Moving on from your life-long career, which you thought you'd do forever is not easy; but Cherry Jane Quino had no choice. When the pandemic ruined the Philippines' tourism industry, the 15 years she had given to tourism consultancy suddenly became null and void. While transitioning into her new job as a Virtual Assistant, she ran into Canva and found that she had a passion for graphic design.
Today, Cherry owns a digital graphic design business, Template Maven Co., which helps small and medium-sized businesses enhance their social media presence. When she’s not busy creating designs, you can find her at a local coffee shop, savoring her favorite coffee and Carbonara.
What do you love about the Philippines?
There's so much to love in the Philippines, for instance, its rich cultural heritage, the incredible warmth and hospitality of its people, and the diverse natural beauty you can find across the country.
What truly inspires me about Filipinos is their "Bayanihan" spirit, which means coming together as a community to help each other during difficult times. As for the cuisines, the Philippines has a wide variety of delectable dishes, with adobo, sinigang, and lechon being some of my favorites.
And how can I go without mentioning the incredible natural beauty of my country; from the pristine white sand beaches of Boracay and Palawan to the picturesque chocolate hills of Bohol, everything just takes your breath away.
The Philippines is a perfect home for graphic artists like me, who find inspiration and motivation from the nature and warmth surrounding them.
What inspires your art?
My art is solely inspired by my personal preferences and the atmosphere around me. Being an introvert, I'm naturally drawn to soft, neutral, and pastel colors. For me, they appear tranquil and comforting.
My love for anything warm, comfortable, and relaxing heavily influences the subjects and themes of my artwork, such as scented candles and yoga templates. I channel my inner appreciation for warm and welcoming spaces into my designs, which gives them life and originality.
Overall, I believe graphic designing gives me an outlet to express myself and my appreciation for things in a way that’s passive and subtle –excellent for my personality. And that is why I’m so passionate about it.
What is your daily process like?
I’m an early bird, so I wake up at 5:30 and start my day with a refreshing yoga session. This helps me set a positive mood for the day. Then, I sit down with my husband, and we have coffee and breakfast before moving on to household chores.
After tidying up, I head to my desk and begin my day job as a content writer. I like to dedicate my full attention to my writing, going through my to-do list one by one. However, in the evening, I transition into a graphic designer and focus for one and a half hours on generating new ideas, creating beautiful templates, and answering emails.
This way, I balance my work life, my passion for graphic designing, and my family, and ensure that I make steady progress!
How did you start Template Maven Co.?
Template Maven Co. was born out of the chaos of the pandemic. When my travel consultancy days suddenly became over, I found my passion for creativity and entrepreneurship. Delving deeper into the small business world helped me figure out their pain points. The biggest one was a need for cohesive-looking and engaging social media templates to market their business.
I knew there was a business opportunity so I grabbed it. I created Template Maven Co. with the primary goal of supporting small business owners by offering completely customizable graphics to help them have a social media presence.
My minimalistic design style is tailored to friendly and approachable niches, such as health, wellness, bakeshop, and flowers. However, almost everyone can benefit from the designs by editing their pictures and changing the text overlays.
Do you have any other jobs besides this one?
Yes, I also work as a content writer in a Digital Marketing Agency, where I write articles for three websites and handle the content and graphics for the company's Facebook page. This job helps me tap into my nerdy side, and indulge in my love for optimization.
Doing this job also helps me see business needs from a different perspective, and helps me create well-rounded designs for my clients.
Supporting Sellers on Social Media Calendars
Many sellers like Cherry have built a new life around graphic designing. You can help them pursue their passion by purchasing their templates, graphic assets, illustrations, and web elements!
So, visit our products page today, and find thousands of templates tackling hundreds of niches.
Joining the Sellers Program on Social Media Calendar
Social Media Calendar is offering their platform for talented graphic designers to sell any graphics assets they specialize in. Becoming a seller and offering a shop costs nothing. In fact, you can enjoy free advertising, email promotion, homepage highlight, and instant deliveries.
For more information, check out our Sellers Program today!
Do you want to learn to create and sell Canva templates?
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Take a look at Cherry’s products
From here, you will find Cherry’s shop Templates Maven Co.
