Creative Curiosity with Laura Deleot!
Thank you for your support on our newsletter last week with Katherine Ragosta! This week we are talking with Laura Deleot (C’96). She has an interesting path and story to share.
Did you have any internships during your time at Sewanee? If so, what were they?
“I did not have any internships during college but I had some creative summer jobs. One summer I was a wedding photographer’s studio assistant in Atlanta. The summer after my senior year I started a black-and-white beach portrait business with another Sewanee grad. We set up a dark room in the garage of her family’s beach house on 30A and took portraits on the beach and developed them in our dark room.”
What made you decide to major in Art History?
“I love to travel, read, and research and understood the importance of cultural context in art. My passion for all of these things came together in the study of art history. I was also passionate about making things and realized that in my photography minor, spending hours in the darkroom in Carnegie.”
What was your favorite art history course you took at Sewanee?
“Medieval Art History or Italian Renaissance Art and Architecture where history, archeology, and architecture all combined opened my eyes to my favorite part of art history. During college, I read Ken Follett’s book Pillars of the Earth about the building of a Gothic cathedral and fell in love with European architecture.
“I spent the summer between my junior and senior year traveling through western and eastern Europe and into the middle east studying Art History firsthand.”
Where did you go after graduating? What’s your story postgrad?
“Right after graduation, I started a black and white portrait business then moved to Nashville to find a job as a photographer. I had assistant jobs on big shoots as well as studio jobs in dark rooms. During that time I discovered graphic design and began looking into graduate programs. A year after graduation from Sewanee I applied to The Portfolio Center in Atlanta which is now part of Miami AD School. While in that 2-year program, I had a part-time job with a graphic design business called Imagine Design.
“After graduating from the Portfolio Center my first job was in New York at The Valentine Group where I helped with the launch of Real Simple Magazine. After a few years in NY, I moved to San Francisco, following my love of books I got a job at Chronicle Books as a designer in their gift division.
“Next, I moved to Nashville and started working as the Art Director at American Songwriter Magazine while building my freelance graphic design business- Crookston Design.
“In 2015 I co-founded Circa Creative Studios with my business partner Tori Thomas. We had been collaborating as freelance designers for almost 6 years when we determined we were better together and decided to form a partnership. We built our business on a shared set of principles: intentional design, creative curiosity, collaborative process, and effective flexibility. We also shared a vision of what a company that values innovation, collaboration, and flexibility might look like. Our desire is to help young designers grow (Circa Fellowship Program) and help communities grow and do it all in a way that would also let life grow. In just eight years, we went from just the two of us to a fully developed company with studios in four cities, fifteen full-time employees, and a roster of 50+ current clients.”
If you had to give one piece of advice to your college self, what would it be?
“Be more diverse in class choices. I wish I had taken a forestry class in college, the woods in Sewanee are inspiring and a place of rest and renewal for me. I also wish I had participated more in the Sewanee community. As an adult and a homeowner in Sewanee, I have met so many interesting people and discovered so many Sewanee gems with my family.”
What’s your favorite museum/ gallery/ exhibit/ work of art you’ve seen recently?
“I recently saw the Weaving Splendor: Treasures of Asian Textiles at the Frist Museum in Nashville. My husband (a Sewanee history grad and now real estate developer) and I collect antique rugs so it was especially interesting.”
How has your art history major helped you in your daily life?
“Finding context and connections is so important in life and business. Circa serves all types of clients and the discovery process of understanding a client and the objectives and how to weave that learning into branding efforts is similar to what I learned in the study of art history and art critique.”
Thank you for sharing your post-grad experiences with us, Laura! If you are interested in connecting with Laura, don’t hesitate to reach out!