10 Fun facts about
streetlamp creative's co-founders
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
As we write this, we’ve just officially launched Streetlamp Creative, in early 2019 – and we couldn’t be more excited! While we’re just now “open for business,” the dream has been a long time coming. For the past four years, we (Heather Karellas and Emma Weldon) have collaborated on more than 100 freelance projects for our wonderful clients. We’ve found that our individual personalities and skill sets complement the other’s perfectly, so our work partnership has always felt easy, natural, and fun.
We’ve enjoyed working together so much that in December 2018, Emma suggested we start our own company to do more of the work we love and help even more clients streamline their marketing efforts. A short while later, here we are! To celebrate our official launch, we wanted to share some 10 fun facts about ourselves. Read on, and enjoy!
1. Our company name is a nod to our goals: we aim to help shed light on clients’ strengths and opportunities for growth while illuminating a path forward. We considered more than a hundred name ideas before landing on Streetlamp Creative!
2. Emma has grown fresh produce in her summer garden for the past eight years. She loves cooking with her fresh, home-grown veggies and learning about the medicinal properties of foods. You can follow her gardening adventures on Instagram @CrazyPlantLadyATL. Grapefruit is just about the only food she won’t touch.
3. Heather loves running and hiking! She’s completed a few half marathons and one marathon. She’s spent many a weekend solo hiking and summiting Georgia’a 4k+ peaks. Her running style is “slow but stubborn,” and the mountains are her happy place.
4. Emma thrives on solving puzzles and brain teasers. Whether it’s a jigsaw puzzle, crossword, or sudoku, she can’t start a puzzle without finishing it. To date, she’s completed more than 500 crossword puzzles from The New York Times, and she’s solved an Expert-level Sudoku puzzle in under four minutes.
5. Heather has been a vegetarian since 2008 (!) and loves experimenting with recipes. Her grandma taught her how to bake when she was little. Recent binge-watching of The Great British Bake-Off has rekindled Heather’s love for all things carbs.
6. Emma is the ultimate hostess and will find any excuse to host a party with delicious homemade food and drinks. Her aunt and grandmother were master hostesses, so hospitality runs in Emma’s blood. She has more than 20 different napkin designs for different occasions and continues to buy new ones whenever the mood strikes. As Emma says, “You never know when you’ll need to throw a party!”
7. Heather spent several years as Development Director at the Center for Puppetry Arts. As a result, her knowledge of Sesame Street, The Muppets, and other “puppet stuff” is vast and varied. Her favorite Jim Henson characters are The Swedish Chef, Oscar the Grouch, Dr. Teeth, and the Doozers of Fraggle Rock.
8. We both adore animals and will attempt to pet almost any dog we see (who wouldn’t, though?!). Emma loves spending time with her pup, Jack and her cat, Callie, who can sit on command thanks to Emma’s cat-parenting skills. Heather loves snuggling her pup, Lily, a sweet and goofy Golden Retriever/Great Pyrenees mix rescue.
9. You definitely want us on your team if the zombie apocalypse comes! We’re both resourceful and love working with our hands. Emma spent a few years managing the kitchen and farmer relationships at Preserving Place, a “farm to store” concept making jams, pickles, and preserves. A farmer once delivered her a quarter of a pig, and Emma immediately went on YouTube to teach herself how to butcher it. Heather spent several years serving as Curriculum Coordinator for The Homestead Atlanta, a nonprofit that connects locals with instructors and resources on homesteading skills (think: sewing, blacksmithing, foraging, woodworking, etc.).
10. Both Emma and Heather are incredibly persistent. The best way to convince either of us to do something is to imply that we’re not capable of accomplishing it.
Jack loves helping eat Emma’s summer harvests!
Heather after the Atlanta Track Club Thanksgiving Half Marathon
Emma’s entertaining handiwork
Sweet little Doozers at the Center for Puppetry Arts
A fun past event with The Homestead Atlanta.