Riley Sheehey launched Make Things Co. a freelance design and illustration company, in the summer of 2014, after a good friend asked if she would design a custom invitation in watercolor for her upcoming wedding. “I started posting some of what I was making on social media, and some of my friends who were getting engaged or had recently gotten married starting reaching out to me about helping with their wedding invites or creating portraits for anniversary gifts,” says Sheehey, a former teacher. In addition to the commissioned work that she makes for clients, she does daily “fun sketches” where she draws something she’s moved by. “I feel like a lot of my work is inspired by Nantucket and the Hamptons,” says Sheehey. “My everyday life is far from glamorous, so I always paint what i’d like to be doing in my dream world—sailing, having a picnic on the beach, doing yoga with my dog.”
Prints from $15; custom works from $400, makethingsco.com
