One Year of Studio Artisan Sky
This month, Studio Artisan Sky turns one.
And honestly, I almost forgot.
Not because it isn't important, but because life has been happening all at once.
Lately, my days have been a balancing act between a new freelance role, wrapping up my offboarding requirements from my corporate job, and managing ongoing client work for Studio Artisan Sky.
I'm currently on garden leave until June 22, which sounds relaxing in theory, but in reality, I've been busier than ever.
We also have an exciting Studio Artisan Sky project in progress that I can't announce just yet. We're currently moving from branding into the website phase, which means plenty of reviews, revisions, and behind-the-scenes work.
On top of that, our own content has been delayed because, well, there's only so much one person can do in a day.
Somewhere in between all of that, I'm also adjusting to life in Japan, dealing with homesickness, navigating loneliness, trying to build a new routine, and convincing myself to leave the house every now and then.
Most days, you'll find me sitting at my desk working through deadlines while a K-drama plays in the background.
Half productivity.
Half emotional support.
That has been my life lately.
But despite all the chaos, one thing remains true.
Studio Artisan Sky is about to celebrate its first birthday.
Before There Was Studio Artisan Sky
Before Studio Artisan Sky, there was MissLyra Designs.
I started it back in 2021.
At the time, I was juggling two jobs, a corporate role and a long-term contractual position. Ironically, both of those jobs eventually disappeared. One ended last year, and the other ended just recently.
Back then, MissLyra Designs wasn't some grand business plan.
It was simply a way for me to expand my portfolio
beyond corporate design work.
I wanted to explore branding.
I wanted to work on social media projects.
I wanted to create work that felt more personal.
A few clients found me somehow. To this day, I still have no idea how some of them discovered my work. One inquiry led to another, and before I knew it, I was designing social media campaigns for different businesses and earning more from freelance projects than I ever expected.
The opportunities were there.
The problem was time.
Between multiple jobs and everyday life, I couldn't actively look for clients. I couldn't build systems. I couldn't market myself consistently.
So eventually, I placed MissLyra Designs in a quiet corner of my life and left it there.
The Rebrand That Changed Everything
Then June 2025 happened.
I was newly married, preparing for a move overseas, and standing at another crossroads in life.
Instead of letting the idea fade away completely, I decided to rebuild it.
This time, I wasn't doing it alone.
I invited one of my closest friends to become my business partner.
She handles strategy, client management, content, and operations. I focus on branding, design systems, websites, and creative execution.
Together, we rebranded MissLyra Designs into Studio Artisan Sky.
We launched.
And then something unexpected happened.
Our very first client didn't come from Instagram.
They didn't come from Facebook.
They didn't come from paid ads.
They found me through my Behance portfolio.
I was casually updating projects one day when they came across my work and reached out.
That inquiry became our first Studio Artisan Sky client.
And it wasn't a small project either.
It involved branding, social media, and website design, exactly the type of work we wanted to be doing.
That project kept us busy for months and confirmed something we had already suspected.
Many small businesses don't need complicated marketing funnels, expensive PR campaigns, or flashy agency presentations.
What they need is a strong brand.
Clear messaging.
Thoughtful content.
And a website that works.
That's the foundation.
Everything else comes after.
What People Don't See
One thing I've learned over the past year is that building a creative studio is far more complicated than creating a logo, launching a website, and waiting for clients to arrive.
Most people only see the finished work.
The brand identities.
The websites.
The polished social media graphics.
What they don't see are the countless hours spent improving workflows, refining processes, organizing files, documenting systems, writing proposals, creating presentations, revising contracts, and figuring things out as you go.
A lot of it is trial and error.
A lot of it is learning while you're building.
And almost all of it happens behind the scenes.
One of the biggest lessons we've learned is that you cannot attract clients without proof of work.
Every inquiry.
Every business proposal.
Every discovery call.
Every potential client.
They all ask the same thing.
"Can we see your portfolio?"
And honestly, they should.
Clients aren't hiring based on what you say you can do.
They're hiring based on what you've already done.
You can't simply claim you've worked with this client or that company without showing the actual work behind it.
People want evidence.
They want to see your process.
Your thinking.
Your execution.
Your results.
Even your website becomes part of that evaluation.
Before a potential client ever books a call, they've already looked through your website, reviewed your projects, studied your case studies, and formed an opinion about your capabilities.
That's why maintaining a portfolio never really ends.
At Studio Artisan Sky, we're constantly updating our website, documenting projects, refining case studies, and improving how we present our work.
Not because it's glamorous.
Not because we have endless free time.
But because our portfolio is often the first conversation we have with a future client.
Before they email us.
Before they inquire.
Before they book a call.
Our work speaks first.
And in a creative business, that's exactly how it should be.
Why We Choose Our Clients Carefully
Over the past year, we've received inquiries, proposals, and meeting requests from different businesses.
Some became clients.
Some didn't.
And that's intentional.
One thing both my business partner and I agreed on early is that we don't want to take on every project that comes our way.
We both have lives outside Studio Artisan Sky.
We have careers, responsibilities, personal goals, and families.
Because of that, we choose our projects carefully.
We're looking for people who are invested in what they're building.
People who respect the process.
People who understand that good design takes time, collaboration, and trust.
We're not interested in racing to become the biggest agency.
We're interested in doing meaningful work with people who genuinely care about their businesses.
We don't compete on being the cheapest.
We don't compete on volume.
We compete on thoughtfulness.
Building Slowly, On Purpose
Right now, Studio Artisan Sky is still growing.
Many people assume businesses become profitable overnight.
The reality is often much slower than that.
My current work helps fund many of the things we need behind the scenes, software subscriptions, website costs, business tools, paid advertising, and everything else required to run a professional studio.
Studio Artisan Sky is still in its building season.
We're refining systems.
Improving processes.
Strengthening our portfolio.
Learning from every project.
And growing one step at a time.
We're not trying to scale overnight.
We're not chasing vanity metrics.
We're building intentionally.
The same way our clients choose us, we choose them.
One project at a time.
One relationship at a time.
One brand at a time.
One Year Later
If there's one thing this first year has taught me, it's that businesses rarely grow the way you expect them to.
Sometimes your first client comes from a portfolio update.
Sometimes opportunities appear after months of silence.
Sometimes the thing you almost gave up on becomes the thing you're most proud of.
One year ago, Studio Artisan Sky was just an idea.
Today, it's a growing creative studio with real clients, real projects, and a vision we're continuing to build every day.
There's still so much we want to create.
So much we want to improve.
So much we want to learn.
But for now, I'm grateful.
Grateful for every client who trusted us.
Grateful for every inquiry, referral, conversation, and opportunity.
And grateful that a small side project I started back in 2021 eventually found its way back to me.