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

Hi Megan, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought process behind starting my own business Meg Ya Look was to start doing something I loved and to work towards something I could be proud of. Straight out of college after receiving my BFA in Graphic Design I started working corporate agency jobs because I thought that’s what I was supposed to do. I quickly realized that wasn’t the place for me & I took a retail job at Anthropologie to start freelancing and took on creative projects that fulfilled me & this was the start of Meg Ya Look. At first, I started doing branding for small business owners and then I took on wedding stationery and custom dog portraits. Now Meg Ya Look is a shop with art prints, enamel pins & tote bags. My future goals are to one day expand into clothing or even design a food truck.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My work is fun, vibrant, and playful. I like to talk about my feelings in a lot of my work in hopes to normalize our emotions and relate with one another. I’m most proud of my “I cry a lot” pin because I’ve been able to validate & relate to others with the same thoughts and feelings. It sends a message to others that it’s okay to feel your feelings & wear it on your sleeve. We’ve grown up in a society that tells us otherwise & this design is refreshing but vulnerable at the same time.

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?
Oh wow! My favorite topic, FOOD! There is no shortage in Austin so you can’t really go wrong. But if my best friend was visiting I would first take her to get coffee at Merit. They have my favorite iced vanilla latte! Then, we’d stop at Nervous Charlies for a bacon egg & cheese breakfast sandwich. We’d either go kayaking or Barton Springs or maybe BOTH. For lunch, we’d scoop up Home Slice Pizza which is my favorite restaurant in town! We could walk around South Congress and go shopping fo a bit. For dinner, I’d suggest Ramen-tatsuya or Elizabeth Street Cafe. For drinks we’d go to Nickel city & Whistlers.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Honestly, I would love to give a shoutout to my Instagram community. My Instagram family has been my biggest support system, my cheerleaders & motivators. You guys keep me going!

Website: www.megyalook.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/megyalook
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-martinez-37195012a/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/megyalook

Image Credits
Photography by Erica Brown, https://www.ericarb.com/