Meet Zoey Sunshine Coley | Graphic Designer, Artist, Writer and Publisher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zoey Sunshine Coley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zoey Sunshine, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
When I kept finding closed doors when seeking job opportunities, I made my own way. After calling countless publishing companies to try to get my husband into an illustration position and hitting walls, I said you know what I’m starting my own publishing company then, so we expanded our graphic design firm into a publishing company as well. We aim to produce award winning children’s and young adult’s books, that uplift, inspire, encourage and teach children valuable character forming lessons with engaging imagery that sparks the imagination. Our marketing company produces everything from logos to websites to vehicle wraps, we are a mom-n-pop one-stop-shop. Our motto is “All up in your business”. We are quirky artists with big dreams that we are making happen one day at a time. I treat every client’s business as if we are starting a business together, on the same team, working towards the same goals.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have been an artist my entire life, I have spent the same amount of time questioning if I am really an artist or just pretending to be one. I am an author and publisher, you can search my name on Amazon and a list of books I have written and co-created show up, with many more to come. I feel like I am at the bottom of a large mountain preparing for the trek to the top, it’s a good thing I love hiking and challenging myself. I aim to go above and beyond the expectation of others in service and the materials I produce. In my personal art I have a wide range of projects going at any given moment, at the moment I have one abstract painting on the easel about a hummingbird and dragonfly, and continuously pumping out inspiring collages meant to affect the viewer in ways that invoke emotion, thought and transformation. I also make dreamcatchers and really dabble in many forms of art. Although, collages have always been my forte.

I remember the first collage I ever created, it was for my mom. The piece represented what a mom is, it was beautiful even at such a young age. Another memory engrained in my mind is of a mosaic I was making on my ceiling as a teen with various colors of candy wrappers, and a collage of inspiring images on the wall beside my bed (likely some idea I got from watching some artsy movie). One day I came home and my dad had ripped my mosaic down and art off my walls, my heart was broken. My dad insisted that artists only made money when their dead.

Since I was very young, I have always had an alter beside my bed where I would lay my wishes and dreams and hold the prayers in my heart. Everything I have ever accomplished was manifested intentionally by aiming every thought, action, word and feeling at my goals; arrows sharpened. I am proud to say that I persisted in the face of seeming defeat and consistent discouragement. Being asked as a child what I wanted to be as a grown up, I would always answer – “an artist”. Even the voices in my head would fight me arguing whether I was really an artist or a wannabe.

I feel like starting a business with no capital, and facing every ounce of discouragement is easy. I just tell myself that I will prove to myself that it is possible to create something out of thin air. Uncertainty can feel suffocating, and make a person spiral out if not careful. Being an artist really takes all of you – something that many people are not willing to throw themselves all in for, seeing it as too big of a risk. They are always afraid to jump off the metaphorical cliff, cozy with a steady paycheck and benefits. The struggle has been real, I’ll tell you that any day, but the way you persist determines your outcome. I feel like sometimes you just have to try something a little outside the box to see true success, it really has to be designed and imagined up by you. There is honestly not always a way paved before you, so sometimes you have to carve the path as you go. There are business models that are cookie-cutter, but that certainly is not the life I ever imagined for myself.

I host events and meet interesting people often. I feel sorta like a people collector of all the misfit dreamers. I pride myself in helping artists make a solid career for themselves, something they can be proud of. I overall view my life as magical and aim to inspire others to create their best self and experience. Business is spiritual to me, engrained in every fiber of my being to care about the deeper meaning of everything I see, including humans. The earth and skies are like God’s sacred pallet adorning the canvas with beauty.

On that note, I have also learned how to tone it down around people that are more held together in their structure of life. There are times when being the zany artsy type is not appropriate if you want the business. It’s like a performance with every new person I meet, when I perform at my best in any given moment, amazing results materialize.

I have been through all the typical struggles of running a business. I was a single mom in my earlier years, trying to run a photography studio with toddlers strapped to my back and legs, that was probably one of the more challenging times of life as a business owner. I am grateful to have my my husband, David, together we are a powerhouse of dreams. He is an illustrator and muralist, and I cover the production angles, account management and marketing, basically I bring business to him. He is the genius behind the curtain, and a lot of fun to work with.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I love the lakes and parks in DFW. Most of my closest friends have children, and our home is setup as an event center called “Dragonfly Manor – Healing and arts center”, so when friends visit it is usually for a gathering of some sort. We teach Vision Board and Journal Workshops. We host events and offer spiritual counsel and self-empowerment coaching. As you could imagine, I have seven children and a community I am responsible to, so I keep busy. However, I have my favorite spots to grab coffee (Dutch Bros is my current fix), and eat. There is a new sushi place in town called Tokyo House Sushi Hibachi & Bar that looks promising. I live in the country so we don’t venture outside our area very often, and the most interesting thing in our neighborhood is an alpaca farm down the road.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
David Coley, my cohort, owner of David Coley Art, parent by my side to 7 children, love of my life. For all your loving support, encouragement, and dreaming up a magical life together.

Website: http://bit.ly/IlluminedMarketing

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/illuminedmarketingandpublishing

Image Credits
Zoey Sunshine Coley