Meet Stacie

Founder & Creative Director

I’ve always been obsessed with web design. At 10, my mom took me to a library class on “The World Wide Web.” Out of her four kids, she knew I’d be the one glued to the screen, captivated by this beige IBM computer. She was right.

While everyone else browsed for books, I was more interested in how the site functioned. It felt like magic—clunky, slow-loading ‘90s magic, but still.

That class changed everything. My mom saw it, too. She connected me with a family friend in IT, and soon, I was taking apart computers and putting them back together.

That curiosity never faded. It just took a few detours before bringing me back to where I am today.

The Detour That Made Me Better

Before I built websites, I built experiences.
Music paid for my college degree, and while I didn’t pursue it professionally, it taught me how to move people. Tone, structure, storytelling—those same elements define great design.

Working in international luxury hospitality shaped how I think about service and aesthetics. I helped coordinate conferences at high-end resorts, working alongside top physicians.This world taught me:

• Anticipation – The best hospitality isn’t reactive, it’s intuitive. A website should work the same way, anticipating a visitor’s needs before they even think to ask.
• Effortless, yet intentional design – Luxury doesn’t feel effortless because it’s easy, but because every detail has been curated to feel seamless. Good design follows the same principle.
• Memorable – People remember how you make them feel. Whether it’s a guest, a client, or a website visitor—experience is everything.

Those lessons didn’t just apply to hospitality. They became the foundation of how I build websites today.

Becoming the Expert My Clients Need

I found my way back to web design when I needed a site for my yoga therapy business. The realization hit fast: I was more obsessed with designing the site than actually running the business.

So I pivoted.

I was hired as a project manager for website design at a top marketing agency. Early on, my boss gave me advice that shaped my entire approach: “Become the expert your clients need.”

I ran with that.

I didn’t just complete projects—I mastered site architecture, SEO, and conversion strategies so I could lead clients with confidence. Before long, my boss had a saying:“If a site came to us as a mess, we assigned it to Stacie.”

Complex builds became my specialty, and I quickly moved up to senior creative lead.

But I also realized something.

I didn’t want to build just any website. I wanted to build for people whose work moved me. The ones who were shaping art, culture, design, and experience.

That’s why I started Velvet Fern Creative—a boutique web design agency where technical expertise meets artistry.