We recently had the chance to connect with Torrey Jay Saunders and have shared our conversation below.
Torrey Jay, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
One of the things I am most proud of, though it is not always visible from the outside, is the sense of freedom we have created for our family. I built a brand identity design business from the ground up, and today it supports our family of four here in San Diego.
My husband Rane and I shared a dream of creating a life where we could control our own time, and over the years we have slowly pieced that vision together. Our kids are in homeschool pods, which means we are not tied to one place for the entire school year.
This year, Rane officially joined the Torrey Jay Creative team. We create our own schedule and make space for meaningful moments, choosing experiences over things whenever we can. It has been a long and challenging journey, but we are finally beginning to see the dream take shape.
We just returned from a five week trip to Costa Rica. It was a small test to see if we could work, travel, and homeschool at the same time. There were a few hiccups, but overall the trip was a success and a reminder of what we have been building all along.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi! My name is Torrey Jay Saunders and I am the owner and founder of Torrey Jay Creative, an intentionally small brand identity design agency based in San Diego, California.
We work primarily with clients who are rooted in sustainability and ocean conservation. Each brand we collaborate with is deeply committed to preserving, protecting, and bringing awareness to responsible business practices.
After spending years in the corporate design world and witnessing how many large companies operate, we made a clear promise when launching Torrey Jay Creative. We decided we would only work with brands that align with our personal values. That commitment continues to guide everything we do.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I come from a long line of female entrepreneurs, beginning with my great-great-grandmother Milano. She left her husband in Italy and made her way to New Jersey with her child, determined to build a better life. During the Great Depression, she started making wine in her basement to survive. She was eventually arrested for bootlegging, but with the money she earned, she purchased as much real estate as she could and went on to fund a business that still exists today. That company, now known as Marotta Industries, later developed a valve that was essential to the Apollo spacecraft build.
Every woman on my mother’s side is a successful self-made entrepreneur. Growing up with that legacy gave me the courage and determination to build a business of my own. While I learned how to start and grow my design studio, my husband supported us by working as a commercial diver in San Diego Bay. We were raising two young children at the time, and it was one of the most demanding and defining chapters of my life. There were moments when I seriously considered giving up.
But I learned that persistence is everything. If you stay committed, anything is possible.
What’s something you changed your mind about after failing hard?
Although design is my profession today, my background is in visual journalism. When I was younger, I dreamed of being on the front lines of conflict, documenting the world through an honest and unbiased lens. After graduating in 2009 with a degree in Visual Journalism, I set off on my first solo documentary assignment to Santiago, Chile, to cover the 200th anniversary of the country’s independence from Spain. I was filled with hope and a deep desire to make a difference.
During the second week of my trip, I was brutally mugged. All of my camera gear, money, and passport were stolen. I was hospitalized and later wrongfully detained, struggling to explain my situation in broken Spanish. Returning to my hostel that night, still shaken and unsure of what would happen next, remains one of the scariest moments of my young adult life.
Eventually, I made it to the U.S. Embassy in Santiago and was able to explain what had happened. I returned home with nothing but one of eight CF cards, where the only surviving photos from the trip were stored, and a temporary passport. The story I ended up writing was very different from the one I had planned. I published a personal account of my experience, and it later earned me an achievement award.
That experience was a wake-up call. It made me reconsider how I wanted to tell stories and serve the world. I eventually found my way to design, a medium where I could still tell powerful stories but in a different form. Storytelling remains central to everything I do, and I believe it is the reason my design work stands out. We do not just create beautiful visuals. We work with our clients to craft thoughtful and human stories that resonate.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
If you were to ask my closest friends what truly matters to me, I believe most of them would say authenticity. It is the thread that runs through everything I do, both personally and professionally.
In the design world, there is often a strong emphasis on aesthetic. While I value beautiful and intentional visuals, I see aesthetic as just one part of what makes design meaningful. For me, great design begins with understanding. Real stories, real people, and a clear sense of purpose. I often remind myself that life itself is the greatest design prompt. It is full of nuance, contradiction, and imperfection. Those imperfections are what make us human.
We are living in a time shaped by rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and an overwhelming flow of content. In this landscape, staying grounded in authenticity feels more important than ever. I am not interested in creating work that simply adds to the noise. I want to create work that feels rooted, thoughtful, and true.
Whether I am navigating personal decisions or responding to a creative prompt, I aim to show up with clarity and integrity. Every brand I work with is an opportunity to reflect something honest. Something that truly connects. Authenticity is not just a value I believe in. It is the standard I hold myself to in everything I create.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days.
The most exciting moment of my career so far happened within the last year. Two things happened at once. My husband Rane was able to take a year-long sabbatical from his incredibly physically demanding career as a commercial diver to stay home with our kids after working long, hard hours for eleven years straight. Shortly after we took the trust fall of having him step away from work, I landed two conservation-focused retainer clients and let go of the last client I had kept for years. That client felt safe but no longer aligned with my professional or personal values.
Our five-week trip to Costa Rica in June was our celebration. It was the moment that solidified our belief that we really could design life exactly the way we wanted.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://torreyjay.com
- Instagram: @torreyjay.creative
Image Credits
All photos by @Alyssateutonphoto
