Meet Lori Saint Rome | Illustrator, artist & Founder of Lorintheory

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lori Saint Rome and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lori, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have always wanted to create something in the world that was my own, however I can’t say it was exactly what I anticipated it would be. Starting my own business came from putting a passion of mine at the service of others. I noticed that there wasn’t a lot of representation in the illustration or art space and decided to create something that would be a vessel for that. Lorintheory is the result, and most of the time it feels like something that found me because I was meant to do it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My pieces are inspired mainly by women, bright and bold colors, textures, fashion, Haiti and nature. They evoke peacefulness, beauty, and blooming throughout life. My style is very bold, distinct, and colorful. From feedback I have gotten, they inspire confidence, joy, love, and peace.

It all started with me wanting to try digital art during the pandemic and putting a lot of time into learning it. I have been drawing since I was a little girl, but had never tried digital art before. Painting and drawing for me were just hobbies. When the pandemic happened, I realized how much of an escape my art provided for me. It was a source of peace and joy amidst such a stressful time. Photography at the time was my main creative business and that had to be put on hold during the pandemic. I would show my friends the many pieces that I would paint almost daily and everyone encouraged me to share them. I started sharing them on social media and the feedback I got was both shocking to me and heartwarming. From messages I had received, I realized the impact my pieces had for others especially women of color and that I could share the peace and joy that my art brought me. I also realized that the other art pages I followed didn’t have much pieces with people in them that looked like me so I made it a point to celebrate and uplift women of color. I looked into providing the best quality of products for a while before launching. I spoke to countless manufacturers to partner with, drove to various places to test the products myself because I care about providing people with the best quality possible. That’s why most Lorintheory prints are limited edition, because I am deeply humbled when anyone connects with my pieces so much so that they want them in their homes, for their brands, or as puzzles etc. It took time but it was worth it. This is how Lorintheory was born.

It isn’t easy running a business. You run into a lot of challenges, especially financial ones. In the beginning, I was doing this part time for a while while having a full time job and it was exhausting. Thankfully I learned some lessons along the way. One of them being use your resources. It is very easy to want to take on every task and everything and to do it all especially as a small business owner, but as a creative I can tell you that it’s the quickest way to burn out and to stunt your creativity. I have learned to delegate, to ask for help, to get my community involved and they showed up. Lorintheory wouldn’t be here today without the gift of community.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The first thing that comes to mind is Ponce City Inlet. I believe this is the very first spot I got to visit here and I was pretty amazed. We would have food at the slutty vegan or grab a bite at Hop’s chicken, go shopping for some black owned brands on the second floor, then head downstairs to walk the beltline. We would also visit Piedmont park because We all love walks and visit the main attractions like the aquarium. However, so far I can say Ponce City is a favorite of mine. It has everything from food, to good hangout spots, to walks. It’s a whole vibe.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to personally shout out my significant other Al, my friends Pascale, Zakeima, Ann, my family namely my mother, my sibling Sarah, and every single person and brand who believed in me and supported Lorintheory from the very beginning. It wouldn’t have been possible without their support.

Website: www.lorintheory.com

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/lorintheory

Twitter: Www.twitter.com/lorintheory

Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/lorintheory

Yelp: Www.yelp.com/lorintheory

Youtube: www.YouTube.com/lorintheory

Other: TikTok: @lorintheory