Local Featured Seller: Le Animale

I am Laura Johnston of le animalé. My creations are miniature animal totems, illustrations, jewelry & gifts - all animal-inspired! I live in Raleigh, North Carolina with my soulmate and two awesome dogs, Cody & Chloe. I'm a nature-lover, so my favorite places to visit are all of the nature parks and lakes in our area. There really are some fantastic hidden treasures, and I like exploring new places to find them.
Why did you choose your shop/company name? I chose the name le animalé because as my shop is completely animal-inspired, I wanted something fairly simple but not too generic that describes what my shop is about. le animalé is just a made-up phrase, which is perfect for my work - unique, lighthearted, fun, quirky.

Where do you create? My work is done in my home office, right alongside my boyfriend who also works from home on his own business. Our dogs hang out with us, too. I have two desks: one for my computer/printer/records and one where I make my creations.

When did you start creating? When I was very young. The moment I especially remember is from first grade, where I illustrated a book report that I had (the illustration happened to be an elephant). At that point I realized art was something I really enjoyed, and wanted to do more of. From that time I've explored so many different creative mediums, but I've only just recently started working in 3D. I'd say a couple of years ago was the first time I really attempted to make a sculpture, and it wasn't until maybe 6 months ago that I did it regularly. But I absolutely adore working in 3D, now!

What do you do when you are not creating? I spend time with friends and family, enjoying good, old-fashioned conversation, board games, and new adventures. I like to travel and explore. I'm working as a part-time freelance photographer, shooting business & actor's headshots and model portfolios (I was a full-time photographer before le animalé). I'm also working on my application to go to grad school so I've been doing a lot of studying and prep work for that. And lastly, when I have time, I like to read, watch some mindless TV, and sometimes I get a wild hair to bake. Yum!

What are your goals? Oh, so many goals. In a nutshell, I want to get into grad school, continue working on and growing le animalé, graduate with an MBA, and be a serial entrepreneur.

After you've gotten an eyeful of these cute little animals, you can find Laura on her blog, facebook page, and twitter.

NCTriangle Team members who would like to be featured on the blog, contact Shore Debris.