Kailey Sullivan works and lives as a “designy illustrator,” blending her artistic passions into one practice.
You may have seen her work at FIKA, the vegan and gluten-free café nestled Creston. Sullivan’s unique approach to design has been baked into the business since it opened, when owners Becca and Nick Van Liere approached her with a mood board full of her own art.
You’ll see it all over the walls: In the logo, the mural, the merch, the menus, the market—and carried through into FIKA’s graphics online.
It’s becoming relatively rare in the age of AI for a small business to put thought, intention and resources into their branding, working hand-in-hand with an artist to create a visual voice that reflects the values they stand for (and is also nice to look at!).
We chatted with Sullivan—who goes by Kailey Bailey as a pen name—about her approach to design, her product line Rough Patch (prints, notepads, stickers, apparel, etc.) and her co-produced snail mail club, Velvet Mailbox, which includes a print, a letter, and creative exercises.
What do you love about art being your job?
Art in the way that I’ve experienced it in my life is like a really familiar friend. It feels like the avenue for how I make sense of things and see things. That I get to do it and get paid is super fun. It’s my avenue for being curious, experimenting with things or trying something new.
How does your sculpture background come into play?
I have a studio space at Dinderbeck, and we have a little wood shop, so I get to explore that part of art in making physical products. It’s a really helpful skill, because it helps me with packaging and spatial awareness. Ninety-nine percent of the time, what I have in my mind, I can make it, and it looks exactly how I thought it was going to.
How do you feel about AI in the world of art?
Well, I don’t like it. It’s removing critical thinking and experimentation, which is half of my experience being an artist—experimenting, trying things. Design is visually communicating, and a lot of AI is just taking away that process. I do feel like it emphasizes the other side. Like, it feeling very generated does put an emphasis on, “Oh, you drew that? This is a hand-done, analog thing?” And now people think that’s really cool.
For me, this is just what I’ve always done, but everybody’s used to AI now. I don’t really care that much about social media, but some of the stuff I’ve had the strongest reactions to is when I’m talking through a process of how I’m drawing something, and people are like, “Oh, this is so interesting.” So I think in a way, it’s highlighting handmade art, giving life to it.
What are you excited about recently?
Something I did this summer that I really loved is the Art Of The Table mural. I’ve started a good relationship with Amy, and we entered it into ArtPrize, and we’re doing a reception with the store, and I’ll start selling some of my stuff in there. So, I’m excited about more community engagement and being able to do public art and work with local people. I’m also working with Cellar Door Preserves on a new packaging design. I just really loving working with local people and brands that are valuing art publicly. And I love food-based stuff the most.
How did Velvet Mailbox Club come about?
Velvet Mailbox is with one of my best friends from college, a therapist and a really great writer, Bailey Sims, and we just really wanted to work together on something. What did we feel like we could bring to the table, give of ourselves a bit, and people would be interested in?
I think the snail mail club is another emerging trend, almost in response to AI, wanting to hold something, a tactile experience. We felt like there was a unique opportunity with us both doing it and putting our voices into it, a natural mixture of writing and creativity. It’s giving people this moment of, hopefully, you can sit down for five minutes and not be on your phone, and read through it or work through it.
What are your artistic influences?
For artists, there’s Saul Bass, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jules Cheret, Kelly Anna. And then recently I’ve been inspired by quilting, nature and the human body. I am actively trying to get more influence from real life, whether it’s in a coffee shop and drawing someone sitting, or instead of looking up a reference picture, can I take a picture myself, or have someone model it for me?
What do you have coming up?
I’ll be at the Eastown Street Fair (Sept. 19), and then I have the Art of the Table mural in ArtPrize. Rough Patch is on Instagram @roughpatch.supply, or sold in the Arts Marketplace downtown! Velvet Mailbox Club is on Instagram @velvetmailbox.club.
You can also find her at kaileybailey.com and on Instagram @kailey_bailey.
