My name is Guna and I create art.
Don’t worry: if you want a killer visual identity, you’re definitely in the right place.
However, the difference between me and and all the other brand stylists out there… is that I’m an artist.
I don’t just create graphics and visuals for you: I create beautiful pieces of art that help you share your message with the world in the most powerful way possible.
I wasn’t always doing what I truly love though…
In fact, this is NOT my first time in this beautiful game we like to call entrepreneurship.
I’ve actually had 7 businesses.
I look nice and sweet, but the truth is…
Okay, I AM nice and sweet. But I’m also a badass when it comes to helping you with your visual identity.
Let’s rewind though: because I didn’t just wake up one day & decide to start a business.
The truth is, I’ve never been well-off. I never felt like we were materially poor, because we were richer than most in so many ways.
My mother has a condition that only a few hundred people in the entire world have: which means she is in constant pain.
And yet, even though she wasn’t in the best position to take care of me, she still did – and she managed to bring up a very confident and passionate daughter.
She instilled in me the values that have made me the entrepreneur that I am today. In my mind, I always had a traditional path.
Show up for all my classes.
Have good grades.
Get into university.
Get a good job.
Except… it never ended there.
Do you know somebody who’s an embodiment of the word “multi-passionate?”. Hi, nice to meet you!
I had so many passions and hobbies at school, I don’t remember ever feeling bored. I was interested in art, dancing, sports, health… and even fixing cars!
At the time, going to all of those competitions felt great and I never realised it would ever be a problem. I knew at one point I’d have a business of my own: maybe a dance studio? A rehabilitation centre? A beauty salon? Why not an art studio?!
Sensing a pattern already?
I spent the next 10 years of my life being more confused than ever.
As soon as I was legally old enough, I registered my first company and got my official bank account: take a guess at whether I knew what my business would be.
I dare you!
In case you guessed “no”, you’re right. A whole list of ideas at my fingertips was still not enough for me to choose something.
Still at university, I started a consulting business. Epic fail! Didn’t take me more than a few months to move on.
Afterwards, I did the most regular transition ever.
Event planning and kid’s parties!
Okay, not regular at all. But the first time a company approached me, I realized I have skills people need. I realised that I love my event planning career, but unfortunately, not the lifestyle it brings.
A lot more hair colors and businesses later…
I’d started a few different educations and I’d worked with people from all walks of life – from actors to large organizations.
And yet… I still hadn’t found my calling.
Being multi-passionate is as much of a blessing as it is a curse. Those of us who are “blessed”, we can’t afford not to experiment.
We need to take more risks than other people just to give ourselves the possibility of one day finally finding that one thing that makes our heart stop from excitement.
Today I know that at my very core, I’m an artist. It took me 10 years to realize that my creativity flows through everything I touch – and that people are willing to pay me big bucks for it.
My definition of entrepreneurship has evolved so much that I am half way to help my husband do what he loves instead of being constrained to a 9to5 job.
My ability to do so many things led me to feel guilty about my own talents, which led to a massive lack of confidence. I thought that I needed to wait a long time to finally be successful – and I had no idea how I’d get there.
One thing you probably don’t know about me is that I left my entire life in Latvia to move to Scotland with my husband and my baby girl.
If you’ve never started from 0 before, you have no idea what it takes to go from being a manager in a bank to living in an empty house and washing dishes in a coffee shop.
Ever seen a balloon pop?
That’s exactly what happened to my confidence. Feeling like I wasn’t worth it wasn’t enough to distract me from the goal of having my own business, but it was definitely slowing down the process.
I couldn’t even speak English well. Talk about making it difficult on myself!
I didn’t give up.
Every single day, I kept pushing through, full of desire with a slight touch of desperation to prove myself to the owner.
The only thing I had going for myself was my creativity.
3 months later, I became “that Latvian girl”.
The barista who did beautiful coffee art and spoke broken English.
People’s perception of me changed faster than I’d changed businesses – suddenly, everyone was talking to me, curious about my life and art.
Little did I know that this little coffee shop and my coffee art would be the beginning of my career – the one that would actually stick.
After a while, when I was working so much that I’d barely see my daughter, I started a make-up business so that I could work from home.
Yep, yet another business. And no – it wasn’t my ture calling either!
The freedom of having an online business was really awesome – I’d draw on my face in order to promote my products and a lot of people noticed my creativity.
At that point, I realized I wanted to make a bigger impact and be a better example for my baby daughter, so I started brainstorming on how I can make it happen.
Drawing was the last thing I’d ever imagine would turn into a business, and yet, I was doing it every day.
It was my happy place, where I’d end up every single day, no matter how the day went.
At that point, I knew I had a talent in reading people and crafting beautiful social media posts. I finally realized I was an artist before everything else.
“How can I combine them?” “How can I combine them?” “How can I combine them?”
I was pacing around my house, asking myself that question 100 times a day.
Until it finally clicked.
So, That Latvian Girl decided to try to help other entrepreneurs feel proud of their message and make more impact, by ensuring they have a kickass visual identity aligned with their brand.
And just like that…
She managed to do what so many others fail at every day.
Turn her art into a lifestyle.