Most days you can find me, Kelly Renay, in my tiny studio in South Texas, sitting behind my Mac computer or Singer featherweight working away. Designing cityscapes, icons, surface patterns, quilt patterns or sewing away on my latest quilting project. When I’m not creating, I love spending time with my family, binge watched Bravo TV, researching family history on Ancestry, baking sweets or playing fetch with Star, my blue heeler.
As a young girl I had a learning disability that affected my ability to associate certain letters with sounds. It made it difficult for me to read, write and verbally communicate, but soon I discovered I could express myself through being creative. As the years passed my disability faded away, but my passion for creativity thrived. Growing up in San Antonio, Texas, I was influenced and inspired by the bold and bright culture, relaxed and comfortable atmosphere, and pride of family and home. With a B.A. in Computer Graphic Arts, I never imagined myself working in the corporate world. I strived to embrace my passion for creativity and bringing joy to others.
Focusing on my love for design and meaningful gift giving I became intrigued in opening my own shop; Kelly Renay. Built on a strong emotional bond, I wanted to build a line of specialty gifts, with a focus on personal gifts that fit your personality, with a ‘keep it simple and beautiful’ design approach. My offering consisted of personalized stationery, journals, pillows and mugs on Etsy. I grew up writing on Liz Frank stationery and loved her colorful patterns and fun artwork, so being able to create and offer my own was a blast. But, my heart and creative expression yearned for more. I set out to challenge myself with illustrating my hometown skyline. I received such warm reviews, upon sharing with a small business group. So, I set forth with designing more Texas cities. Illustrating small towns to large cities brings my real pleasure, as my first major was in Architecture. I’ve always been drawn to the finer details of building and the stories they tell. I believe fond memories are found within the landscape and should be cherished through a printed souvenir.
After developing my initial 12 cityscape illustrations, in 2018, I expanded into the wholesale world. I widened my offering to include, stickers, enamel pins and greeting cards in addition to the cityscape art prints.
That same year, I designed and pieced my first quilt in honor of my grandmother. She suddenly passed after struggling with Alzheimer’s, in 2017. During my adolescent years, her, my mother and I would attend quilt shows each year. During those visits she shared her love for fabric with me. I began collecting fat-quarters during those shows and still have a large container full of those fabrics today. It’s sad to think it took the loss of my beloved grandmother for my interest in quilting fabric to be re-sparked, but I am glad for my refound interest. As I’m able to reminisce about the times we spent together sewing on our Singer Featherweights, as I continue to sew on mine today.
Thank you for spending some of your time getting to know me, just a little.
Be true to yourself, chase your dreams, keep life simply beautiful and count your blessings. Work hard, all while having fun and doing with heart. Share life’s joys and bring happiness to others.
