Sarah is a modern renaissance woman! Learn more about her unique style and inspiration. Looking for her artist collaboration label? Look no further than here or here!
Name: Sarah Small
Where do you live? Tempe, Arizona
Why do you create?
I create to inspire the connection between people and the places in which they dwell. When people bring something they deeply love into their homes, whether it’s a piece of my art or a vintage treasure I source, they create a space that feels divinely theirs. This connection to the places we live pours over into every other aspect of our lives. If we can find happiness and warmth within our own homes, then we can find it more easily in the other parts of our lives as well.
How do you bring art into your every day?
I’ve found that bringing art into my day doesn’t always have to look like pencil to paper or paint to canvas. It’s always present in every space we’re in, we just have to slow down to notice it. I see it when I’m watching the trees dance in the wind outside of my window, when I’m putting my bare hands into the garden and picking vibrantly colored vegetables, and while watching the sun soften its golden light over our home every afternoon.
What gets you super excited about life?
Dogs, waking up early enough to watch the sunrise, finding vintage treasures, laughing so hard my belly hurts, being in love with my soulmate, handwritten cards, a really good yoga class, music that gives you no other choice than to dance, and making new friends!
Do you have a favorite artist? If so, who and why?
Most of my favorite artists are architects. I’m always drawn to the way lines, shapes, and shadows can transform the way we feel in a space. Frank Lloyd Wright is at the top of the list, but the list is long!
What’s your favorite place to get inspired?
Outside! I am forever inspired by and in awe of nature. There’s something so dreamy about the way the colors of the sky change every day, how the plants seek the sun, and how green everything can get (the desert girl in me especially loves this).
What inspired the design for your Standard Wax Label?
When I was creating this candle, I was looking around my own home for inspiration. The things that kept popping out to me were my plants. They bring life into spaces, give us a purpose as we care for them, help us slow down while we water them, bloom beautiful blooms, and remind us that good things take time. I wish everyone could have plants all over their homes, but I know that that’s not always possible. This candle brings that liveliness into someone's space alongside my favorite plant teaching, “You are always in bloom.” This is a gentle reminder that we all need, especially right now when things might feel stagnant or stuck.
What’s something unique about your work that people won’t see anywhere else?
I like to think that my work says all the things people don’t know how to say. I take the burden off of my customers' shoulders by helping them find the right words, or by offering something sacred for their homes and lives. I find this to be especially true in my greeting card line. People feel my work deep in their soul, because when I create my pieces I’m pouring a little bit of my soul into each of them.
Favorite City?
Sedona. Hands down. I got engaged there, have hosted retreats there, celebrated milestones there, and no matter how many times I see them, the red rocks still take my breath away.
Favorite Restaurant?
Casey Moore’s patio on a chilly night. It’s a vibe nothing can compete with. *Order the mozzarella sticks
The Phoenix Art Museum. I love supporting my local community and seeing the magic they bring in year after year.