Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, This Entrepreneur Has a Valentine For You
Do you have a special #someone in your life? Are you looking for that perfect, personal, unique gift for him/her for Valentine’s Day? Look no further!
This #whotowatchwednesday, I’m featuring my good friend, Dhillon (pronounced: Dylan, you guys) Welsh. Dhillon and I go waaaaaay back, like Freshman year of college in the Business Learning Community, back, which means I ride for his new venture, Designs by Dhillon. Let me tell you a little bit about why you should, too.
Dhillon is a Drexel University Junior with majors in MIS, Marketing, and Business Analytics. He’s passionate about technology and the way it continues to shape our lives — another thing Dhillon’s passionate about: art.
Although he used to draw when he “was a kid,” it had been many years since Dhillon picked up a pencil to express his creativity. It wasn’t until he went on a four-month exchange program to Sydney, Australia, and visited the Banksy Gallery, where he got inspired to brush up on his old skills and get back to the drawing board (Ha, ha. Get it? Pun intended!). Dhillon decided to review art fundamentals and practice drawing while overseas and planned artwork for his return to Philly.
Dhillon at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Big Picture
Dhillon spent 23 hours re-creating one of Banksy’s pieces, “Make Love, Not War” on an 11 ft. beer wall, which he constructed as a “Proof of Concept.”
Dhillon with his graffiti artwork, “Proof of Concept”
“I really enjoyed the process,” Dhillon said. Shortly afterward, Dhillon found himself struggling to afford school and realized that he would have to take out additional student loans. He then started thinking about his hobby, as his new business, which he thought, “could be a good side-hustle to try and make some money back.”
Thus, Designs by Dhillon was born.
I asked Dhillon what made his artwork unique. He described that his style is somewhat a “pop-art aesthetic,” which he explained as “simple and eye-catching.” He claimed that this style was really prominent in the 1930s in the form of advertisements and propaganda. “It suits my background in drawing and pen + ink, (I’m a terrible painter), and I think the works come out looking especially bold,” Dhillon said. He also added that a large part of this style is that it’s often scaled to enormous size, and asserted that he likes the idea of the enormous pieces - (which we could have guessed from the 11 ft. “Proof of Concept”).
Designed by Dhillon
To celebrate the season of love, Dhillon’s selling a special edition valentine exhibiting his newest original artwork: “Refuge.”
This artwork intended to feel intimate.
“I came up with the idea of a couple hiking through a forest, and they’re facing some inclement weather, they have to stop, and so they’re huddled beneath this tree, using it as a refuge. To make it romantic, I decided to make the leaves of the tree, hearts,” Dhillon said.
Something I think is really neat about his exclusive Valentine’s Day art is that if no two cards are the same. Each card is hand-painted, meaning they have slightly different color transparencies and detailing, so each card is totally unique! Another benefit? The custom cards won’t break your Valentine’s Day budget, priced at just $4.99.
Cards come with the “Refuge” artwork on the front and “Happy Valentine’s Day!” written inside the card. You can check out the design process by following Dhillon on Instagram or Facebook.
Spreading the Love Year Round
Dhillon said although his business is new, and his only design available for purchase is the Valentine, his sole intention is to make back his startup costs of Designs by Dhillon. Next, Dhillon hopes to pivot towards a more social entrepreneurship approach.
Dhillon in front of a sunset in Heraklion on the Greek isle of Crete. He claims traveling brings him great artistic inspiration.
“Starting in March, I’m hoping to begin creating socially minded-works. When purchased, I will donate a percentage of each work to a charity related to its subject matter. The first of these works, “World on Fire,” I will be donating proceeds towards environmental disaster relief for the Australian Bushfires.”
Because there’s no such thing as too much art in the world…
