First Light
The overflow that doesn't fit anywhere else, gathered here.
I’ve been exploring the idea of entering Substack for quite a while now, as instagram is giving me strange vibes lately and my TikTok algorithm is pure laugh and 0 brain activity for me. As written above, ‘overflow’ is how I’d describe my brain and since I always loved writing, archiving, creating lists, note wishes, favorites, etc. I decided to give this a try.
Since I’m swimming in the business for 12 years now, I thought I’d be fun to start with a refresh of ‘how I ended up where I currently am.’ Som:)
2009 to 2013 I earned a Master’s in Graphic Design at Sint Lucas Antwerp – Academy of Fine Arts & Design. Everything before this chapter I will skip as I hated school my entire life and only found passion in having a prehistoric black and white Macintosh at home where I discovered the pleasure of digital drawing and later on manipulating visuals with the first versions of photoshop. A universe opened that led me to the next chapter. Right after graduation, on the second of January 2014 (this explains how inpatient I tend to be) I started my company under my personal name ‘Louise Mertens’, 12 years old today.
Both my parents had always been self-employed, and I guess this made me more confident in out-ruling the negative consequences and risks involved with starting from zero. I remember not having more than 500 euros in my bank account and one client project. I always had a strong drive and an optimistic voice in my head.
One project led to another, mostly in branding, covers, print and book-design. Alongside client work I’d create little artworks. Something I did even before studying and this eventually led to clients asking me to create custom, more artistic visual images. I started playing with photography as it gave me more freedom to do what I visioned: However, I’ll never call myself a photographer as I’m less interested in the technical aspects and solely focus on the outcomes. My projects varied a lot, none were identical which I loved and I was lucky to start picking which one I liked over the ones that wouldn't give me any freedom. Even when trying I was never able to create for others what didn’t really feel beautiful to me.
Rewind: right when I started my studio, I applied for an internship at Sagmeister & Walsh in New York. To my greatest disbelief I got accepted and was put on a waiting list for 2 years. It was really hard for me to transform into the role of ‘intern’ after working for myself those years ahead. Looking back, I’m really happy I did it as I learned a lot about life and experienced this city in such a different and special way than I would as a tourist. It awakened a flame in me.
Post-New York, I worked harder than ever before and got international attention which was a dream to me for the only reason that I never felt understood in Belgium. I always felt that clients were afraid to step out of the box, do unexpected things and even pay ‘normal budgets’ (Need to write a whole new post around this topic, remind me) So to finally have more freedom and understanding was very exciting. My artworks were growing and I started selling and doing exhibitions in various cities.
In 2018-2019 I went through a big shift in life on all personal levels. Finding a nice work life balance has never been easy for me as I’m passionate about so much so it caught me somewhere at this stage of my life, leading me to slow down. I failed of course but I did discover new passions and dreams along the way, read a lot of books, saw a lot of podcasts when this was still kind of new and it opened a new creative gate. Oh, I also became a mom (future post).
In 2020, my work caught the attention of the Oman fragrance house ‘Amouage’, where I’m still working for. I create all of their packaging artworks and most of their fragrance campaigns. Together with Renaud Salmon, I figure out ways to visualize his scent universes and bring them to life. Here in Portugal (another post, remind me), we create sets, all made by hand, which we shoot and capture on video. I don’t really like boxes or titles, but to help explain, I evolved towards creative direction as I lead a team of creatives to make all of this happen. I absolutely love the process and experimental phases.
Mid 2024, I started working part-time as a creative director for another company in Phoenix. Not mentioning any names as it’s gonna take some years to fully change the whole look and feel here ;) But I’m learning a lot.
Last but not least, ever since I moved to Portugal I had to come up with new ways of creating my art, as I felt I had grown out of the solely digital phase. Over the past 2,5 years I’ve been painting on canvas on larger formats. Stepping away from the fragility my works once had, into a more rough and unexpected version of myself. Layering has always been a big part of my skills and now painting on top of my digital creations feels like I finally found where I need to be.
Would love to get some input / feedback on what you’d like me to write / post about in the future! Feel free to drop a comment or message. Thank you!
L