{photography by arianna tettamanzi & daphne youree}

kate hodges once said that “behind every great woman…is another woman”, and we couldn’t agree more! this international women’s day, we’re thrilled to team up with artist, entrepreneur, & “maman” meredith wing, the visionary behind the titular instagram account @moomooi. with an impressive 68k instagram followers {& counting}, partnerships with renowned brands like laudurée & herbal essences, & a distinctively whimsical and feminine artistic style, we can’t help but be inspired by meredith. read along for a little q&a as we dive into meredith’s creative process, career journey, & her tips on how to pave your own path.

when did you start your instagram account, @moomooi? what inspired you to start it and how did you choose your handle?

i started my account around 2013 and chose my handle because "moo" was a nickname from college. "mooi" sounded a little silly and like the french "moi" so i added it to the end, never thinking i'd have to explain it - haha! i started sharing artwork shortly thereafter, and the handle became associated with the art... it kept getting more and more too late to change it so i just stuck with it as a fun and whimsical moniker of sorts. it's random, but it works and was easy to trademark! 

{photography by daphne youree}

what was your first “big break”? did you feel like recognition was a gradual process or do you feel like it happened overnight?

town & country did a piece on my work around 2014 that went viral. that was a pretty big deal because t&c is such a major publication that i respect. up until that point my work was purely personal and for fun, so having editorial coverage of that caliber felt very legitimizing. shortly after that, soho house asked me to go to coachella with them and draw portraits at their estate. i was still in architecture school at columbia university during this time and beginning to feel like i did not want to practice architecture, so these two "breaks" gave me the confidence to found meredith wing design llc and make "moomooi" a full time career in 2015. i haven't looked back since.

have you always been interested in art growing up? did you go to school for it?

like many little girls and boys, i grew up drawing at my mom's kitchen table! countless hours were spent creating books and drawing girls in fancy dresses, many of whom mimicked the women in the golden age hollywood movies my dad loves and i grew up on. i went to barnard as an english major and later got a masters from columbia university in french and then a few years later in architecture. i never felt like art was a discipline i could make a career out of despite it calling to me, so i suppressed it. i dabbled with courses here and there, but always at an arm’s length. it wasn't until i was almost 30 and trying to figure out what profession would sustain my soul, that i came back to artwork out of necessity.

{photography by arianna tettamanzi}

where do you draw inspiration from for your work?

strong women in my life and women that i read about who are out in the world doing great things are sources of inspiration. women who express themselves boldly in varying arenas prompt me to create artwork. fashion to me is such an interesting mode of expression that in turn inspires me to produce work. then the natural world, flowers and foods with interesting textures, colors and volumes call me to reinterpret them through collage. really, i am inspired by so many different worlds and in so many different ways. collage is my way of piecing it all together.

describe your artistic process: do you like to sketch out your designs first? do you find that you go through several iterations until you reach an end product that you are happy with?

sometimes i sketch out my designs first, particularly when in discovery phase with a client where we need to land on a concept. other times, especially with personal work, i just begin sketching and see where the work takes me. this is the most freeing. whether or not i am happy with the final product is highly variable ; sometimes i am happy with a piece that has taken me ten minutes to complete, other times i can spend a week on a piece that i continue to feel needs to be reworked. it really just depends on the season, and often has nothing to do with anything but luck and mood.

{photography by daphne youree}

if you had to pick a career highlight, what would it be and why?

obviously, my work with maman is so special because i admire elisa so very much and the brand she has built along with ben as well as her fabulous team! creating the cup we did years ago for the first day of spring and this time for women's day is such an honor! my work for herbal essences, burt’s bees, and ladurée have also been so satisfying as they are brands i admire so much. honestly, it's hard to pick —  all projects are so special to me in different ways. each are my baby.

if you had to describe your artistic style in three words, what would they be?

whimsical. feminine. light.

if you had to pick a female role model who inspires you the most, who would you choose and why?

i really admire my mom, joan. she is tireless in her love for her children and grandchildren, still practices a profession she loves (as a psychologist), has a playful and adorable relationship with my dad who she's been married to for 54 years, and i've never once seen her act out in anger. she's flying down just to help me with the girls for the weekend — i'm so lucky!

{photography by daphne youree}

how does motherhood inform your work? how do you blend those two worlds?

motherhood inspires me to depict subjects that are mother and child and to work with brands that focus on maternity and children. the bond is so special and there are so many cool brands out there creating great products. additionally, motherhood just causes me to work faster and more efficiently because there is so much less time in the day! i just have to get done what i have to get done.

what advice would you give to fellow female artists and/or entrepreneurs?

if you are doing what you love, it will show. if you take on a client or project you are not excited about, it will also show. of course, sometimes we have to take projects to pay the bills, but the more you can find work that also excites you in addition to meeting your financial needs, the better your life becomes. best of both worlds. sometimes this is a matter or saying "no" in the near future in order to say "yes" in just a short while...