Meet Andrea Rees | Graphic Designer & Entrepreneur

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

Hi Andrea, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I began selling on Etsy in 2012 after an inside family joke became popular amongst friends and acquaintances. My parents, sister, and I have always created those paper chain countdowns — yes, the ones you used to make in kindergarten — to help count down the days to reach a milestone (e.g. graduation, retirement, etc.) So it seemed only fitting to create a 40-week chain to announce my first pregnancy to my parents. However, being a creative/graphic designer, blank strips of paper certainly weren’t going to do — each link had the dates, week number, and what fruit or vegetable the baby was currently the size of. After sharing photos of the chain on social media afterwards, I started receiving numerous requests for other personalized pregnancy chains and a lot of encouragement to start offering them on a larger platform. Thus, my Etsy shop (www.andreareesdesign.etsy.com) was born.

My mom, Vicky, joined me as a business partner in 2017 to launch a completely new product line in a response to a problem we were both facing. We had both purchased Fitbits that year and enjoyed competing against one another in the step challenges. Well, we quickly noticed a flaw with the product — I was walking out of hour-long spin classes without a single new “step” whereas she was hitting 10k+ steps simply by pushing fabric through her sewing machine while quilting. We both felt it made a lot more sense to put the tracking device closer to our feet, so my mom got to work designing a one-of-a-kind ankle band that housed the original straps while still maintaining sensor to skin contact. It didn’t take long for the two of us to be blown away by how comfortable and more accurate ankle-wearing was, so we decided to launch the smartwatch/step tracker ankle band product line on Etsy.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
During the day, I am a seasoned corporate graphic designer with 20+ years in the industry. I absolutely love what I do and have never questioned if I was in the correct career path or not. However, working within one company’s brand for so long sometimes creates this lull where it’s tricky to dig your way out to reinvent/push yourself professionally. Having my Etsy and freelance business has been incredibly healthy to give me that additional outlet to work with far less restraints.

Right now, I’m in a season of my life where the list of ideas and products I want to launch and platforms I want to pursue just continue to accumulate with very little time and energy left to tackle them. I work full-time, am a single parent to two young kids and two dogs, offer pet-care services through Rover, and am tackling a laundry list of home improvement projects — so unfortunately my side business goals and mindset are strictly in survival and maintenance mode. I’ve never been one to do anything halfheartedly, so it is tough right now to have these few ventures/hobbies that I’m very passionate about and be forced to put them on the back burner. Being a mom will always be the more important and fulfilling part of my life, but the creative in me is biding its time to do something really big and amazing.

For now though, I am so proud of the business my mom and I have built. When you look at our Etsy shop, one may feel it’s quite the hodgepodge of product lines, but that collection of handmade goods is simply a culmination of what this mother-daughter duo are passionate about and talented at. We made the decision to throw out what may be considered “traditional business models” and offer up quality products made with love.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Excuse the giggle here — I’m a diehard homebody that doesn’t get out much (or ever), so I’m definitely the last person anyone should ask for local hot spot recommendations. Lol. But for my fellow hermits and pet parents, I do have a couple amazing walking trails I would strongly recommend checking out — in Jenison, the Gravel Pit and Grand Ravines Park, and in Holland (my old stomping grounds), Riley Trails for sure. And if you’re in the Hudsonville area looking for some good pizza, definitely give DJ’s Pizza and Sara’s Pizza a try!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The biggest shoutout definitely needs to go to Vicky Zylstra — my mom, business partner, fellow creative, and supporter! I absolutely love how the Etsy shop/side business has become this creative outlet that we nurture and obsess over together. It is because of my mom’s skills and passion for sewing that the shop has grown from only personalized paper goods to also include the step tracker ankle bands and towel bibs for babies, kids, and adults. Thanks for being a part of this adventure with me, mom… love you!

Website: www.andreareesdesign.etsy.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrea.rees.design

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreaarch/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreareesdsgn

Other: https://www.behance.net/andrearees