Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Glassman, And Danielle Glassman.
Hi Samantha Glassman, and Danielle Glassman, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Samantha:
I’ve always been creative and loved art class, even if painting and drawing weren’t my strongest skills. In high school, a computer art class introduced me to Photoshop, and I fell in love.
In college, I wasn’t sure about graphic design at first but eventually added a communication design major. Through projects like rebranding packaging we found in Target and designing a physical menu (I even stained a wooden board!)I realized graphic design was an extension of marketing and psychology, where every little detail matters in creatively solving problems and connecting to an audience. That’s when I found my passion.
After graduating during the pandemic, my sister and I, both stuck at home, started passion projects together and quickly saw how well we worked as a team. That led me to land a remote agency job, which gave me space to continue to work on personal projects, including making my own quote art and posting tiktoks for aspiring graphic designers.
When my sister was laid off, I made the bold decision to leave my stable job because I liked freelancing more. After a few months freelancing separately, we officially started our own business. It’s been just over a year, and we’ve been building it together ever since. I wouldn’t trade the freedom and limitless potential of owning my own business for the perceived stability of a 9-to-5 any day.
Danielle:
I’ve always known I wanted to do something creative. From coding and designing my own Tumblr blog in middle school, to designing collages on Pic Collage just for fun, I knew I enjoyed design before I even knew what graphic design even was. It wasn’t until high school, when I spent hours watching my favorite YouTubers’ experiences studying graphic design in college (shout out Lindsey Rem!) that I knew it was a career possibility. This curiosity led me to studying creative advertising at The University of Miami. After taking my first graphic design course there, I fell in love with it and spent college building my design skills through internships and extracurriculars.
After graduation, during the pandemic, I had endless free time to share my work on Instagram and TikTok – everything from quote art to collages to design tutorials. And shortly after, I landed a creative role at an ad agency where I honed my skills in design, copywriting, and content creation — until an unexpected layoff, 2 ½ years later, pushed me to freelance full-time.
That layoff was a blessing in disguise, because it made me realize just how badly I wanted to be my own boss. And in 2024, Samantha joined me on the self-employed journey, and together we’ve worked on over 20 client projects. From social media campaigns for food & beverage brands to full branding for businesses and brands, we built our dream projects through outreach, referrals, and showing up for ourselves every day. And we are so excited for what’s to come!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth road, but that’s part of building something from the ground up. There have been moments of self-doubt, slow seasons, and learning curves — especially when it comes to running a business, not just designing.
We’ve learned how important it is to build strong relationships with our clients, because they’re truly the heart of what we do. Running a design business means wearing a lot of hats: project manager, account manager, sales rep, assistant, and advocate for yourself.
But every challenge has taught us something valuable. The great thing about doing this together is that we’re able to lean on each other, divide and conquer, and celebrate the wins together — big or small. It’s been a journey, but one we wouldn’t trade.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We’re not just graphic designers – we’re creative problem solvers. What makes us different is that we actually take the time to sit down with our clients, get to know them, and understand their vision. We’re not just here to make things look pretty, we focus on strategy first, design second.
We’re a small agency, but really it’s just the two of us, two designers fully committed to bringing our client’s visions to life. Collaborative by design, we believe the best brands are built together through close partnership, keeping our clients’ business goals at the heart of every decision.
In today’s world, standing out online isn’t just important, it’s essential. With so much competition on social and digital platforms, brands need to be clear, authentic, and memorable to capture attention and share their story. We get this because we’re young, digital natives and design with a social-first mindset. Everything we make is designed to work seamlessly across platforms where people actually spend their time.
We also know how to work with all kinds of personalities and preferences, which is key when you’re building a service-based business. While we work across different industries, we especially love working in the food, beverage, and lifestyle space, that’s where we feel most inspired and energized.
Our biggest strengths are helping brands show up in a way that feels authentic, looks amazing, and actually connects with people. More than just designers, we’re strategic and creative partners dedicated to helping brands thrive.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We’re always excited to connect with new people and brands! If you’re interested in working with us, reach out through our website (https://www.aperitifcollective.com/contact) for design projects—whether it’s branding, digital design, marketing collateral, or art direction. We also enjoy collaborating with fellow creatives and agencies.
To support us, follow along on Instagram and TikTok (@aperitifcollective), where we share client work, design and marketing insights, and even behind the scenes design process videos.
Every connection is important and helps our business grow, so we can continue empowering others through strategic design and creativity. We love building our network of creatives and business owners!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aperitifcollective.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aperitifcollective/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-glassman/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-glassman-26b1ab14a/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@aperitifcollective
Image Credits
https://www.eventmarketer.com/article/jamba-sunrise-smoothie-tour/
