How Jonina Skaggs Turned Freelance Work Into a Global Creative Agency

Jonina Skaggs started her career in architecture in Iceland before discovering graphic design and moving to San Francisco to pursue an MFA. Together with her partner, Bradley, she launched Skaggs Creative in 1999 from a studio apartment where the bed doubled as the office. Their first clients were NASA and Microsoft WebTV, and the agency has since grown to work with brands like Estée Lauder, diptyque, Charlotte Tilbury, and Thompson Hotels across branding, packaging, e-commerce, and retail experiences.

In this interview, Jonina talks about what drove her to leave the big-agency world behind, how she and Bradley self-funded the business through multiple economic downturns, and why she believes a brand’s core truth matters more than chasing trends. She also shares practical advice on networking, the soft sell, and why the single most important lesson she’s learned as an entrepreneur is to never burn a bridge. If you’re building a creative business or thinking about starting one, there’s a lot to take away here.

Tell us about yourself and your business.

I’m a native of Iceland and Skaggs Creative’s Art Director. Upon completing my studies in architecture, I worked for a Luxembourg architecture firm, Herman & Valentini. I discovered graphic design during my time in Luxembourg and decided to move to San Francisco with my partner, Bradley, to pursue my MFA degree in branding, design, and marketing. After working at some of San Francisco’s most notable agencies, I started to take on some freelance jobs for architectural and engineering firms in SF. Things started to move really quickly, and I decided to establish Skaggs Creative with Bradley. Our first two clients were NASA and Microsoft WebTV.

In the year 2000, we opened our New York City office, with our first client being Vitra, the European furniture design house. We then moved into the food + hospitality sector working for brands such as Meat and Livestock Australia, Veselka, Waffles & Dinges, Meatball Shop, Num Pang Sandwiches, Papaya King, and Thompson Hotels. 

In 2007, we got the opportunity to work with Estée Lauder, helping them create stories (visually and verbally) for their prestige fragrances such as Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, and Michael Kors. Then we were approached by diptyque to design and develop their first e-commerce site, along with helping them with their online branding and marketing, which we did for over eight years. This led us to other clients in the beauty and fragrance sectors such as Charlotte Tilbury, Morphe, Surratt Beauty, Erno Lazslo, Ranavat Beauty, BIOEFFECT, Skyn Iceland, and The Harmonist, to name a few.

The projects we work on for our clients span from brand positioning, market research and assessment, design (identity, package design, sales collateral, retail experiences, and website/e-commerce), and sales+marketing (online and offline).

How does your business make money?

Through our creative and strategy services, which include brand positioning, market research and assessment, branding, packaging, website + e-comm design + development, advertising, and retail/out of home experiences.

What was your inspiration for starting the business?

Getting away from low-quality creative and arrogant art directors that exist in big agencies. They often just follow trends and ask designers to follow the look and messaging of other successful brands. This is something I’ve always disliked and thought was a cheap solution. Most agencies are always looking at the bottom line and are in it for making fast money by selling brands on “Hey, look what brand X is doing, and they’re really successful, so let’s do something similar”. Ugh… It’s such a shame.

What we do differently from other agencies is listen, find the brand’s DNA, and execute based on the brand’s Core Truth!

How and when did you launch the business?

Like a lot of businesses, it started at home, in this case, our tiny studio apartment, where the bed was the office during the day and the bed at night. We officially launched the agency on 09.09.1999 when we opened our first studio in what we called “Baja Chinatown” at the bottom of Nob Hill in San Francisco. Then a year later, we opened our NYC office in Soho, and we had 2 locations, 16 employees, and a lot of JetBlue miles. In 2007, we decided to close our SF office and just operate from NYC since most of our clients resided on the East Coast and in Europe.

How is the business funded? 

We’ve self-funded since day 1, and it hasn’t always been easy. We’ve been through a recession, the dotcom bust, 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID pandemic. Let’s just say it’s been quite the ride, but we’re still here doing what we love. 

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How did you find your first few clients or customers?

Since we were both architects early in our careers, it was pretty easy to get architecture, engineering, and contract manufacturers as clients because we spoke their language and knew their audiences. What became apparent, though, was that if we really wanted to work with European brands, we had to be in New York City. We opened our office here in 2000 and landed 3 clients in the first week. They never outright said we needed to be here, but once we were and told them we were, they signed immediately. 

What was your first year in business like?

It all ran together in the sense that I was finishing my MFA, had a part-time job in a print shop (I was a film stripper, LOL), and doing freelance on the side. Long hours, and when we landed the NASA gig, which was an early virtual reality project for the web. Bradley took a sabbatical from Studios Architecture to work on it, and we realized this was going to be our future. It was hard work and very long hours, but we managed to make ends meet and start to grow. 

What strategies did you use to grow the business?

We leveraged our connections in the AED industry, networked our asses off, and met as many people as we could. I’ve always believed that it’s not just who you know, but who they know. And I firmly believe in the soft sell. 

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome?

There have been so many over the years, but the biggest challenge has always been dealing with HR issues and clients not paying on time or thinking they don’t need to pay.

What have been the most significant keys to your business’s success?

Walking the talk. Meeting deadlines. And exceeding expectations. Communication is the secret. 

Tell us about your team.

We have 2 senior designers, 1 junior designer, 2 freelancers, a team of backend developers (whom we have worked with for over 10 years), copywriters, and we partner with a market research team.

I’m the Art Director, and Bradley is the Creative Director.

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What was the turning point when you knew your business was successful?

When we got a call from diptyque to design their first real e-commerce site, which grew into running their global digital, which led to a call from Charlotte Tilbury to do the same thing. We’ve been in the beauty sector ever since then. 

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned growing the business?

Never, ever, under any circumstances, burn a bridge. While most industries seem big, they really aren’t, and word travels fast. 

What separates your business from your competitors?

We listen, research, and follow the brand’s DNA. We’re not copycats.

What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs?

Stop thinking about starting your own company, just do it. You’ll figure it out, and nowadays there are plenty of resources to help you. 

What is your favorite quote?

“The function of design is letting design function.”

— Micha Commeren

What are some of your favorite books, blogs, podcasts, or YouTube channels?

My favorite books are Wednesday Wisdom, which we published in 2012 and 2014.

I love watching documentaries on travel and food. Where it comes from or why we eat what we eat. A good one is OTR Food & History – see sample here: