4 years in America!

Time flies! I remember when I moved to San Francisco in september 2008, my dream was finally becoming true, I was so moved and excited to be here!

This all started when I was 10 years old! My parents, brother and sister and I did a one month and half road trip with to California. From San Francisco to San Diego.

My big brother on the left, me in the middle never without my walkman and my little sister’s curly hairs in 1994!

I remember how hot it was!Reorganizing the trunk again and again because of all the shopping! Looking at my position I was probably complaining to my dad because he wanted to sort things and probably throw some of the stuff away, haha.

All three of us proudly wearing Chuck Taylor All Star Converse as you can see!

This was the best trip of my life, I remember this like it was yesterday. We liked it so much that the next year they brought us to the East Coast and the year after that to Louisiana and Florida! Since then, it’s been my dream to live in the US. I thank my parents so much for sharing with us their love for travel. They really taught us to be curious and go for what we want.

My second dream came true here: becoming an illustrator! You don’t know how many publishers and magazines I sent my portfolio to in France after graduating in graphic design, who never bothered writing me back! I was afraid that I was never going to be an illustrator…that no one will one day give me a chance.

One day, after a year between Paris and Montreal, I had this opportunity to come for 3 months in San Francisco and I fell in love again with the city. So I decided to do everything in my power to stay and I found an internship in a design agency. A year and half later I had my own design/illustration studio.

It took a lot of work, one blog post to show my illustration style in the US, a lot of visas paperwork (but so worth it) and great support from my family and friends to be where I am today. I am so thankful for this country for GIVING ME THIS CHANCE to show what I was capable of. After 2 years working as an independent, I can list in my clients Warner Bros. records, Chronicle Books, Anthology Magazine, Target, The SF Guardian… and I hope many more in the future. Every project has been a really great collaboration so far and I can’t wait to see what will come next!

This is me today (18 years later), illustrator, sitting in my working space in San Francisco (published in The San Francisco Guardian).

So this excitement is still here today! There is so much happening here, so many opportunities, inspiring people to meet. Every day when I walk around the city I feel so lucky to live in one of the most awesome and beautiful city in the world. Thank you for all the inspiration San Francisco!

Follow your dreams people!