Victoria Derrick
Co-Founder · Publisher · Digital Strategist · Creative
Building Digital Worlds
I help grow brands, businesses, content, and creative work at the intersection of strategy and imagination. For more than a decade I've worked across digital publishing, SEO, content, e-commerce, and brand development — and I still make time to paint.
SELECTED WORK & VENTURES
Businesses and brands I help grow, market, publish, and operate.
Much of this work lives under Guide of US, the family-run company through which John and I operate our travel, gardening, lifestyle, and creative brands. John founded Hawaii Guide; we co-founded Soil Wrangler, GroveTop Studio, and CritterCute.
Hawaii Guide — Publisher & Growth Strategist
I lead marketing, content, SEO, email, and partnerships for this independent travel publication, and I currently run its physical product line.
Soil Wrangler — Co-Founder
As co-founder, I lead and support branding, product marketing, e-commerce, customer communication, and hands-on operations for this family-owned regenerative gardening shop.
Garden & Bloom
The editorial side of our gardening work: a blog sharing vermicomposting and soil-health guidance for home gardeners, alongside Soil Wrangler's products.
GroveTop Studio — Co-Founder
As co-founder, I support branding, product marketing, and e-commerce presentation for our artisan jewelry and handcrafted gift brand, with Celtic-inspired pieces assembled by hand in South Carolina.
CritterCute — Co-Founder
As co-founder, I contribute brand development, product marketing, and design to our pet-inspired art brand, which turns custom illustrations into stickers, apparel, and gifts for animal lovers.
Growing an Independent Travel Publishing Brand
A closer look at the publishing, marketing, and growth work I contributed as Hawaii Guide expanded into an independent travel resource.
Read the Case StudyDIGITAL WORLDS & ANALOG ONES
Two sides of the same practice.
Digital Worlds
Where strategy lives- Digital publishing & SEO
- Content strategy & email marketing
- E-commerce & product marketing
- Brand development & partnerships
- Audience growth & affiliate marketing
- Human-led, AI-assisted workflows
Analog Ones
Where imagination lives- Painting & mixed media
- Garden & regenerative soil work
- DIY builds & home projects
- Travel & wanderlust
- Slow cooking & quiet mornings
- Life with a very loud flock
THE STUDIO ASSISTANTS
Every creative space needs a little chaos. Ours comes with feathers.
Behind every project, painting session, and late-night brainstorm, our fids keep the day chaotic and colorful. They don't know a thing about deadlines, but they're experts at making sure we never take ourselves too seriously.
Chief Morale Officers
- The Galah Cockatoos — Our rosy-pink supervisors who believe every meeting needs more screaming and dancing. They approve all color palettes (loudly).
- The Quaker Parrots — Tiny architects with big opinions. If something can be dismantled, rearranged, or chewed on, they're on it.
They may not have LinkedIn profiles, but they run this place.
SELECTED WRITING
Reflections on creativity, entrepreneurship, and building things — digital and otherwise.
I Did Not Expect the People to Be the Best Part
Surface pattern design has been on my creative wish list for a long time. Not in a casual, maybe-someday kind of way. In the way where you keep circling back to it, keep saving things that inspire you.
Victoria Derrick - March 20, 2026The Quiet Power of Creativity in an AI-Driven World
There is a certain stillness that happens right before an idea takes shape. If you are a creative person, you know what I mean, that gentle pull toward something you cannot quite name yet, but you can feel it.
Victoria Derrick - January 29, 2026Crafting an Authentic Digital Presence: The Art Behind the Brand
I have always believed that the best brands feel like a person you would want to sit down and have coffee with. They have a warmth to them, a consistency, a sense of who they are.
Victoria Derrick - January 29, 2026
Hello, I'm Victoria.
I work across publishing, marketing, brand development, and operations for our family-run ventures. I serve as publisher and growth strategist at Hawaii Guide, and I am a co-founder of Soil Wrangler, GroveTop Studio, and CritterCute.
A southerner with a Hawaiian heart, I split my time between growing our family-run ventures with John and getting my hands dirty—in the garden, at the easel, or wherever the next idea has landed.
Read My Full StoryWORK WITH ME
The best way to reach me is by email — I read every message myself.
Lexington, South Carolina