A creative wild child, S.L. Hastings has always been on the lookout for unique ways of self expression. A book omnivore from the age of three, some of her favorite childhood reads include James and the Giant Peach, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Secret Garden, and The Little Princess. Oftentimes, she would imagine herself to be the characters found within the pages...

She majored in Drama at the age of 15, having attended the Chicago Academy of Visual and Performing Arts. Oddly enough, a classically trained mezzo-soprano, Sam (as we like to call her) auditioned for voice. She then moved to the Boston area when art took over her life -- painting, drawing, and doodling. She still dabbled with the performing arts, but upon graduating high school, she chose to major in advertising at Syracuse University. A cum laude graduate, Sam has worked in the field of advertising for twelve years (on the art side). But her career doesn’t let her fully unleash her creative talents...

Now Sam creates whole worlds, using two tools -- her imagination and her MacBook Pro. Seems with Sam, that old adage is true, what comes around goes around. (It just took her a little while to find her path).

Sam lives in Chicago with her husband, Jonathan, and their big furry kid, Ike. (And no, that's not Ike pictured left. The elephant's name is Sambun).