Vibeke Høie always dreamed of drawing for a living. As a child, she loved making illustrations and imagined a creative career. But she took a detour and studied to become a teacher instead. That was until she had an epiphany. “When we worked with children’s books as part of the studies, I realised that I would much rather be the one that creates the books, than the one that reads them,” she tells Localfolk. She decided to change course and pursue her passion. She moved to Kent in the UK, where she graduated in Communication Arts and Illustration in 2000.

It wasn’t easy to make a living as a graphic designer and illustrator after university. She struggled to find work and pay the bills. She recalls how she sometimes had to recycle bottles to buy food when she lived in Oslo. But she never gave up on her dream. “I always knew that hard work and dedication would pay off,” she says. She kept working on her skills and portfolio, and eventually landed more projects and clients.

Now, she is back in her hometown of Sandnes, where she enjoys working on both graphic design and illustration projects. She is especially proud of her collaboration with author Siri Abrahamsen on the “Gleding!” series of children’s books. She created the charming illustrations for the characters Lykke & Wilmer, and loved every minute of it. “That project really triggered me, and I loved working on that,” she says.

For Vibeke, the key to success is to work on projects that excite and challenge her. And to work hard. “There really is no substitute for hard work,” she says, “if you work hard and really believe in what you do, you will eventually succeed.” She also admires other creative people in Stavanger, such as Pia Wall, another graphic designer and illustrator who inspires her.

Vibeke has a busy and active life outside of work as well. She likes gardening in her green house, and running marathons. She has completed the NY Marathon three times, and even designed the logo for the official NY Marathon training app. She says that kindness is another important value for her, along with hard work. She looks forward to growing old gracefully and kindly. “I will be that kind and cool old lady in the street, that we all remember so fondly from our own childhood!” she says with a smile. And hopefully still drawing and running every day.