From Soap to Slime: My Ever-Evolving Creative Journey
If you’ve been following Slime Minister or Design by Cheyney for a while, you probably know that I live, breathe, and dream creativity. I always have. But my journey here hasn’t been a straight line. It’s been full of colour, chaos, detours, and drive, shaped by motherhood, instinct, and a deep need to build things that feel like me.
Over a decade ago, after moving back to Aotearoa from Canada, I started my first business baby: a soap and candle brand called Camille Co. The spark came from working in a boutique in Fernie, British Columbia, run by one of the most inspiring women I’ve ever met. Shout out to Chan at Freyja, who still runs her store to this day. Watching her do business with so much care and creativity gave me the push I needed to start something of my own.
Camille Co. took me to weekend markets, and I fell in love with that world. I loved chatting to locals, swapping with other stallholders, and turning my little table into a full sensory experience. Because I have a background in graphic design, I also did all my own branding and packaging. People started asking who made it. When I said “me,” they’d ask if I could do theirs too. So I started taking on design clients on the side.
Eventually, that side gig grew bigger than the soaps and candles. I wrapped up Camille Co. and stepped fully into design under Design by Cheyney. At first, I was working with clients on logos, branding, websites, and anything visual. But my end goal was always creative freedom, so I started making and selling digital assets like templates, brand kits, and illustrations. That way, I could keep creating without being tied to deadlines or feedback loops.
In 2020, I ticked off a huge creative dream. I had my first children’s book, Thank You for Feeding Freckle, published with Five Mile. It was a perfect fit. Storytelling where I could control the final product and see it come to life exactly how I imagined. That’s my favourite way to work. Fast, independent, and fully in the driver’s seat.
In 2021, our son was born and life shifted again in a huge way. Thankfully, selling my digital products on Canva meant I could step back from client work and focus on being a stay-at-home mum. But of course, the creative ideas never stopped.
These days, I work part time as Design by Cheyney, creating for my Canva store and Spoonflower shop. I’m also writing more children’s books in the background, heavily inspired by our son, so if you have publishing contacts, feel free to send them my way. And of course, there’s Slime Minister, the sensory joy project that started with him and grew into something so much bigger.
I’m behind all things visual at Slime HQ. The branding, website, social media, photography, packaging, slime colours, and even the scents, which link all the way back to my Camille Co. days. I’m the fast and instinctive one in our household. If I get an idea, it’s happening. Ikr is always telling me to slow down, but my brain doesn’t do slow. I create like a maniac and I love it that way.
So that’s me. A mum. A creative. A children’s book author and illustrator. A pattern-obsessed designer. And cofounder of a very gooey, very joyful slime brand. It’s been a winding path, but every step has brought me closer to the life I want, one where creativity leads the way.
Cheyney x
👉 Follow my design work at Instagram or Facebook
👉 Browse my fabric and pattern collection on Spoonflower
👉 Canva Users, check out my elements and templates here