Meet Christy Sohie | Owner & Creative Designer

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

Hi Christy, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
As Sage & Rue has evolved and grown over the past nine years, my husband and I have welcomed multiple children into our family. Pre-motherhood, it was easier to adjust my schedule to accommodate custom orders for clients, but once I had a toddler running around, it was much more challenging to paint a watercolor design from scratch. As a result, I have had to flex multiple times to continue growing my business, but I’ve had to do so in a way that is scalable and realistic for my season of life – young motherhood. Some of the changes that I’ve made have been to no longer offer completely custom orders. I now only offer semi-custom pieces, and even those are taken on in a limited quantity. I also more strategically plan when to complete certain business tasks. For instance, computer work is often done during my kids’ naptime or while they’re awake and playing peacefully. More physical work, like packaging products, happens after they go to bed for the night. Although many of these changes tend to be tangible, the biggest change has been in the way I think about balance. Instead of taking on my work haphazardly, I try to plan ahead more and consider if each task serves the overall goal of my brand and business. My first goal is to love and serve my family. If a project requires so much of my time that I have to spend a lot of time – physically and/or mentally – away from my family, I’ve learned that now is not the right season for it. Approaching projects this way has helped me to prioritize what really matters to me in this season.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My goal with Sage & Rue is to make` beautiful, quality, hope-filled products that encourage people to be intentional in their everyday lives. I want my watercolor goods and gifts to inspire people to grow in stewarding their time and gifitngs well so that they can take more opportunities to spread love and joy to others. With this in mind, all of my products center around this goal. My greeting card line is meant to encourage people to communicate thoughtful messages to one another; my notepads are meant to help in organizing and stewarding time wisely; my tea towels are meant to inspire hospitality and gathering together.

Along with this goal, my art is unique in that it’s all completely original! I handpaint all of the watercolor artwork myself, scan it at a high resolution, and then design products digitally from there to be professionally printed. Many of my products cater to Southern California, Orange County, and the City of Orange, since that’s where I live. I love my city!

Getting to where I am today professionally wasn’t easy and the journey involved a lot of trial-and-error and second-guessing myself. It wasn’t until I took a graphic design class in college that I learned all about branding and how it was important to pick a focus and stick with it. From there, I was able to narrow in on the mission I wanted for Sage & Rue and it made the rest of the details very easy to determine since they all fall within this mission. Today, I always ask myself, “Does this fit Sage & Rue’s mission?” If the product or decision doesn’t fit, then I don’t move forward with it.

If there is one thing I want the world to know from my story, it’s that you don’t have to have everything figured out perfectly before you start, because God is faithful to provide. It’s okay to just do something, to make a decision and move forward. For the most part, everything is adjustable and it’s okay to learn along the way. Even when you seem to have everything figured out, life seasons change and you have to adjust anyway. I’ve learned and grown so much since starting Sage & Rue in 2014. Overall principles have remained the same, but I still continually find myself adjusting so that I can better serve my family and our church. Even when I have been stuck or wasn’t sure what my next move should be, God has always provided and made the next step clear.

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 sure do love my city, and most of what we’d do would be centered around Old Towne Orange. The first thing we would do is take a walk to the Orange Plaza. For dinner, we’d dine at my favorite spots near the Plaza: Smoqued, Bruxie, and Felix Continental Cafe. For breakfast, we’d frequent Kimmie’s Coffee Cup, Snooze, and The Filling Station. When we’re desiring a special treat, we’d stop at Pandor Bakery for dessert and handmade bread and Oiio for mango smoothies. We’d take daily walks to the Plaza and make sure to stop by the Orange Homegrown Farmers and Artisans market on Saturday for fresh produce and specialty goods. We’d take our kids to the park (I love Shaffer Park for its shaded playground) and to the Orange Public Library. If it’s summertime, we’d also try to catch one of Orange’s Concerts in the Park. We’d attend Sovereign Grace Church of Orange, which meets in the Woman’s Club of Orange, on Sundays. If we’re looking to go shopping for fun, we’d stop at The Potting Shed, Full Circle, Nectar, Tiddlywinks, and the antique shops within the Plaza.

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?
My husband has played the biggest role in offering me support and encouragement from the very start of Sage & Rue. He has seen my giftings and faithfully encouraged me to strive after their development. To this day, he continues to play an integral role in the success of Sage & Rue by sacrificing his Saturday mornings after long work weeks to wake up early and help me sell at our local farmers market. He spurs me on to pursue new business ideas and helps me to brainstorm how Sage & Rue can be used to better serve our family’s needs. I am so grateful for him!

Along with my husband, I wouldn’t be here if not for my friends and family who made up most of my sales when I first started my business. They continue to offer encouragement and support, even recommending my products to their friends and family. I am especially grateful for my friends from Sovereign Grace Church of Orange, who continually remind me of the greater purpose behind my business and how God has provided and been faithful through it all.

Website: www.sageandrue.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sageandrue/

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

Image Credits
These are my personal photos.