This month’s featured artist, Caitlin Baumberger, is the illustrator and designer behind Happy Tines, where she brings joy filled, whimsical artwork to life through hand-drawn illustrations and lettering. Caitlin is passionate about partnering with incredible brands and clients nationwide to create designs that brighten everyday moments.

Caitlin Baumberger | Illustrator & Designer

How would you describe your work? 

I’m an illustrator and surface pattern designer based in Apex, North Carolina. I’m the owner of Happy Tines, where my mission is to create artwork that brings a little extra joy and happiness into everyday life. Through whimsical hand-drawn illustrations, playful hand-lettering details and cheerful color palettes, I aim to design pieces that make people smile. Whether it’s a custom illustrated map, a floral pattern or a logo design, I believe everyone deserves small moments of happiness that brighten their day.

What was your journey to developing your artistic skills like?

After graduating from Meredith College with a BA in graphic design, I began my career working as a graphic designer in the corporate world. While I was grateful for the experience, I found myself longing for a more hands-on creative outlet. That led me to sign up for a traditional calligraphy class – and I was instantly hooked! In 2017, I launched Happy Tines, focusing on custom wedding invitations and illustrated wedding maps, often incorporating calligraphy into my illustrations using pen and ink. It was a labor of love! A few years later, I invested in an iPad Pro and it truly transformed my workflow. Now, I create all of my illustrations digitally using Procreate and an Apple Pencil, perfectly blending efficiency and creativity.

How have you grown, personally, as an artist? 

One of the biggest areas of growth for me has definitely been my mindset. At first, I held myself back a lot – worried about judgment, someone copying my work and imposter syndrome. But, over time, I’ve realized that just showing up and sharing my work opens doors to so many awesome connections, encouragement and opportunities. The positive feedback has really shown me that the reward is so much bigger than any of the fear.

What is your secret for carving out time to truly be creative?  

Finding the balance between client work and creating just for fun has always been a bit of a challenge for me – but I’ve realized how important it really is. It’s easy to push personal projects to the back burner, but that playful, no-pressure creativity is often where my best ideas come from. In fact, most of my clients refer to pieces I created simply for fun as their project inspiration! It just goes to show how important it is to create and share the art that lights you up.

Do you have a favorite story behind one of your projects and why? 

One of my favorite pieces is an illustration of Downtown Apex that I created shortly after my husband and I moved here. I was instantly smitten with the smalltown charm of our downtown – it felt like something out of a Hallmark movie. I wanted to capture that feeling in a cheerful, illustrated print. I partnered with a local shop, Stylish Living, where you can find the artwork on prints and coffee mugs. It makes me so happy to offer something special for the community – something that feels personal, giftable and uniquely Apex.

What are you working on that excites you right now? 

This year I started offering logo and brand design, and I’m loving it! It’s such a joy to help bring businesses to life through playful logos, color palettes, illustrated icons, and more.

What is one piece of advice you’d like to share with fellow artists, especially those at the start of their careers?  

Never stop learning and stay curious! Skillshare is an amazing resource for taking online classes and expanding your skills in all sorts of creative areas. And, don’t be afraid to share your artwork! The more you put yourself out there, the more opportunities and connections you’ll make.

If you are interested in learning more about this month’s artist, Caitlin, you can find her work online at happytines.com as well as follow her on Instagram @happytines.