Meet Brynne Cogorno | illustrator and printmaker at Backward Prints

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

Hi Brynne, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
When I fist started my business in 2009, I was in my early twenties, full of energy and excited about growing my business as an artist. I spent all hours of the day working. After awhile I learned the importance of implementing breaks and having designated work hours. This took a long time, and I wasn’t very good at it. All I knew is that I wanted to succeed, and being a solo entrepreneur, I had to wear multiple hats in order to just get by.

I felt a lot more confident in myself by year 3, and I had lots of return customers that would return to my shop at the Sawdust Art Festival every summer. The things that helped bring balance into my life was hiking, yoga, and cooking. I even made time to swim laps which was always a favorite activity. Nature has always inspired my art, and it’s been a way for me to go inward and connect to my true self. I found yoga and meditation to be grounding, both have helped me tap into my intuition and inner guidance. When I’m not sure of the direction I want to go in, I make sure to sit down and close my eyes, and connect with my breath.

I recently turned 40 earlier this year on April 30. It’s been an eye opening mile stone. For some reason how and what I do with my remaining years of my life seem much more important to me than ever. I’m not sure I resinate with the word balance, but I like to replace it with this question, “What do I want more of, and what do I thirst for?” And this is what came to me, “Brynne, find more joy. Thats the secret.” So, I’ve been trying to find ways to have more fun, and go back to the beginning to figure out what brings me joy at 40. What interested me 10 years ago or even 3 years ago has changed in small ways.

I’ve been trying to go slow, take notice of my surroundings, and enjoy my french bulldog Harley, the love of my life. I enjoy cooking and baking in my recently remodeled kitchen. I also love sitting down with a cup of coffee, ligting a candle, and working on a watercolor painting. Painting is something I do for me and only me. It feeds my soul. I also crave community more than ever. It can be lonely working for yourself as an artist. I spend lots of time working from home drawing, designing, and marketing myself. I’m working on getting a few of my artist friends together for a monthly breakfast so we can catch up and share what we’re working on. I’m also launching a course online and in person on How to Own a Successful Business as an Artist. I have 15 years of experience, and I’m really look forward to helping others start their dream job, or grow their business. I love helping others and I think that’s one of the things that’s missing from my life.

What I believe to be true is somewhere along your journey, you get to figure out what’s important and meaningful to you, and when you do, hold onto that, because it’s the little things that bring true joy and happiness. For me it’s my dog, my friends, time in nature, eating healthy, and running my business.. Life is like building a homemade pizza, you can have 1 topping, or several, but the more toppings, and spices, the better it’s going to taste and the happier you will be. Life is so precious, make sure to build it however you like. Owning Backward Prints has given me lots of peace and freedom, and I’m beginning to see the importance of achieving a state of feeling calm and centered which happens to be where I find myself most creative, and the best ideas come to me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I create line drawings of iconic coastline vistas and historical landmarks. My art is also very whimsical, focusing on mermaids, and unicorns. I’ve been told my customers love my work because of it’s simplicity and balance. After I create the illustration, I burn a screen and screen print the art onto the garment or tea towel in my studio. I started out selling seed cards that were block printed and later got into screen printing which has helped me expand my brand to a women’s and children’s collection as well as a line of cute kitchen towels.

I always tell my customers at the Sawdust, my shop didn’t always look like this you know, I started my business while living at home with my dad. I remember the first craft show I signed up for. My dad gave me a fold-up table and pepto bismo pink sheet to use as a table cloth. The table sagged in the center, and all I had were 2 small baskets filled with 3 designs worth of notecards. By the end of day, I made $500. I went home, unpacked my car, and walked into my apartment with a big smile on my face. Prior to this, I had a job working at Lululemon and I was a hostess at a local restaurant. Let’s just say I felt like I had made it and it was just the beginning.

As I did more art shows, I got lots of feedback from my customers. Do you have birthday cards, penguin cards, thank you cards? I’d go home and get working on the designs that resonated with me. In total, I had about 15 different card designs, all hand block printed one card at a time. And what made me such a success was that my cards had seeds embedded in the paper, so they could be planted! Want to have a successful business, create something unique and different.

I wouldn’t say it wasn’t easy in the beginning, or even in the middle. I think you’re dealt with a new set of challenges throughout your career. The lesson is learning how to approach those obstacles creatively and strategically, and the key ingredient, don’t ever give up! Just keep placing one foot in front of each other, I promise you’ll get there eventually.

I also had to surrender to the fact that I knew I would make mistakes, and fail, and that was ok with me. As long as I was giving 100%, and my work made me happy, that’s all that mattered.. That holds true today. If you make a mistake just own up to it. Customer service has always been #1 to me. If a customer isn’t happy, I’ll do everything in my ability to make them happy. If you have a long line at an art show, let your customer in the back leave their items with you and ask them to come back in 15 minutes, or at the very least acknowledge them and say hello and that you’ll be with them shortly. I’ve even handed out free stickers to customers who’ve waited in line for a long time and were extremely patient. It’s in the little things.

Backward Prints was started with the intention of spreading happiness and love through my designs in 2009, and I’m happy to say I’ve been doing that for 15 years. I love being a role model and a mentor to children and adults. Doing art shows is so rewarding. I’ve built so many wonderful relationships with hundreds of thousands of incredibly sweet and kind people. Some who’ve become my best friends. I can’t imagine not being a women entrepreneur. I love creating designs that put smiles on peoples faces, I like being a light to others in a world that feels a bit cloudy sometimes. I know I’m fulfilling my passion each and every day, and that’s the most rewarding gift a girl could ask for.

I hope to inspire and teach others how to have a successful business moving forward. I feel like I’m starting over in a small way because I’m changing directions. I feel like a nervous beginner, yet I’m filled with excitement and lots of joy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take my friend for a walk in Heisler Park in Laguna Beach. It’s so beautiful. Maybe take them down to the beach on a low tide day to look at the sea enemies and look for sea shells. We’d just look of course 🙂 A drive to Jon’s Fish Market in Dana Point to get lunch, and a coffee at Coffee Importers. Afterwards maybe a drive up highway 1. Laguna Beach has so much nature to appreciate, so a hike or a drive up Top of the World to check out the views. I also love going down town to Forrest Ave. to check out our favorite stores such as Tuvalu where I sell my tea towels, then to Stitch and Feather, and Naked Dog Bistro to get my dog Harley a cute and yummy dog treat. I would also take my friend to the Sawdust Art Festival to look at art and listen to amazing music.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family and the artists at the Sawdust Art Festival as well as my amazing customers.

Website: www.backwardprints.com

Instagram: backwardprints

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brynne-cogorno

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/backwardprints/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/backward-prints-laguna-beach

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrynneCogorno

Image Credits
Maryam Rouhi took the photo of me in my booth at the Sawdust Festival. I took the rest