The Essential List 17. Annie Dabir’s Favorites for Balancing Work and Motherhood
The Nashville-based art director shares her favorite post-baby pants, the hair oil she’s used for ten years, a chic baby carrier, and why she’s sometimes drawn to bad branding.
Today, I’m delighted to feature Annie Dabir, a Nashville-based art director and the writer of Dabbling, a newsletter where she shares fun, creative exercises alongside her latest obsessions and finds. After a career at branding agencies, designing across beauty, fashion, and tech, Annie now freelances while balancing full-time work and motherhood.
First, Annie shares the essentials that have helped her navigate this new phase of life. Then, I share our Q&A about how being an art director has turned her into a terrible shopper, why dentist’s should have bad branding, and where she draws her inspiration these days. Enjoy!
Magnesi-OM When my baby started sleeping, I would get so mad at myself because all of a sudden, I couldn’t sleep. Sleep is such an elusive thing, especially once you become a parent. I had to stop scrolling, use red light therapy, meditate, etc. Once I started using this every night, I fell asleep instantly. Now, I’m too scared not to use it in case a nasty bout of sleep paralysis finds me again!
Leuchtturm Notebook My very organized husband strongly encouraged me to start this method called “getting things done”. I am the most scatter-brained person, so it has really helped me stop flipping through my mental to-do list anytime I had a free moment. Now the thought goes in the notebook. It keeps you from cycling through your mental to-do list every time you have a free moment. I keep buying these ones because they are easy to find, high-quality, and they make me feel like a real person. Plus they’re big and smooth, and I like the pink! It also doubles as a sketchbook, which is an important part of my design process.
Donni Linen Pants These pants have been a staple for me in the warmer months. I haven’t yet given up on my pre-baby jeans, so I haven’t bought new sizes yet. For now, elastic waist bands will do. I have these in 3 colors, but the red is my favorite. They’re really cute with just a white T-shirt. It’s the perfect silhouette and fabric so you don’t look like you’re wearing pajamas. I am SO happy this is the style now, I can’t imagine fitting my post-baby body into skinny jeans in 2014… [Ed. Note: The linen pants are almost sold out, but Donni offers similar silhouettes in other fabrics.]
Toups and Co Tallow Balm I have gotten cleaner and cleaner as the years go on. But, I’ve also gotten lazier when it comes to skincare. I worked in beauty for awhile, so I used to have piles of expensive products I felt like I had to try. I ended up with a very elaborate routine, and I’m not sure it did my skin any favors. Once I got pregnant, instead of checking every single ingredient on every single product, I dropped all of them. I didn’t want to have to think and worry about every product so much. I just started using this tallow balm morning and night, and I love it. I have empty after empty of this, and sometimes I even put it on my baby’s cheeks when his skin is feeling a little rough!
Oribe Gold Lust Hair Oil My hair oil for the past 10 years. I am usually a HATER of all scents (I can’t even set foot into a Bath & Body Works, lol) except for Oribe. Their signature scent gets me every time! Aside from the smell, this is the only hair oil where I can use this, air dry my hair completely, and it will look blown out.
Artipoppe Zeitgeist Baby Carrier They don’t have my print anymore, but this baby carrier has been the most useful baby item so far. When you have two bratty dogs, sometimes you can’t quite use the stroller without the dogs cutting in front. Even an older baby can get strapped into this and it doesn’t kill your back. Also, the prints are sooo cute and the Artipoppe brand is very aspirational. Makes it feel possible to be a chic mom!
After becoming a mom, Annie created her newsletter,
, as a place to focus her many creative outlets and interests. She’s always sourcing great finds and her branding and rebranding exercises (see Glossier, Rhode, the Taylor & Travis wedding) are particularly fun and brilliant.Tell me about your background and what you’re doing today.
I’ve always been so completely immersed in art and design from as early as I can remember. The greatest compliment my mom would ever give someone would be “She has great taste.” Since then, I have sought out to refine my taste in every medium possible. I love interiors, fashion, and art, but my skill set took me to graphic design.
When I went to college, I played a sport. I think that mindset weakened my right-brain for a little bit, and I chose a more pragmatic route and studied business. Soon after college, I moved to Wyoming, waitressed and skied for a few years, and then moved back to New York to go to design school. I’ve always had a knack for turning people’s spoken words into images in my head, which is what led me to branding.
If you wanted to look at my portfolio from back then, a walk through Sephora would do the trick.
With the ultimate goal of ending at a branding agency, I took freelance job after freelance job hoping to build my portfolio. I spent some time in fashion, events, and tech. I designed everything from an Alice + Olivia popcorn stand to dinner menus for Facebook’s board. I finally landed at an up-and-coming beauty branding agency, where I worked as the sole designer under an art director. There, we worked almost exclusively in luxury beauty products. We worked a lot on rebrands, brand launches, packaging, and campaigns. If you wanted to look at my portfolio from back then, a walk through Sephora would do the trick.
My most recent job was at Lloyd&Co, an agency famous for some very provocative campaigns (a 2000s Gucci campaign with a “G” shaved into a model’s pubic hair…). I was hired as part of the team behind Claire’s major rebrand. We headed up all their major campaigns, bringing in incredible photographers, stylists, etc., to help the newly relevant Claire’s into the future.
Then I got pregnant, had my baby, and became a full-time mom. I am navigating being a full-time mom and part-time work. I usually work when he sleeps. It’s stressful, but worth it!
I love working with small businesses, and I have recently come back to working freelance for myself exclusively. If I have creative freedom, no project is too small. My side projects have included everything from gorgeous New York weddings, to a crypto trading platform, to a postpartum meal delivery service. These days, I have some really exciting and beautiful projects on the horizon that I’m so excited to see come to life!
Have you found that your creativity has changed since having a baby? Where do you look for inspiration?
I think I am more efficient and focused with my time, I can’t spend hours scrolling on Pinterest or Cosmos anymore (although I still do). Because most of my day is just watching a baby, I spend a lot of time looking at things around me that I normally wouldn’t pay attention to. I think you can find inspiration in really strange things if you are forced to think about it!
I also get a lot of inspiration from TV and film. Film stills can be amazing for art direction/campaigns, because the director is already telling a story. The best AD has a world built into it, and that’s what directors do best. They can also have really great graphics too, especially older ones. The beginning credits of an old movie can be so helpful for fonts and illustrations.
Magazine archives are also huge for me. Magazines like Vogue are great for campaign imagery, but I find the best stuff in everyday magazines, like LIFE. I spend most of my time looking at advertisements, because that’s where fonts/graphics/color all have to meet together as one to define a brand. I find them very telling of the era, and also very inspirational. Also, old design books are so great. I got so many at this bookstore in Ojai. The topics are so niche that you know no one else will be using it for inspiration!
I think it’s important to get off a screen regularly. I live in a beautiful little neighborhood with colorful Victorian houses everywhere, and they are great inspiration for color palettes. If you keep your head up, you can find inspiration pretty much anywhere.
Who is your dream client?
It’s always a dream to work in super high-end fashion. Khaite is an aspirational one for me because they haven’t been around for centuries, so they are more willing to innovate when it comes to graphics and art direction. They do some really cool things with film and they are always changing up their graphic language (which is really rare). Fashion houses usually stick to simplicity and let the photography/products do the talking. Khaite is willing to experiment with design and work with blossoming talent. Nothing feels stuffy about it, and I think the way they showcase their clothes is part of the reason they are so popular now!
When it comes to branding, I’m dying to get into hospitality branding. I LOVE interiors, architecture, and history. I love what Ash Hotels is doing. They purchase beautiful and historic, but slightly run-down, properties in smaller cities and redo them to the nines. Everything is designed so thoughtfully. I’d love to work with them, or do something similar in hospitality. I’d love to design all the branding for the hotels and restaurants, especially because it would have to reflect the history of the buildings/area. It would be a dream to be part of something that combined all my favorite design mediums.
What are some brands that you admire/think are doing a great job?
I think Rhode is doing a great job at making content at the moment. They have a specific aesthetic, but are making a point of always working with different photographers and designers to bring in their taste. They’re always working with really innovative people, and it gives Rhode a presence in more than just beauty circles.
Jacquemus is always really creative with their content. They do the cheekiest things when it comes to their social media, which makes me want to shop from them more. They manage to be uber-luxury but still fun, which makes their reach so wide. I always want to steal their content ideas.
Sabrina Carpenter is also doing a great job with her branding. It’s not often that an artist’s branding is so consistent, and I think she has done an amazing job of understanding what’s popular, whilst still remaining unique.
How does being an Art Director affect the way you shop? I imagine you're more critical of branding and marketing than the average consumer.
I have turned into a TERRIBLE shopper! I am so critical of everything I see and I get so fatigued by it all, especially in CPG. I will still buy a product with beautiful branding that feels thought out. If they have thought-out branding, then (in my mind) they are diligent with their strategy, and thus must be with their product too. I don’t buy things purely for beauty anymore; I prefer branding with a story. I think it gives the product itself more legitimacy.
My skepticism depends entirely on the industry. If a fashion brand has amazing art direction and graphics, it shows they have great taste, and then I’m more attracted to their clothes. If a CPG brand has an amazing campaign, etc. I am a little more skeptical. It doesn’t feel as relevant to their product, and makes me think they are trying to divert attention away from the product itself.
I cannot stand the dentist offices with the silly chunky logo and slick photography. I feel like they are trying to hide their bad dentists behind fancy branding!
This is not shopping per se, but sometimes I’m even drawn to bad branding. I think if you are offering a service like dentistry or something, you shouldn’t have good branding. I cannot stand the dentist offices with the silly chunky logo and slick photography. I feel like they are trying to hide their bad dentists behind fancy branding! I don’t want a local dentists office spending a dollar on branding and marketing, but rather their dentist’s education. Does that make sense?
Where do you discover new brands and products? Are there any small brands you think more people should know about?
I find sooo much on Etsy, like this brand Duzy, but I also find a ton of small brands on Pinterest. If I’m drawn to an image, I usually find out the source and it leads me to a lot of great small brands.
Some brands I’ve found recently (I’m in a decorating phase):
Roan Iris - great little homewares
The Cartelier Wallpaper - gorgeous hand-drawn wallpaper from Carly Kuhn
Petra Hardware - The most amazing sculptural hardware for your home
A Rum Fellow - Super chic and unique rugs
Soil to Studio - Gorgeous Indian block print pillows
Saved NY - Cashmere everything?
What is the last thing you bought that you feel really good about and how did you find out about it?
I just splurged and bought myself some Barton Perreira glasses. I feel so chic and sophisticated in them. They are known to be very comfortable, and they help me hide my lack of makeup on Zoom meetings. They’ve also done wonders for my headaches. I went to our local glasses store about 20 times until I decided to finally pull the trigger. They only have independent brands and the selection is curated very well. They said Barton Perreira was the best of the best!
I also just bought my 1 year old a new winter jacket, and I’m so excited to see him in it. Baby clothes are the most adorable things in the whole world. It’s so much fun to put him in a new outfit, I almost weep every time!
Thank you, Annie! You always have the best picks and I can’t wait to see what you create next. Now, off to check my dentist’s website…
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Thank you Laura!! This was so much fun.
Love Annie’s creative brain! This got me thinking about all the places I should be looking for inspiration outside of my phone. And also agree on bad dentist branding. 😂