Modern Muse began during a season of uncertainty. It was the middle of the pandemic, I had just graduated college, and I felt completely lost. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I only knew that I loved to create. But I didn’t know what I wanted to create, or even what truly inspired me. For years, especially in college, I felt creatively blocked. I would start a project, lose interest within a week, and move on, still searching for something that sparked joy.

But my creative roots go back further. In high school, I was an entrepreneur making and selling jewelry. I had gone to a trunk show held by another girl just a few years older than me, and I was instantly obsessed. She became my muse. I remember thinking, I want to do this. I want to create and share it with others. That week, I begged my mom to take me to a bead store in Houston. She, my grandmother, my two cousins, and my sister all came along. We left with the motherlode of beads, and I started designing necklaces and accessories. I loved every second of it. I eventually turned that passion into a small business called Le Vie de Bohème. It was my first real dive into creativity and entrepreneurship, and I was hooked. That business thrived for a while but came to an end in 2016 when I went off to college. Still, the memory of that joy and drive stayed with me.

After graduating and feeling stuck at home, my mom encouraged me to find a creative outlet again. She suggested trying something different from jewelry. Around that time, I had just taken a graphic design class and had started making prints. I decided to turn that into a business. When my mom asked what I was going to call it, I spent days thinking. Eventually, she googled “how to name a business,” and one suggestion was to pair two meaningful words.

That’s when the word “muse” came to mind, a nod to the women who had always inspired me, especially the one who first sparked my passion for jewelry. But it was more than just honoring them. I started thinking about what it means to be a muse today. A modern-day muse is someone who not only draws inspiration from the world around her but also finds it within herself. She’s reflective, creative, evolving. She isn’t waiting to be seen; she sees herself. That vision became the heart of my brand. And just like that, Modern Muse was born.

When my prints didn’t sell as I hoped, I went to lunch with a friend before a group trip we had planned. The trip was for recent grads to meet and connect in Houston. I told her I wanted to bring something to promote my brand. She said, “I’ve been seeing butterfly artwork everywhere. You should make one. It reminds me of you.” I went home that day and started researching. I created my first butterfly piece, posted it online, and immediately people started messaging me, asking how they could buy one.

As the butterflies took off, I started to wonder how I could make them more personal. I wanted them to be uniquely mine. I wanted to feel like my own muse again.

A couple of years later, I started graduate school and just finished my first year. Balancing my studies with running a business was overwhelming. I didn’t have money for supplies and had to stretch every dollar just to pay rent. I noticed that my rental house kept receiving a previous tenant’s Vogue subscription. I decided to try something new. I started cutting butterflies from the pages of those magazines. It was free, and I’ve always loved fashion. When I posted one of those pieces, the reaction was immediate and passionate. People loved it.

There was something powerful about repurposing something that could have easily ended up in the trash. It became a piece of art. That’s when I truly understood what I wanted my work to be about.

Today, my mission is to find beauty in everything. In myself, in the materials I use, in the world around me. We’re constantly being pushed to consume. Buy this, get that, because everyone else has it. I don’t want to create like that. I believe what makes something special is its story, its meaning, its reflection of the person who made it or the person who owns it.

I focus on creating custom artwork that reflects the individual. I want every client to feel like there’s a part of themselves in their home. Alongside this, I also release small, thoughtful collections that are ready to buy. While in grad school, I’ve been studying economics and sustainability in manufacturing. We produce so much excess. I want to take that knowledge and apply it to my creative process.

The art of finding beauty in all things is something I strive to practice daily.

xx,

Lizzie