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The Card Designer Spotlight is a series featuring independent makers whose greeting cards you can find in Paper Source stores. Meet and be inspired by a new designer every month on our blog!
This month we want to introduce our featured card designer, LA Based Sophia Elias of Fineasslines. Discover how Sofia rediscovered her love for doodling and transformed her passion project into a thriving business—despite having no prior experience.
How did you begin your card-making career?
I was in my mid-20s, late to graduate college and just wanted to do something that made me happy. I knew I wasn’t cut out for a corporate job, but I wasn’t quite sure what to do. At this point, I was a failed actress with the exception of booking a few national commercials. I had also tried freelancing as a writer. It all felt disingenuous to me. I reverted back to what I had always done as a child, which was doodle. I would go on the Missed Connections section of Craigslist and create doodles out of the interactions I had read. I started a blogspot (more on that in the next question) and would put them there too. One day I had the idea of monetizing my doodles by putting them on paper and making them more occasion-specific. It was low overhead and low risk (and I was living with my parents), so I figured why not. I decided to open up an Etsy shop. By the time I graduated from college, I was able to support myself with this hobby.
How did you come up with your business name?
Here’s where blogspot comes in. Blogspot was almost akin to Instagram at that time and it was a fun way to share ideas. I wanted my blogspot name to be called Fine Lines but that was taken. So I thought okay…this is just for fun. No one is going to take this seriously. I’ll just put ASS in the middle. Nobody had that username.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Everything! Anything that may connect with someone that they can relate back to themselves and the people they love. Most recently it has been animals. I really love geese. They’re lovable but their potential for violence keeps you on your toes and makes them inherently funny. I used to do more pop culture cards but I just felt like I could be more creative and original with other topics!
What is your preferred medium?
Pen and paper! My process is pretty much sketching an idea in pen and paper, erasing it, scanning it into the computer, and adding color in Photoshop. I learned Photoshop through YouTube and it’s all I know. It’s all I want to know, frankly. I am too intimidated to face Illustrator.
What does your creative process look like?
It can be brutal. I will spend hours on a design only for it to end up in the trash. While frustrating, it ultimately leads you to better ideas. Some ideas are slam dunks from the get-go. Others take a lot of time and tweaking. Or they just don’t work out! I have had to learn not to get too upset by this. It’s fun to revisit the trashed ideas once you’ve created enough distance from them.
What are you most proud of as a creator and card maker?
That I was able to make this my full-time job with no corporate experience. I have never really had a job thanks to this niche little world. Building a business from absolutely nothing has been both rewarding and taxing. I have learned so much about commerce, branding…just in what speaks to people and what doesn’t. There have also been a lot of business lessons. A lot of losses. A lot of getting screwed over. Those losses really hurt but I have somehow been able to keep going.
Do you have any other creative projects at the moment?
I love design in general and have begun working on home interiors. A few years ago I decided to educate myself on the topic and have put it into practice with renovating my own home along with the homes of friends and family. I really love it.
Find Fineasslines cards such as Litter Box Greeting Card and Banana Years Birthday Card at your local store or online at papersource.com. For more inspiration and behind-the-scenes action, follow @fineasslines on IG.
