Today we’d like to introduce you to Allé Smith.
Hi Allé, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It started in 2011 when I was living in Chicago. Poetry, singing, drawing, and especially taking photos of the world around me consumed my attention and time. Being in Chicago was the perfect place for immersing yourself in the world of art.
A few of my close friends were artists and entrepreneurs, and though they were all very passionate about what they did, the passion didn’t always translate into profit. They had incredible art worth selling but there was something missing to take it to the next level.
At that time, websites were becoming the new storefronts. Everyone knew they needed one, but not everyone understood how powerful a well-crafted website could be or how to properly build it. I noticed that my friends either didn’t have a website or had one, but it was not intentionally designed to sell their product. Being able to see their craft and passion in person, I saw an opportunity to help translate that into a digital storefront, so I offered to photograph their work and design/redesign their websites.
The results were surprisingly immediate. Their websites began attracting buyers, generating leads, and generating huge spikes in web traffic. What originally started as doing a favor for friends revealed something deeper for me: that I had an instinct for weaving design, business, and branding into a story that people wanted to be part of. But it wasn’t until I moved to Michigan that it turned into a legit business for myself. I think it’s because this area is filled with driven entrepreneurs with big dreams, who believe the best in each other, believe in collaboration, and believe in creating chances for others to use their gifts.
I’ve been a part of some incredible projects here in Michigan that have helped me define my business model and the types of clients I work best with. It’s been through opportunities here where each client I’ve worked with referred me to other people and helped me realize, “Oh, I guess I have a legit business now!”
I believe that when you notice a problem that you have an interest in solving, even if you don’t totally know how to do it yet, that’s when you’ll discover your natural gifts and talents. Because although I had never built a website prior to these opportunities, my drive to solve the problem and my natural gifts came together to make it happen.
Since 2011, I’ve worked with both startups and well-seasoned companies, but I must say that working with startups is my favorite because you’re giving a voice to the passion behind the business. It’s incredible to get to witness that impact.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
About 10 years ago, when I was living in Chicago, my life completely fell apart. I found myself living out of my car and sleeping on friends’ and family’s couches with my 1-year-old daughter, living off the local food bank.
This was due to the physical abuse from the other parent going on at home, so I was trying to protect her and me from his abuse by staying at other places. He didn’t allow me to work, so I had no money, no means of financially supporting her and me. Child protective services got involved and truly thought our lives were at risk. Due to the severe instability of the situation, they took my daughter and placed her in foster care to ensure he couldn’t have access to her. They wouldn’t return her to me unless I left him completely.
That was the wake-up call for me to face the reality of my situation. I had to leave behind everything I once believed in and a life I had built to move back home to Michigan. Little did I know that my experience with starting web design projects in Chicago would become the thing that carried me through the next season of life.
As I left everything behind, I was left with no sense of direction for my life. I was starting my life over with nothing but a small suitcase to my name. In that season of chaos and uncertainty, one of the biggest things that helped me get through it was my business. It was no longer just about work for me but became a mental lifeline. Facing the reality that it was up to me to create a new future for my daughter and me, working on my business was the one thing that got me out of bed every day when all I felt like doing was lying there, feeling hopeless about our future. It was my business that connected me with incredible people here in Michigan who created opportunities for me to use my gifts, gave me a new sense of purpose, and helped me believe in myself and life again.
My business showed me that I could still create something meaningful and impactful when everything else was uncertain. What began as a way to survive and cope revealed a new vision for my life, giving me the chance to discover what I was really capable of despite facing extreme personal loss. It gave me the chance to become who I needed to be for my daughter’s and my future.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Opened World Design has evolved with a simple idea: that intentional design and thoughtful strategy should grow alongside the businesses they serve. What started as a boutique marketing agency has now become a creative partner for both ambitious startups and seasoned companies, offering web design, brand strategy, PR, and photography.
What I’m most proud of isn’t just the work itself, but the relationships I’ve made along the way. Most of my clients have stayed with me for years, trusting me to guide their brand from one stage to the next. That longevity speaks to the way I tailor my approach. By meeting each business exactly where it is, I am able to guide them towards reaching the next level for their reach, impact, and mission. When I see the passion and drive people have for their businesses, I want to do all that I can to help make those visions become a reality. Because it’s not just investing in their business – you’re investing in the community and the people that the business will have an impact on.
My journey has also taken me to places I’d never expect. Expanding internationally, specifically to Italy, has been an unexpected, life-changing experience. Working in Italy not only transformed my business structure but has also given me some of the most rewarding experiences of my professional and personal life. It’s made a way for me to blend creativity, culture, and connection in ways I never imagined when I started.
When you take a chance on what interests you, you never know what’s on the other side of it. That is why I named my company Opened World Design, because my world has opened up to incredible people, experiences, and places I could never have imagined for myself – all from taking the chance on pursuing what interests me. I believe we were all created, designed, with unique gifts and talents, and your world will open up when you steward them well.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Something both peaceful and powerful happens when you look up at the night sky.
One of my favorite childhood memories is very simple: lying on the trampoline in the backyard with my mom and sisters, staring up at the night sky. We would try to see how many shooting stars we could find, talk about what we thought was out there, and dream about who we wanted to be when we grew up. I remember thinking that I wanted to be an astronaut so I could go see what else was up there.
Looking up at the sky was what made me realize how big the world really is and how much of it I wanted to explore. I remember, too, feeling afraid, wondering how in the world the earth doesn’t just fall down! “What is holding us up?!” is all I could think about. On those cool Michigan nights, when fall was slowly turning to winter, we’d be covered in warm blankets, never wanting to go back inside.
I did this for the first time with my daughter a couple summers ago. What I loved the most about it is that she felt the same way as I did – not wanting to go back inside. We talked about what we thought was out there, what shapes we saw in the stars. She’d eventually fall asleep wrapped in our blankets, under the cool Michigan summer night.
Pricing:
- $60/hour for photography and graphic design work
- $1,800 for standard websites; add-ons available
- $3,200 for premium websites; add-ons available
- $4,200 for e-commerce websites; add-ons available
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.openedworld.design/
Image Credits
Dane Machiela, Lightworks Photography
