Three sweatshirts with graphic designs, a framed illustration of butterflies, and a beige baseball cap with a fish illustration and text.

Independent shop
and brand strategy

Creative lead: My personal art business
Role: Creative direction, graphic design, illustration, marketing, and social strategy

When I’m not working on client projects, I run my own independent line of apparel and goods on Etsy, print-on-demand shops, and at local craft markets.

Lately, I’ve shifted my art into new territory. I’ve been feeling more inspired by my love for the outdoors and yoga, so I’m bringing in more nature-inspired themes, earthy hand lettering, and outdoorsy vibes. Pivoting a creative brand is always a slow-and-steady process, but the fresh momentum behind this new direction has been hugely exciting, opening up so many new possibilities for where my work can go.

My shop is where I get to test ideas, play with visual humor, and turn hand-drawn art into stuff people actually want to wear and use every day. Having a built-in community reaching 30k+ followers on social and over 200k monthly Pinterest views means I can share new concepts, launch merchandise, and see what really resonates in real time. Setting up shop in person at local maker markets keeps me grounded in what people are drawn to, whether they're looking for a comfortable graphic tee for a weekend hike or a bold sticker for their water bottle.

I handle everything from market research and social marketing and strategy to overall design, trend research, and more. It’s been great diving into the marketing side of art, and I feel it’s helped me in my day jobs. It’s all about creating thoughtful, adventure-ready designs that feel authentic on the rack and make sense out in the wild.

A dark green sweatshirt with the words "stay wild" printed on the front in large, distressed font.
A white T-shirt with the phrase "You Need an Iced Coffee" printed in orange, bold, stylized font.
Phone case with a black background featuring colorful dice, stars, hearts, and decorative shapes.
A teal sweatshirt with the text "it's cool to care about the planet" written in yellow in a gothic font.
Yellow t-shirt with the phrase "cool people drink coffee" in large, bold brown letters.
A tote bag with a yellow background and a pattern of light green flowers, hanging from black handles.
Beige baseball cap with a brown peace symbol on the front.
A brown T-shirt with a cartoon iced coffee cup illustration and the text 'life happens, iced coffee helps' written above and below the image.
A light green T-shirt with an orange flower graphic on the front, featuring a polka-dotted center and seven petals.
A rectangular fabric pouch with a brown background and yellow flower pattern, featuring a zipper closure on the top right side.
Green baseball cap with white embroidered text reading "ICED COFFEE IS A MAGICAL THING".

Building a community

Creative lead: Instagram community art page, small business
Role: Creative direction, social strategy, illustration,
and graphic design

Instagram is where my personal creative process lives out loud. By consistently sharing retro-inspired hand lettering, nature illustrations, and playful typography, I’ve built a vibrant community of 30,000+ followers. This space gives me a direct line to test new concepts, launch shop merchandise, and turn everyday visual humor into wearable, shareable art.

Built and managed verified creator accounts reaching over 30,000+ total followers and 200,000+ monthly Pinterest views, maintaining an 8.5% Instagram engagement rate and driving campaign rollouts with up to 1.1M+ views.

Social stats

Instagram (@ceceliahotzlerdesign)

Followers: 28,000+ organic followers (Verified Creator account).
Engagement Rate: ~8.5% average engagement (significantly above the 1.5%–2.5% industry standard for this account size).
Audience Demographic: Primary audience of women aged 25–44.
Viral Reach: Produced custom campaign content generating over 1.1M direct views within two weeks.
Conversion Impact: Built interactive content rollouts that drove a 212% spike in web traffic and a 305% lift in direct e-commerce sales.


Pinterest (@ceceliahotzlerdesign)

Monthly Reach: Up to 220,000+ organic monthly views.

Community: Over 1,600 direct followers.

Content Strategy: High-volume visual discovery driving organic traffic to website downloads, digital freebies, and independent shop listings.

Platform Focus: Long-tail visual search, mood-boarding, custom illustration pins, and brand aesthetic discovery.

More portfolio highlights

  • Two phone cases with colorful designs and text, one with skulls on a green background and the other with multicolored words like 'sad,' 'songs,' and 'coffee' on a black background.

    CASETiFY Collection

    This was the collection I created with CASETiFY. The collection consisted of phone cases and tech cases.

  • Green baseball cap with pink text that reads 'No GODS NO MASTERS' on the front.

    No Gods No Masters Typography Desig for Garbage

    Typography design for the band, Garbage. Featured on their merch in 2021/2022.

  • Young woman with medium skin tone, black hair, and casual clothing standing against a plain background.

    27 Club by MGK Hoodie Graphics

    Designed some graphics for a women’s cropped hoodie for MGK’s coffee shop, 27 Club.

  • A dark gray baseball cap with an embroidered design of a gray circle, pink heart-shaped sunglasses, and the text "SAD BUT RAD" in pink above the circle.

    Licensed Design for Wicked Clothes

    My original illustrations are available for licensing. This design was licensed to Wicked Clothes.

  • Gray T-shirt with pink text that reads 'Planned Parenthood is more popular than Congress' surrounded by small pink megaphone icons and dots.

    PPAI: More Popular Than Congress Shirt

    This was a shirt I designed for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa fundraiser.

  • Promotional brochures for Gallagher Bluedorn, a band, featuring images of band members performing and the band’s logo.

    Gallagher Bluedorn Seasonal Programs

    Assisted with the design and typesetting of the seasonal programs for shows at the Gallagher Bluedorn Theater at The University of Northern Iowa.

  • Light gray T-shirt with graphic of a cup of coffee and the words "You Need Coffee" on the front.

    You Need An Iced Coffee Tee

    T-shirt design that I illustrated and is available in my Threadless shop. Available on a variety of items such as tees, wall art, tote bag, and more.

  • Green hoodie with the words 'out of office' written in beige text on the front.

    Out of Office Pullover Hoodie

    Description goes here
  • Gray sweatshirt featuring a cartoon duck with a fish in its beak, sitting on water.

    Loon Crewneck Sweatshirt

    A cute and cozy design featuring a loon, a fish, and some water. Hand drawn by me. Available on a variety of products in my shops.

  • Green sweatshirt with the word "Don't" and a cartoon bug illustration on it.

    Don't Bug Me Crewneck Sweatshirt

    Hand-illustrated design from my shops. Features a colorful beetle and a vintage-inspired font that says “Don’t Bug Me!”

  • Green baseball cap with white text reading "ICED COFFEE IS A MAGICAL THING."

    Iced Coffee is a Magical Thing Green Baseball Hat

    Typography design that says “Iced coffee is a magical thing” in a retro-style font on a green baseball hat. Available in my Threadless shop.

  • Phone case with a design of colored dice, stars, hearts, and other small shapes on a black background.

    Dice Pattern Phone Case

    Dice pattern design on a black background. Inspired by arcade carpets. Design by me and available on phone cases and more in my Threadless shop.

  • Pink T-shirt with a cartoon duck holding a fish in its beak, and the phrase "Leave me a loon!" in red text.

    Leave Me A Loon! Tee

    Leave Me A Loon! tee design by me on a pink tee available in my Threadless shop.

  • A tote bag with a yellow background and light yellow floral pattern.

    Muted Floral Pattern Tote Bag in Green

    Muted floral pattern design by me on a tote bag in my Threadless shop.

  • White T-shirt featuring a pink tiger jumping in front of a yellow background with green stars and the text 'stay wild' in orange.

    Stay Wild T-Shirt Design

    Stay Wild t-shirt design featuring a hand-drawn tiger illustration in vibrant colors. Available on tees and more in my Threadless shop.

  • Yellow T-shirt with the phrase "cool people drink coffee" printed in large, bold, brown letters.

    Cool People Drink Coffee

    Cool People Drink Coffee t-shirt design featuring a retro typography in vibrant colors. Available on tees and more in my Threadless shop.

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