels good to know that I’m doing my part to contribute to our economy. Admittedly, I think every maker of things can look back and shudder at some of their creations and marvel at how far they’ve come or how things have changed. Still, each design is mine, and I’m proud every time they’re used by someone.”
From vibrant, whimsical florals to fantastical fairytale scenes, Canon Bey Reed and her designs at The Cheeky Darling are everything the name implies. Full of whimsy, color, and sometimes-sassy attitude, this is one company that’s anything but one-dimensional.
To view all of Canon’s beautiful work, visit The Cheeky Darling at: etsy.com/shop/TheCheekyDarling.
