A life-long maker and curious spirit, Haley Montgomery was raised in the small-town, rural South with weekends spent on her grandparents’ farm, exploring pastures and fencerows, storytelling under the pecan tree, and experiencing the vibrance of ordinary moments. Small ponds, like small beginnings, are often teeming with life. Lovingly called “Busy Bee,” the ever-changing landscape of the farm and the life it embodies continues to color Haley’s creative pursuits. Whether working in watercolor and acrylic paint, hand-carved linoleum or paper craft, she seeks to share the values of place, home, faith, togetherness, exploration, memory, and ingenuity found in days at Busy Bee.
client work
Haley holds a degree in Graphic Design and an irrepressible penchant for creative experimentation. She has spent 20 years as a graphic designer, writer, printmaker, painter, storyteller and creative strategist. Her experience in the traditional marketing and advertising fields runs the gamut of agency-esque services from branding, print design, and website development to marketing plans, copy writing, and creative direction.
After years leading creative teams in a traditional agency setting, Haley launched her own hand-crafted design and illustration boutique in 2010. Conceived with a belief in the power of well-told stories and the notion that big world influence grows from small ripples of impact, Small Pond Graphics seeks to develop unique and creative storytelling tools in both words and pictures. Haley works primarily with non-profits, school public relations, community development, small business start-ups, events and cause-driven campaigns. Her clients have included the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, Starkville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Starkville Oktibbeha School District, Mississippi State University, Oktibbeha County Hospital, Hattiesburg School District, Stennis Center for Public Service, Stennis Institute of Government, Parents for Public Schools, Mississippi Public Education PAC, Columbus Main Street, West Point Main Street, West Point/Clay County Growth Alliance, and others.
art & creative pursuits
In 2014, Haley launched the Small Pond Graphics print shop to showcase her collection of art and hand-crafted products. The shop features quirky block-printed and illustrated stationery, art prints, hand-crafted paper creations, and most recently, hand-printed natural totes and vintage-inspired flour sack towels. Many of the print shop offerings evolve from Haley’s discipline of daily painting and lettering practice featuring illustrations and hand-lettered word sketches in series such as “summer of water,” “morning letters,” and “letters to my daughter.”
Haley’s creative pursuits reflect a desire to experience a quiet, authentic and conscious life — to be a good steward of time and blessings, and to infuse daily life with beauty, creativity, and celebration. Real conversations, giggles, and quiet moments. Tall grasses, wide skies, and wildflowers. Favorite stories, good memories, and family traditions. Life in the rural South, where past and present entwine. Through creative expression, Haley seeks to savor and share the blessing of ordinary days soaked up fully.
Haley is a life-long Mississippian and a graduate of Mississippi State University. In addition to work as a full-time artist, she also serves as Mommy and chief ring-leader to a vibrant three-ring circus. Haley and her three children live in Starkville, Mississippi, and continue to enjoy sojourns to the family farm in rural Noxubee County.
