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

Hi Danielle, what do you attribute your success to?
Once I started becoming very intentional with the style of invitations and signage I was creating and showing to the world, I started to become consistently booked out with my dream clients! We love a moody, minimalist vibe around these parts. Think 1 part modern, 1 part romantic and just a touch of old world to keep it interesting. I remember receiving advice to get really specific, niche down and only show what you want to attract more of and that’s what really worked for Paper Cliché! I also love learning about marketing and listen to like 5 hours of podcasts a day, ha!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I grew up here in Costa Mesa, where I got the opportunity to open a creative studio last year to run Paper Cliché out of (huge, dreamy milestone for me!). My mom is an artist and my dad was a freelance photographer so I think I definitely caught the creative bug from them. My dad always warned me to never work for someone else so I think that always stuck in my head.

I actually started the business by accident, believe it or not. I remember painting my first sign for my own wedding and thinking, if someone would just pay me to do this, my life would be perfect! And with the support of my family and friends, (and a touch of working my butt off) I manifested my first paid gig. I dove head first and was completely obsessed with teaching myself the art of calligraphy and graphic design. But there were many learning lessons along the way. It’s that old adage that I didn’t want to work a 9-5 for someone else so instead I work for myself 24/7. Juggling client work while simultaneously wearing 10 hats isn’t easy but the trade off for self autonomy and waking up every morning excited to work is more than worth it to me.

Plus, I LOVE the wedding industry! I think I work well under pressure (on most days) and maybe I secretly crave the adrenaline to remind me of my bartending days. I also feel like my background in hospitality enables me to provide a high level of customer service to my clients. There is such a gratifying element to my job that I get to create things that are meaningful to people and form relationships with my clients!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We would definitely take a little road trip to visit the desert. I’m pretty obsessed with the Joshua Tree area and love that it’s only a couple hours away but feels like a million. And then when we got back, we would have cocktails and tapas at Vaca in Costa Mesa because duh.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I definitely couldn’t have started any of this without the gracious support of my loving friends and family 🖤

Website: www.papercliche.com

Instagram: @itspapercliche

Image Credits
Dustin Tran @sixpounders

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