Jennifer Reid
My name is Jennifer Reid and I’m a graphic designer, illustrator & educator.
I live in a beautiful semi-rural town on the outskirts of Sydney with my amazing husband and our 2 awesome kids.
Before starting on my creative journey over 12 years ago, I worked in banking & finance, dabbled in makeup artistry and spent an awesome 10 years as a primary school teacher. But creativity is in my DNA, so I realised I’d never feel truly fulfilled in my career unless I made my design dream a reality – post-graduate design studies led me to where I am today – practising and teaching design.
With my illustration work I love experimenting with traditional media such as coloured pencils, ink, acrylics, watercolour, ‘ezy carve’ lino printing & paper craft, but I also work digitally.
My life outside of designing & art-making consists of long walks with my husband, eating great food, spending quality time with family & friends, travel adventures (pre-Covid), reading (I’m a book-a-holic), taking hundreds of photos of all the huge & tiny things that inspire me (with my iPhone even though I own an SLR) and sharing all my inspiration on Instagram (which I love as a source of inspiration along with Pinterest).
I love chess, singing, playing my ukelele (or trying to), dancing like nobody’s watching and making people laugh.
I’m a wife, mum, daughter, sister, aunt, godmother & cousin. My family is my life…the good, the bad, the ugly and everything in between. I am a cancer survivor. I am a glass-half-full kinda gal.
I did the Paris Marathon in 2012 (& have the medal to prove it). Chocolate is my downfall. Sometimes I wish I was taller. I daydream about renovating a beautiful old farmhouse one day. My favourite work of art is Van Gogh’s Starry Night and I got to see it in real life at the MoMA New York in 2011.
My parents came to Australia from Lebanon in 1947. I’m proud of my heritage. I’m proud to be Australian.
I believe that love conquers all. And the thing that I would most want to be remembered for is ‘being kind’.
I’m a night owl. I love sleeping in. I love skim lattes and strong tea with lots of milk. I can drive a manual. I don’t like going to the dentist. I’ve still got my appendix and my tonsils. Woe to anyone who hurts my kids.
I’m the baby of 10 children. My husband is my childhood sweetheart. My favourite colour is blue. I wish I was a better gardener. My favourite Christmas movie is Home Alone 2. My favourite chick flick is Maid in Manhattan. My favourite film series is Lord of the Rings.
I believe every person has a story … that’s why I love a good heart-to-heart, listening to podcasts, watching docos, or reading biographies.
I’m obsessed with botanicals and I’m a crazy tree-hugger (I mean in the literal, not the political sense here).
I’m so grateful to be here.
I’ll leave you with this little piece of advice that to date, has never let me down, has cost me nothing and gets me out of bed each morning …
NEVER STOP DREAMING!