Meet Emily Dailey | Founder of Marry Me in Black

We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Dailey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
The alternative rock and emo music wave of the mid to late 2000s was incredibly influential to my younger self. I had always been a creative person, but it was during this time that I decided I definitely wanted to get paid to draw. I was in high school during the peak of Tumblr. It seemed like everyone I was meeting online liked all the same bands as me and they were all writing fanfics and making fanart. There was art everywhere and in so many different forms. Having a creative community like that at such a developmental period in my life shaped me into the artist I am today.

What should our readers know about your business?
Marry Me in Black sells wedding merch for punk rock weddings. I got the idea when I was preparing for my own wedding. My husband and I had a very small ceremony in front of only a few close family members and friends. Because of this, we didn’t have any bridesmaids or groomsmen, but I still wanted to do something special for the people that were able to attend. I created Father of the Bride, Mother of the Bride, and Maid of Honor t-shirts for my parents and sister. But as a sort of joke, each shirt was imprinted with skulls and other morbid-looking creatures. And thus my new brand was born. Since then, I’ve created dozens of other designs and host them all in an online store. Being that I’m an artist, the creating part comes easy to me, but it’s every other part of having a business that doesn’t come as natural. Working conventions is really a lot of hard labor, but it’s a necessary part of driving sales.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I consider myself a very introverted person so all of my favorite things to do are relatively quiet activities. I’m from Columbus, Ohio so the Columbus Museum of Art is always at the top of my list for tourist destinations. The art scene here is pretty strong, with dozens of smaller galleries sprinkled throughout the city as well. And we’re also home to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, which is home to the largest collection of cartoon/comic related drawings and materials. I’m also a huge fan of antique stores. There is a huge antique mall in Springfield, Ohio that features over 600 different dealers.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My parents deserve quite a bit of credit for where I am in my creative career. They would have supported any professional route I chose, but they’ve always been there to cheer me on along the way. I also have many friends from art school that continue to support and inspire me. And, of course, I also owe a lot of thanks to my husband for standing by my side at every art convention and helping set up my merch tables.

Website: https://www.marrymeinblack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marrymeinblack/

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@marrymeinblack

Image Credits
Chloe Lillash Placeit.net