Edila Stace-Smith
Q What do you do?
“I’m the founder and creative director of Blank Tela Studio...”
a multidisciplinary design studio powering conscious creative change. We offer brand strategy, brand identity, custom web design, inclusive stock imagery, and mentorship support.
Q What’s your style?
My style is very much, minimal meets contemporary design. I’m really drawn to editorial stylings, with a clean, modern approach.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
I would love to focus more on branding, mentorship support and photoshoot creative direction. We actually launched an inclusive stock imagery offering in 2022 which you can peek at over on our website or Instagram!
Q What is frustrating you right now?
The constant ups and downs of entrepreneurship. Not always knowing how things are going to work out.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
Pinterest management & design assistance
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
Oh gosh, it was a long road for sure.
After spending 11 years in the hospitality industry I made my way over to Tech in 2017. The same feelings eventually always came up within each industry though –I was left feeling unfulfilled and ultimately uninspired.
About 2 years into working in Tech, I started to seek out potentially running my own business and what that would look like. I’ve always been a creative person and appreciated fashion ( I went to school for this), architecture, interior design etc – so naturally I was drawn to running a creative design studio.
And now here I am!
Q How do you stand out in your field?
True collaboration.
Working with my clients is a TRUE collaboration and I let them know this from start to finish so they know we are in it together. So they feel invested and inspired. Instead of them just hiring someone (me) to create something (branding/web design) for them. Basically humanizing the whole process and not making it feel just transactional.
Q What are you working on right now?
I’m currently working on a branding project for a Canadian slow fashion house.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
To celebrate each and every success and to TRUST in the process. To not be so hard on myself and to understand that I am now in a place that I once dreamed of being in.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
I would absolutely love to talk to someone about all things finances. Financial literacy is so important, so getting a proper grasp on it earlier than later would be amazing.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
Branding, custom web design, and more speaking engagements. Our stock imagery offering, Arte Archive, is something I'm really passionate about, so I would love to speak and share more about its overall message and why I truly believe it's such an important addition to the modern stock imagery space.
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
There are so many amazing brands out there that I’d love to work with from fashion, to skincare, to jewelry etc. But right now, I would love to work with a photographer again.
Strong imagery plays such an important role in my design process, so working with photographers is an absolute dream.
Q: What is your rate?
Design Intensives start at: $2,500 - $2,900
Branding starts at: $4,200
Branding & Web Design starts at: $8,800
Mentorship: $875/month
*All rates vary depending on the scope of the project and the clients needs.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Either through the contact form on my website or through the “work with us” form via my Instagram bio link.
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Chey Franke ( Photographer)
High Moon Studio ( Brand Agency)
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Being outside in the world. Having real life experiences away from my computer.
This member profile was originally published in January 2022 / Last Updated March 2023.