No one likes to be bummed out but everybody drags from time to time — and that's why we wanted to give you a little pep talk. Persist through the difficult moments with this paper picker-upper — good cheer guaranteed. EMILY McDOWELL is a writer, illustrator, speaker, teacher and entrepreneur who is fiercely committed to not doing all of those things at the same time. After spending a decade working in advertising, she founded Emily McDowell Studio in January 2013. Emily started Emily McDowell & Friends in 2011, as an Etsy shop that sold print illustrations. It began as a side project while she worked as a creative director and advertising writer. Now her product lines include mugs, tote bags and journals and are sold through online retail and wholesale sales to almost 2,000 retailers.