About Lisa Blake & Lisa Blake Designs
Hi, I’m Lisa Blake of Lisa Blake Designs LLC. I’m an artist, nature photographer & surface pattern designer living in the mountains of New Jersey. I’m a lover of bold colors, nature, animals, tea & coffee and General Hospital.
You'll notice a strong nature and Ireland theme running through my art. My Grandparents immigrated from Ireland, raised their family in the States and then moved back to Ireland the year I was born.
I spent many summer vacations in Ireland. I have a huge extended family in Ireland, and England too. Fun fact: I’ve spent more than one night at a convent in London visiting my Great Aunt.
I'm very grateful to have those experiences as part of my life story and the opportunity to meet and know my relatives across the ocean.
This also meant we mailed lots of letters. International phone calls were expensive when I was a kid and my Grandma loved letters.
When I got older and phone calls were cheaper, my Grandma would only stay on the phone long enough for a hello, love you, God Bless. Literally, 2-3 seconds so, letters it was.
I've always had a love for photography, art, decorating, crafting & entrepreneurship. In college, I took some interior design classes & earned a certificate in floral design, along with my Associate Degree in Arts.
I loved to craft with my Chicago Grandma, making ornaments and dolls, cross-stitching and we even made a skirt. I also enjoy creating handmade gifts for family and friends.
As a kid, my best friend & I would make all kinds of things and go door to door to sell them. We had the typical lemonade stand, but we also sold handmade ornaments and we even popped popcorn and packaged it in lunch bags. The older folks thought we were cute.
Fast forward to adulthood when a life changing event led to a scratchboard class, then a free online drawing class. In 2006, the Ornament Card, began my annual tradition of drawing Christmas cards to send to my family & friends.
I spent many years with a part-time art business while working full-time. After 17 years of working for a non-profit trade association, I sold my house, gave notice and moved from a suburb of Chicago to New Jersey. All for Love.
In 2019, Lisa Blake Designs LLC was born. Lisa Blake Designs LLC is a proud partner with One Tree Planted, a non-profit organization focused on global reforestation. Every order over $10 from my Etsy shop plants a tree. Donations are made once a year on Earth Day.
I offer hand drawn & digitally drawn greeting cards on 100% recycled paper paired with 100% recycled envelopes, art prints on 100% recycled paper, photography prints and hand painted ornaments.
My surface design patterns are available on many different products in many different places (there is more info on my website).
I often hear people say that people don't read anymore. I tend to write long, so if you made it to the end, thanks for reading! :-)
...Lisa
