Hi! I am Sophie Graefenhain and I am an Integrated Design and Branding Specialist with experience in Brand Strategy, Development & Design, Placemaking, Environmental Design, Copywriting, Web & App Design, Page Layout & Presentation Design, Illustration, and Promotional Collateral. 

In addition to my fresh approach to the digital world, I am a fine artist with a diverse skill set including oil painting, tattoo design, drawing, and sketch illustration. I enjoy investigating all mediums through portraiture, wildlife, and organic studies.

Growing up in the Chicagoland area, my parents put an emphasis on creativity, getting outside, and using our imaginations to get through long winters and hot summers. Art was a constant in our home…My mom is an amazing artist and business owner of Graefenhain Designs, and my dad is a talented marketing guru, bread baker, and knower of all things health and fitness. Observing my parents in their prospective fields led to my love of all art forms.

From a young age, I turned anything into something. Whether it was cooking, baking, painting, sewing, etc…I was always making something out of whatever I could find. This trickled into my high school years – concentrating on certain subjects was impossible so I would draw intricate designs and scenes on my arms related to each class. It was my way of taking notes (which eventually led to my tattooing hobby).

Once I navigated my way out of high school and through college, where I graduated with a Fine Arts degree, I didn’t have a clue what to do, so I moved to Kentucky where I began working as a barista. My love of light roast beans, latte art, and learning the world of coffee followed me when I moved back to Chicago and began teaching my espresso skills. This job led me to Boulder, where I taught latte art classes and roasted beans.

During my time in the coffee world, I began teaching myself different computer software on the side. Once I built up a humble design portfolio, I felt confident enough to make the leap. I started a job as an apparel designer for the outdoor clothing industry here in Colorado! As time passed, I continued to learn and grow in the design world and now work as a graphic designer for architecture and planning firm in Denver. With many years of hard work, I finally landed in a creative realm I never knew I would love so much.

All the while, I kept my fine art business going. Painting kept me afloat through every life change, and I owe a bit of my ability to find balance in chaos to oil painting. Portraiture, wildlife, landscape, still life, and impressionistic abstract are a few of my favorite subjects.

In addition to my passion for painting, I find peace in baking, cooking, designing, and any medium I can get my hands on. I feel as though my childhood love of ‘making’ has come full circle to where I am in life today.