It all started with a love of creating and a need to be outdoors
I have always had a passion for getting out into nature and exploring our amazing world. Since a young age, I was at my happiest drawing in trees and making woodland dens. Since then, I’ve had some pretty epic adventures over the years, from jumping off waterfalls to swimming with turtles. The awesome places I’ve been lucky enough to visit and the incredible experiences I’ve had has given me a huge amount of love and respect for our natural world.
I live in the beautiful English countryside, spending as much of my time as possible outdoors (now accompanied by my spaniel Mylo and his very large sticks!). I love the Cotswolds but my absolute favourite place is Cornwall. Not only is the scenery and wildlife stunning, it is also a very sentimental place to me. I have so many great memories of spending time with my family and the dogs on the beautiful beaches, and sitting in cosy pubs with salty hair after a day of surfing.
These amazing, natural places mean a lot. They provide so much inspiration for my creations and I feel very passionate about doing what I can to protect them.
Living in a wasteful world
For years I have worked as a graphic designer, producing packaging and branding for global names. I often found myself frustrated and overwhelmed with the amount of waste produced in the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) category.
So many everyday items are made for one use, without the ability of being recycled or reused. Whilst we’re making steps to improve as brands and consumers become more aware and concerned with the issues we are facing regarding the environment and waste, we still have a long way to go.
Meaningful mission
In 2021, I finally spread my wings and made the decision to go after my dreams of starting my own creative business, one that worked to help protect our environment by creating quality products that could be kept or recycled and remade.
It’s important to me to create work that means something to people, whether that’s;
- connecting them to nature, brightening their home and transporting them somewhere epic with one of my art prints
- helping them create a thoughtful gift for the people who matter most with my personalised prints and illustrated commissions.
- creating a personal and unique look for their wedding with my bespoke wedding stationery service
- Or simply just making someone smile with one of my greeting cards.
..and I want to do it all whilst also looking out for my greatest inspiration, Mother Nature.
The combination of wanting to work with like-minded businesses and individuals, the desire to create meaningful creative work and my passion for nature and adventure led to the creation of Bird & Co. I now live a life of creative freedom; exploring often, constantly creating, helping others and the planet – I’m completely in my element and love what I do.
Thanks so much for reading.
Emily Byrd x
Creative director and founder of Bird & Co.