Meet Allison Hall | Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Allison Hall and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Allison, do you have any habits that you feel contribute to your effectiveness?
I am always sure to take my morning time to drink coffee, journal, read something encouraging. It’s easy to feel like you’re always running against the clock when running a business, and I’m so thankful when I can start my day to feel nourished. I make my best work when my mind is calm, and the investment at the beginning of the day is totally worth it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My work is certainly described as playful. A common theme of my life is that I don’t take myself too seriously and I think that shows through my work. As someone who has a passion for hospitality and creating safe spaces, I want people to feel at home when they see my art. Graduating from art school, I didn’t suspect that I’d be an entrepreneur. But each little decision I made led to the realization that I indeed was aiming to be a full-time, self-employed artist. I had a few part time jobs for three years after college- I was a nanny, baby-sitter, homeschool art teacher, a marketing director at a local restaurant…. All these side-gigs helped me pace myself as I built my art business and I was thankful to have more “extroverted” jobs since art can be so isolating. Slowly but surely, I met much of my creative community by participating in craft markets and styled shoots. These relationships really helped me blossom into a local artist that is deeply involved in her community. Knowing people is the best way to grow as a business-owner. It’s been so wonderful and organic.

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.
Savannah is such a wonderful gem of a city and I love showing it off. We’d certainly walk all over downtown Savannah through the squares. We’d eat at places like Fox and Fig, Savoy Society, Back in the Day Bakery… and shop at local stores like Hygge, Superbloom, Starland Strange, and the Paris Market. We’d spend half the week at Tybee Island, the little beach that’s 15 minutes away, and soak in as much sunshine as we can.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My parents have always encouraged my creativity as I was a kid. They recognized what my interests were, and let me do crazy things like sell handmade bookmarks at the local elementary school bazaar (at age 12) or have craft camps for neighborhood kids in our backyard. My bedroom walls were filled with drawings, inspiration, momentos… to most it would seem like junk but mom and dad recognized the importance of me growing up in a creative space. Even now, my parents love to earnestly give me project ideas and share what I’m doing with anyone they run into. I deeply cherish their support and I’m so aware that many people don’t get fueled up by that.

Website: alligracehall.com
Instagram: instagram.com/thesmallcreative
Other: Etsy.com/shop/thesmallcreative