The moment I stumbled across Codie O'Connor’s art on Instagram, I knew I had to have her work in our stores. I was completely obsessed, and so inspired by her color palettes and designs, they were a huge influence when designing our newest Costa Mesa location. I approached her about painting some original pieces for the new boutique, and what she created was so beautiful, we couldn’t even put them up for sale!

When I found out Codie was going to be in town in late October and wanted to paint a mural at our Long Beach boutique, my immediate answer was ‘YES!’ We found the perfect wall - facing a window, in front of a mirror, and great for selfies - and we are SO in love with it!

We’re super excited to collaborate on a small collection of original, one-of-a-kind paintings from Codie, for sale online and at our boutique. Codie’s also working with LOREM (the duo that builds our fixtures and displays) for a new window display at our Long Beach boutique which is going up soon!

Scroll through to learn more about Codie’s story, the process behind her work, what inspires her and more. You can follow Codie Connor, check out her portfolio, and shop the exclusive Codie Connor collab as part of our Prism Home Collection!

What initially got you interested in fine art?

Art has always been a part of my life in some form or another. My mom is an artist so I spent much of my childhood in her studio playing with clay, painting, writing - you name it! Creating and making art has always been the easiest platform for me to express myself so I couldn’t imagine my life without it.

Tell us about your path to becoming a full-time artist?

Becoming a full time artist sort of caught me by surprise. I had just come back to the US after backpacking through southeast Asia and New Zealand for some time. I had tons of sketches and ideas from my travels that I had been itching to start painting and while I was getting resettled in Austin, TX I found myself painting early in the morning to late at night. I work incredibly hard, so I don’t want to use the word “luck”, but in many ways I will say I somehow ended up in the right place at the right time. Everything has had a sort of natural evolution so I try to just take it all day by day.

What was the process and inspiration behind your mural at Prism Boutique?

The process behind my mural at Prism started with the color pallet. I knew I wanted it to flow with the series of paintings I came up with for the store. From there I sketched out a few options I thought would work well with the overall vibe of Prism and ultimately landed on a design that we all liked the most. It was an incredibly natural and effortless process!

Where do you find inspiration? What do you do to stay creatively inspired?

I always say when you’re open to it, you can find inspiration everywhere. I am most creatively stimulated or inspired when I break my day to day habits or routines and travel. For me, that’s the easiest way to sort of slow down and force myself to be observant.

What’s a typical day like for you - if there even is one?

I don’t really have a typical day. I would say if there is anything typical, it’s waking up, drinking tea, picking out a record, putting on overalls and painting. I get very bored with routines so I try my best not to have one, as long as I’m setting myself up to be productive, I'm happy with however my day unfolds.

It sounds like you balance a lot of different projects. Do you have any tips for being your most productive?

I am definitely one of those people who is most productive when i’m balancing several projects at once. I honestly just really love doing what I do for a living and in a way it feels as natural as eating or sleeping. First of all, I only take on projects that I really love and care about, but if I feel like I have a lot on my plate I sit down and write out a game plan for a doable timeline, something about seeing things visually helps to sort out and prioritize. Also, I have a tendency to Go! Go! Go! and not take time to slow things down for a minute- if I catch myself in that mode I remind myself that you can’t pour from an empty cup and take a day to recharge mentally so I can start the next day off productively.

How do you attract your ideal clients? Who’s your dream client?

It’s hard for me to point to a specific dream client... I’ve met so many cool people around the world that have been a dream to work with (Prism Boutique definitely being one of them!!). Ultimately, I think as long as I am doing what I love, continuing to grow and am able to travel to paint murals - I’ll be pretty stinkin’ happy.

What advice to you have for young creatives or those just starting out in their career?

FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS. It’s so SO important. Take whatever it is that makes you so over the moon happy and just go for it, there’s no one way or an exact formula for how it all works. Loving what you do is the best and most important  gift you could give yourself. Be kind, be open, and continue to grow!