With a Diploma of Fine Arts from MacEwan University and a Bachelor of Design from the University of Alberta, Alex's professional journey has spanned various iterations, from in-house design, to advertising studios, and software design. As she embraces the joyful chaos of life with a young family, Alex is shifting her focus to her freelance practice, where her creativity gets to evolve to what suits her.
During the week, I grab a coffee and catch up on a podcast either on my way to the gym or on the stationary bike downstairs. I’ll water the plants, pack lunches and start breakfast before the rest of my household wakes. For the longest time, I let my kids be my alarm clock, but having time to myself has made me a more adjusted person to be around (ha!). Once my family is up, we try our best to sit down for breakfast together before the morning work/school/daycare hustle begins.
On the weekend, it’s all about cuddles, pancakes and slowness.
Ceramics, textiles and bold colour ways. My family and neighbourhood. My home and garden.
I came across an article some time ago that explored how motivation has increasingly become tied to money. It discussed how we measure success and personal value by how much we earn, versus being driven to do good work that can positively impact the people around us. I’m fortunate that during this chapter of our lives, with small children, my partner provides financial stability for our family, allowing me the space to find ways to add value beyond a traditional job. I try to ask myself: Is this helping my people, or is it just adding to the noise? Lately, that’s been my main inspo.
The mural I completed last fall! Since moving to our neighbourhood, I’ve spent so many hours at the playground with my kids. Our community league is amazing, but its patchy cinderblock wall was begging forsomething fun and bright, so I found myself daydreaming about what a mural could look like.
I reached out to the league, met with the president, Corinne, and mapped out the entire project. I developed three creative directions and personally handed out about 200 postcards to collect community votes. I organized and hosted a paint party that brought out nearly 50 neighbours to participate, and we installed the finished piece in time for a neighbourhood block party.
Its completion felt like a bookend to an intense few years in terms of growth and loss, and I’m really proud of myself for chasing the dream and creating something beautiful with my neighbours. To be at a stage where I can work projects like this into my schedule AND have my kids be part of the process feels like the biggest win.
I read a quote somewhere that spoke to the responsibility of an artist. I’m paraphrasing what it said, but basically, if you’re going to choose to live and identify as a creative, you’d better give it your all. That means trying new things, staying curious and taking artistic play seriously. Everyone will benefit from that expression.
Two moments really stand out for me. The first waschoosing to pivot into UI/UX Design. At the time, I was working at a design studio and had started taking on most of the digital projects. I loved going through a user journey and finding ways to make experiences both intuitive and personal. When a remote position at a software company came up, I decided to go all in on digital and make the move. At the time, it felt like a bold move because it meant narrowing my focus in a way that felt risky. I loved my time at that job, so it definitely panned out.
The second was embracing what I will call my creative sabbatical. I never planned to step away from full-time work after having kids. But then there was the realization that the choices I made needed to serve not just me, but our family of four. We opted to register them in part-time childcare during their early years. They get to play independently with their buds while I work on either freelance or personal projects, and then they’re with me the rest of the time. I’ve chosen to redefine what my career progress looks like to prioritize flexibility.
Success means having the time to enjoy my family and my home. Growing and cooking my own food. Being present with the people I love. It’s choosing projects that align with my values and having the ability to share that work. I want what I do to deepen my connection to the things that matter most to me, not pull me away from them.
I’ve always felt this sense of needing to be two things at once. As a young designer, I would worry about how I presented myself. I was always trying to be professional and confident, but also humble and not too eager. I wanted to speak up and take credit for my work, but I worried that I wasn’t being modest enough. What a mind game to be caught up in.
As a working parent, this theme has come up again. The kids always have to come first, but then I also have an education and career that I want to honour. I have the responsibility to care for my kids, but also to demonstrate that being a mom does not mean giving up personal dreams and ambitions. I want my kids to understand that childcare and domestic responsibilities are shared duties, not just “mom’s work.” The greatest challenge is always wanting to be with them and simultaneously feeling like I’m losing a little sense of my professional self when I’m immersed in mom mode.
Get out there and find a mentor or community to support and inspire you. Being able to speak candidly with someone you can identify with is invaluable. They’ll make the hard days feel easier and will push you towards growth.
Don’t wait until you’re overly qualified to go after a role. Just start showing up. Stay active. Call up a pal and head to whatever talk or event catches your interest. Be confident in yourself and trust your gut. If whatever creative space you find yourself in doesn’t feel right, don’t be afraid to make changes. There are so many opportunities within the field of design.
Finally, find ways of making everyday projects your dream projects. Some projects can feel like a drag, but use each one as an opportunity to grow your skills or learn something new.
Oh, I’ve daydreamed plenty about this.
Flexibility between working from home and a shared space with other creatives. A combo of clean office space and messy maker space. A little retail shelf up front with a lovingly curated collection of design goods. And ideally, there’d be a cute coffee shop and PT childcare options around the corner.
When I was working as a graphic designer, Valéry Goulet was my creative director for a few months. Before she joined the team, I was going through a rough patch in my professional career. Working with her was such a validating experience. She had this way of championing my work while simultaneously pushing me to want to do better.
She was a leader who worked right alongside you and cared about your well-being. She encouraged my voice in internal and client meetings. She also paid attention to my ambitions and helped me advance my career beyond that role. I respect her as a creative and design leader.
Beyond that, I also love how she carries herself. She tells it how it is and has strong confidence while being empathetic and down to earth. She inspired me to want to mentor and give back to the creative industry in turn.
What matters shifted into focus a bit more for me once I had my kids. I want to work on things that I feel contribute to making my community a better place to live. I’ve had tremendous fun creating projects with a lifecycle of community involvement, or that connect me with a greater audience, rather than being a stagnant piece of design you don’t see pastc ompletion.
I’m sure things will evolve as my kids age, but right now, they’re young, so they’re often part of my creative process because they’re with me at home. As chaotic as that can be, I also love it. I want them to see and feel and interact with the work that I’m doing. Design has been my tool for finding my family’s footing in our community.
It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.
Honestly, I lacked the courage to even approach public work like this in the past. The combination of becoming a parent and losing my dad flipped the switch. I devoted all of my time to caring for my kids, supporting my dad and family through his illness, and supporting my partner while he experienced the same thing with his own dad. When I was able and ready to come up for air, I had the clarity and motivation to just go for it. I want my kids to chase their dreams without waiting for permission, so I’m trying my best to model that to them. Dealing with familial loss also kind of forced me to confront mortality a bit. Without going down a rabbit hole, I’ll just say that I still yearn to make my dad proud, and I feel a heavier weight to reach for what I want now because the future is unpredictable.
In this fast-paced, tech-dominated world, everything is at ouch of a button away, and it’s such a distraction. Pottery has slowed me down in the best way possible and made me focus on the process rather than the outcome. I feel like in the past I’ve operated at a level where everything feels like it has to be done yesterday, or that my value is directly tied to productivity levels.
Hunkering down and spending way too long with a lump of clay is my quiet act of rebellion.
For the immediate future, I’m going to keep giving this creative sabbatical my all. Say yes to the things that feel right and hope that the yeses gain momentum and lead to opportunities I didn’t even know were there for me.
I see my ceramic work evolving to include more surface decorations and patterns. I love the idea of looking into stockist opportunities for both pottery and print. I’ll be co-hosting a few workshops this year.
One day, I suppose I’ll find my way back to a more traditional job and role, which excites me. I often find parallels in designing a digital experience and how I comport myself through projects like murals or pottery releases. There are always participants and customers who are part ofthe creative process or who interact with me or my products online after the fact. I’m always thinking about their journey and how I can make it feel good and communicate my story effectively.
A big thanks to Monotype for supplying the typefaces for our website. Their consistent support of Canadian Women in Design underscores their commitment to the design community.
