Perhaps best known by her nickname “Swiss Miss,” graphic designer and entrepreneur Tina Roth Eisenberg took the SXSW Interactive stage for the second featured keynote of the festival.
Aside from running the popular design blog and studio Swiss Miss, Roth Eisenberg is the driving force behind nationwide events series Creative Mornings, collaborative workspace Studiomates, to-do app TeuxDeux, and temporary tattoo company Tattly. In other words, side projects are pretty much her thing. While yesterday’s keynote featuring SpaceX/Tesla Motors CEO Elon Muskfocused predominantly on technology, Roth Eisenberg used her time to inspire creatives to use their enthusiasm to find success. Inspired by her Swiss aunt, a fashion designer and artist, she emphasized the importance of creatives surrounding themselves with other creative people saying, “Nothing more refreshing than being around people who are passionate about what they do.”
For creatives hoping to find the same type of success as herself, Roth Eisenberg listed these 11 steps:
- Invest your life in what you love
- Embrace enthusiasm
- Don’t complain, make things better
- Trust and empower
- Experiences > money
- Surround yourself with likeminded people
- Collaborate
- Ignore haters
- Make time to think and breathe
- If an opportunity scares you, take it
- Be someone’s eccentric aunt
“Real connections are not made through computer screens,” Roth Eisenberg says. The immense growth of Studiomates and Creative Mornings in a short amount of time is undoubtedly a testament to Roth Eisenberg’s own passion and emphasis on creative collaboration.