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Behind Animella Agency
Animella was originally founded by two sisters with complimentary gifts and a shared passion for showing businesses how to stop playing small.
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It has since evolved into a fully functioning agency with team members that specialize in social media management, web development, marketing and more.
Check out Animella's origin story below.
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CLARE HYDE
Co-Founder & Owner
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ALEXIS MESCHI
Co-Founder
Hey, I'm Alexis
I'm the oldest of six children. You read that right, SIX!
Clare, say hi!
(sorry, I can never stop being the bossy older sis)
I'm Clare
Number four in the line up. Classic middle child minding my own business, daydreaming about art ;)
Here are a few fun facts about us…
We both married men we’ve known since childhood. I studied Spanish and Italian...
...And I’m currently learning Italian but have never been to Italy #lifegoal
Growing up we almost only watched old movies. My favorite was Sabrina.
Mine was, too! (awww, I didn’t know we had the same fave!)
I love the redwoods
...and I can’t live without the beach
I’m obsessed with cheese.
By obsessed meaning I keep a personal cheese journal…
I have a stash of dark chocolate in my kitchen that would put Willy Wonka to shame
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Our Italian nana was the best cook...
My favorite dish of hers was her homemade pizza
And mine was her spaghetti
My first childhood crush was Ricky from I love Lucy
(says a lot about our childhood)
And my eyes were set on Jonathan Taylor Thomas…
I practically worked for the JTT hotline ;)
And we have the same favorite pair of shoes... our Rainbow sandals
Let's break it down...
2012
MARRIED MY CHILDHOOD BEST FRIEND AND STARTED THE BEST YEARS OF MY LIFE
FINISHED MY MASTERS IN SPANISH IN SAN FRANCISCO
2013
STARTED TEACHING SPANISH FULL TIME AND TAUGHT FOR THE FOLLOWING SIX YEARS
2016
MADE MY VERY FIRST WEBSITE ON WIX (AS A TOTAL NEWBIE!) FOR MY HUSBAND’S ALTERNATIVE HEALTH CARE PRACTICE
2017
I STARTED MAKING WEBSITES AND LOGOS FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS AND QUICKLY REALIZED I WAS UTTERLY OBSESSED WITH GRAPHIC DESIGN.
I SPENT PRACTICALLY EVERY FREE MOMENT RESEARCHING ONLINE, POURING THROUGH SKILLSHARE, AND SPENDING COUNTLESS HOURS TRYING NEW THINGS AND REFINING MY SKILLS AS A DESIGNER.
I HAD ALWAYS BEEN OF THE MINDSET THAT BEING “QUALIFIED” TO DO SOMETHING REQUIRED AN INSTITUTION TO PROVE IT. DESIGN WAS THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE I DOVE IN HEART FIRST AND LET PASSION LEAD.
I STARTED MY OWN DESIGN BUSINESS, CLARE HYDE DESIGNS, AND TO THIS DAY IT'S GROWN SOLELY ON REFERRALS.
2020
LEFT TEACHING TO BE A FULL TIME MAMA/GRAPHIC DESIGNER.
HAD OUR SON, RAFA, AT HOME WITH THE MOST INCREDIBLE BIRTH TEAM A GIRL COULD ASK FOR.
2021
MY SISTER AND I MADE THE LEAP AND JOINED FORCES TO CREATE OUR SHARED BRAND... ANIMELLA
MARRIED MY CHILDHOOD BEST FRIEND WHILE WE WERE STILL IN COLLEGE
2002
2004
OPTED TO NOT FINISH COLLEGE AND BE A STAY AT HOME MOM WHEN OUR FIRST DAUGHTER ARRIVED. AS OUR FAMILY GREW, I WAS A STAY AT HOME MOM FOR THE NEXT 9 YEARS TO OUR 3 DAUGHTERS
2008
MONEY WAS TIGHT AND I STARTED MAKING MY GIRLS OWN CLOTHES. THEN I STARTED DESIGNING AND SEWING WOMEN’S CLOTHING FOR FUN- AND IT STUCK AND GREW! I SOLD LOCALLY AND ONLINE AND WAS EVEN ASKED TO AUDITION FOR PROJECT RUNWAY TWO YEARS IN A ROW.
DURING THAT TIME, I BOUGHT A CAMERA AND TOOK SOME CLASSES SO I COULD STYLE AND PHOTOGRAPH MY WORK AND LOVED THE CREATIVITY.
2010
FELT A SOUL DEEP TUG TO GO BACK TO COLLEGE AND BECOME A TEACHER. I LEFT DESIGN BEHIND, FINISHED A 4 YEAR PROGRAM IN 2 YEARS AND STARTED TEACHING THE DAY MY BABY STARTED KINDERGARTEN. BUT, I KEPT A TINY SIDE BUSINESS OF PHOTOGRAPHING FAMILIES WHEN IT WAS CONVENIENT TO FIT IN.
2019
I RANDOMLY STARTED PHOTOGRAPHING SOME WOMEN IN BUSINESS AND IT INVOKED A PASSION AND PURPOSE IN MY LIFE.
I BEGAN BUILDING MY PERSONAL BRANDING STRATEGY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS ROOTED IN MY DESIRE TO CONNECT WITH WOMEN AND HELP THEM FLOURISH PROFESSIONALLY AND PERSONALLY.
2021
MY SISTER AND I MADE THE LEAP AND JOINED FORCES TO CREATE OUR SHARED BRAND... ANIMELLA
Take a peak
Why Animella?
Our name is an invitation.
We created our name to be an homage to our Italian heritage combining two words that are at the core of who we are... “Anima” meaning ‘soul’ and “sorella” meaning ‘sister’.
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Animella, to us, means welcoming in our clients as part of our family. Our name is a promise. A promise to treat each of our clients as a soul client. It's also a commitment to showing the businesses we partner with how to find their own soul clients.
Pull up a chair with us. We invite you in to become Animella.
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