Meet Nelani Palomino of 11th Owl!
Welcome back, babe! Get ready to meet a Fempreneur you’re going to love. Nelani Palomino is an Independent Art Director and owner of 11th Owl. She lives in Tampa with her one-year-old daughter and specializes in in Branding, Logos, Illustration, Design for Apparel, and Packaging. She was inspired to launch her own company in 2017 when she realized that if she wanted to become a mom and have the final say in her schedule and how her creativity is used, she was going to need a big life pivot. Nelani’s cute, bold, quirky characters and designs can often be found in a wide range of industries, including clothing and merchandise, food and beverage, and many more. Enjoy getting to know her through her words & video feature below! xx -Gina
Tell us about yourself and what you do!
I have many tales to tell about who I am. In short I’m a strong cancer survivor, a fabulous single mother by choice, a brave parent through surrogacy, a witty graphic designer and badass owner of 11th Owl. Currently I've been pivoting my business from branding and marketing to illustrative textile design. My style is bright, fun, and witty. I’m working towards designing a collection of products for my 11th Owl shop as well as a few collections to pitch for home decor, children’s apparel/accessories, and the gift market. I’m also a lead designer on a few large scale design projects I take on each year.
How did your business begin?
For over 10 years I worked for several companies as a Graphic Designer and an Art Director. I was working in the apparel industry had felt like I wasn't growing as a designer and I decided to get my Master’s degree while working full-time. I put all my energy into it and graduated with honors. After receiving my Master’s a passion for branding and design reignited. I decided to work freelance till I found the right job for my new level of skills. After hundreds of applications, several interviews and even a few temp jobs, I just couldn’t land a full-time job. I got a lot of positive rejections. Things like “You’re so talented” or “Your work is so colorful, you’d be very bored here” or you're “over qualified” for this position and “we love your work, but just don’t have an opening right now at your level.” So I finally decided “well if you won’t hire me, you just became my competition.” That summer I started 11th Owl as a branding and design services company. I worked out of a co-working office where I met some great people that helped me find my first clients.
What's 1 challenge you've faced and how has it effected your business? What did you do to overcome it?
One of the challenges I faced when starting my company is attracting the right clients. At first I took on any client that came my way. Clients that colleagues recommended or that I had met through networking events that needed my services. While I was happy to take on work and got fairly busy, these weren’t the right clients for my business. The work wasn’t anything I was excited about nor did i feel it was work I could showcase to attract new clients. I was also balancing a lot of personal challenges at the same time. So when I was forced to take a step back to focus on my personal life it actually helped me to re-evaluate my business and realize how unhappy i was with all aspects of my business.
What's 1 success you've had since you’ve created your business? How do you feel when you look back on it?
Well since I decided to pivot or revamp my entire business I feel like I’m starting brand new and my successes are in my future. Though one success that i can think of is the honor of being nominated for Best of the Bay for Best Graphic Designer.
What's the best piece of advice you could give someone looking to start a business?
You can always restart. Everything doesn’t have to be perfectly outlined and nothing is ever set in stone...well that is unless you literally carved your motto to the side of a building or something. You can always start your business and then morph it into what you need it to be. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves and get wrapped up in stressing over the logo, the mission statement, the details and some of that can naturally come later.
What's a pivot you've made in your business?
A pivot? Not one, I pivoted, The. Entire. Business. I went from taking on clients and working on their schedules, with their deadlines, and their art directions. To being 100% in control of what I make, when I make it, and who I make it for.
When are you at your happiest?
Well first it’s when my one-year-old daughter smiles at me, but with work it is when the puzzle pieces fit. That moment when you finally get the right idea of what i want to create or finish a design after version 38 of tweaks and it all comes together.
What do you tell yourself when things get difficult?
It's ok to feel it. Give it all the feels... but only for a moment and move on. This will be over soon enough and the roller coaster will go back up again.
Whats 1 personal goal you've set for yourself this year?
Well this year the personal goal i’ve been working on is overall self-care. The past several years my physical and mental health has been on a high stress roller coaster. So now that things are all in a positive space, I wanted to make time for self-care to be a better role model for my daughter. I’m working on my cooking skills. Especially now that my daughter turned 1 yrs old we’ve finally are on a good schedule and she eats what I eat so I spend more time cooking meals for the two of us.
What's 1 business goal you've set for yourself to accomplish this year?
A business goal I set for this year to have at least one completed collection of designs and a pitch presentation laid out by the end of the year.
What's the first thing you do on a Monday morning and why?
Monday, Sunday, Friday…..all the days are the same since I make my own schedule. Every morning after i do my morning bathroom routine, I usually sing part of the song “Good Morning” from the 1952 movie “Singing in the rain” to wake my daughter up. I changed the lyrics a bit to say “Good Morning, Good Morning, You SLEPT the whole night through” rather than “we’ve talked the whole night through.” It’s fun and upbeat and makes her grin when I come in, and when we leave her bedroom we say GOOD MORNING and wave to all the characters in the art prints in my hallway. It’s a fun way to start the day.
Where can you be found + what will you typically be up to on a Friday night?
Oh i'm a party animal, so naturally i'll be at home in comfy gear winding down and catching up on shows or my favorite YouTubers.
Finish these sentences:
My go to karaoke song is... ”Come on get higher” by Matt Nathanson or “Oooh Child” by Five Stairsteps.
My signature drink is... wine or a mudslide on occasion.
My favorite quote is... “Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” -Tim Ferris ….and on the mom side my favorite quote is “Don’t be so hard on yourself. The mom in E.T. had an alien living in her house for days and didn’t even notice.”
Nelani is a Babe Crafted Member. Video by Cristina Danielle Creative. Location by The Meet Suite.
