Meet Sidney Shackelford Guererri | Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sidney Shackelford Guererri and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sidney, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Every other career path felt like jail to me. Although, I’ve had my fair share of jobs in the creative field that still felt like a prison. When I look back at my life, the main things that have been able to hold my attention or that I keep coming back to again and again are creative.

My design business and the way I run it is my way of challenging the rules that we pick up along the way that can hold us back in living authentically. I’m regularly holding a mirror up to those deeply held beliefs and asking, where did that come from? What if we released it?

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Sidney Lane Creative is a design studio that specializes in branding and custom paper goods for events and business.

We work with event planners, couples and individuals to create brands for high end events. This includes stationery suites and signage that utilize unexpected materials like leather, metals, fabrics, etc and luxury print methods like letterpress and engraving.

What sets us apart is the level of care we give our clients. I consider the service that we offer to be like a vibe concierge. We help clients exact the creative vision of their event via a creative discovery process, design the full event brand suite including logos and color palette, then design and produce all of the paper goods, signage, gifting, etc. Our clients value cohesive design and don’t have time to DIY or piece all of the moving parts together from multiple vendors or marketplaces. We handle all of it, ensuring cohesion and quality across the board.

We offer a similar service for businesses looking to brand or rebrand themselves. We hold their hand through the whole process and take care of merch design and production.

I love what we do because it taps into the 10+ years of experience I have as a professional graphic designer managing relationships with printers, production vendors and quality control. There’s a deeply nerdy part of me that ascends when every pixel is in place, every detail is as it should be.

So the graphic designer in me gets to nerd out on the details and the business owner/creative director part of me zooms out a bit to see the bigger picture. It’s a fun dichotomy and a challenge to hold both at the same time. It pushes me to learn and evolve with every project.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Nashville has grown so much and so quickly in the 13 years I’ve lived here that it’s hard to keep up with all the hip things so I don’t try anymore haha. I do have a few go-to spots that I think are the best.

Drink-

Bastion in Wedgewood Houston. Their drinks are some of the best in the city. Try the daily punch and the nachos.

Pearl Diver in East. I love their cocktails and tiki vibe.

Otto’s on the west side is a good, chill place to grab a drink. I like it because it’s easy to get in and isn’t grungy or a sports bar (which is mostly what we have in west Nash) The interior and branding are cute too.

Eat-

I love the Optimist and Le Loupe in Germantown. Great menu and top notch branding. If the restaurant has custom matchbooks, sign me up.

Five Points Pizza and Nicky’s Coal Fired in The Nations are my favorite pizza spots. Midnight Oil in the same area is also good.

Fun-

Disclaimer: I would only take someone downtown (outside of a concert or event of some kind) during the day on a weekday to check the area out.

Robert’s Western World is my favorite Honky Tonk on Broadway. Ask for the Recession Special (a fried bologna sandwich and PBR. It used to be $5. I think it’s $6 now, but I’m not bitter.)

Hatch Show Print is one of the coolest establishments we have in this town. They’re a working letterpress print shop now located in the Country Music Hall of Fame. You can take a tour and shop their letterpress concert posters.

The Frist Museum has amazing exhibits to check out all the time, and the building itself is a work of art. It’s an art deco post office turned museum.

Shopping-

There are lots of fun small shops in Nashville. I’d start in East Nashville as my favs are over there. Gift Horse is one of my favorite stationery/novelty/gift shops. Thundermoon Collective is an incredible shop with something for everyone. I love Nashville Crystal store for crystals and healing arts. Lemon Laine is a fav for clean beauty and top notch branding!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I couldn’t attribute being able to do this to one thing. I think it’s been something that has been brewing for many years that finally alchemized when I mustered up the guts to say yes. My husband, friends, family and network from college (shoutout O’More College of Design) have all been hugely instrumental in things taking flight. Also I can’t overstate how important my therapist has been. And meditation.

Website: https://Sidneylanecreative.com

Instagram: @sidneylanecreative

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sidneylanecreative

Image Credits
Heck Designs Photography
Chelsea Reece Photography
Laklin Brooke Photography