Holiday Marketplace Exhibit Profiles: All Crossed Up & Britton Yerger Vaughn

“All Crossed Up is the best of both worlds! Our Jewelry is fun and cute for an affordable price. Not only for a great price, but also for a great cause! All Crossed Up gives 10% of each sale to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.

Our mission is to sell adorable everyday jewelry for a great price while helping others in need. Not only do we donate 10% of each sale to St. Jude, but we also spread the word of Christ one bracelet at a time.” – Wren Bell

“Henry David Thoreau said, ‘Live the life you have imagined.’ And since a very young age, I have imagined myself living the life of an artist and illustrator. In fact, my very first career aspiration in preschool was to be an artist for children’s books.

Like Thoreau’s Walden, I grew up in a cabin in the woods and credit this nature-filled existence with my love of flowing lines, rich color, and affinity for creatures (especially cats) all seen through my oil paintings. Both my mother and grandmother are artists and encouraged me to draw for recreation and expression, so I spent most of my childhood drawing. I began winning statewide art awards as early as first grade.

I am a Mississippi artist, who grew up Madison, and now working and living in Water Valley, MS (we just moved from Oxford!). I graduated from Madison Ridgeland Academy in 2009, then graduated from The University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2013. I pledged Phi Mu my freshman year and made bonds of friendship and sisterhood with girls that will never be broken. At the end of my senior year, I fell in love with an artist and the man of my dreams, we got married June 27, 2015.

Currently, I am a part-time graphic designer, working with my husband at Vaughn Design, an ad and design agency in Oxford. I couldn’t get enough of art so took a leap of faith and I started my own company in January 2014. I started with my love for my alma mater and sorority and hoped others would relate to my watercolor. I came up with a blend of hand-drawn and computer-illustrated creations with bright colors which reflect my fearless use of color and a subject matter that spoke “Home” to someone.

My watercolor is a combination of both of my passions: a marriage of fine art and computer enhanced imagery. This allows me to express myself both creatively and artistically while providing the foundation for a commercial approach in the field of graphic design. My watercolor and designs have been featured throughout the region and state and include designs for banks, universities, and retail.

Even though this was my plan, it is almost beyond my imagination that I am living the life I imagined.” – Britton Yerger Vaughn