My name is Kelly and I’m the gal behind Lipstick & Ink®. I’m based in the beautiful city of Chicago and have been an Illinois girl all of my life. I received my degree in Advertising at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and started my professional career at a Chicago ad agency. These days, I work as a Role Strategy & Employee Engagement Manager in the tech industry. I also am a writer and career coach who aims to help high-achieving women become more confident and accelerate their careers.

I’m fueled by black coffee, sunshine, candles, fresh flowers, a bold lip, and a really good ink pen. I’m a collector of handwritten notes and cards. I am honest to my core and always stand up for what I believe in. Being in nature gives me life. A quality blazer and pair of jeans is my uniform. Anything that glitters catches my eye and I believe gold is never out of style.

HOW LIPSTICK & INK® CAME TO BE

Writing has always been something I love to do. I like to joke from the time I was able to pick up a pen, I’ve considered myself a writer. Growing up, writing came naturally to me and it was something I found great joy in. Unfortunately, as I entered college and my 20s, I discovered that not everyone was on board with me pursuing my passion. I was judged for sitting home and writing on nights my friends went out. I was ridiculed each time I published my writing for being “too emo.” I was defeated when my creative writing professor implied that I wasn’t a strong writer. I let other people negatively influence me and succumbed to doing things I thought I should be doing to the point where I stopped writing. I spent the next six years focused on growing my career and climbing the corporate ladder, quickly forgetting about my writing.