2026: Fall Issue
Local Fashion from Local Talent
Southeastern alumna Elana Guillory used her graphic design degree to launch a successful apparel business, creating popular Hammond-themed merchandise that is now sold at local stores and farmers' markets across the Northshore.
By: Brock Sanders
Elana Guillory sits at the window seat in Luma Coffee House, sipping her caffeine of choice and designing specialized Hammond, America t-shirts and graphics for her business. Three years ago, she earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from Southeastern Louisiana University and is now celebrating two years of running an apparel and graphic design business.
Although she never expected nor strove to start her own business, her experience and academics at Southeastern provided her with the capability to achieve just that.
“It drew itself to me,” Guillory said.
Before becoming the owner of Elana’s Graphics, Guillory, a Ponchatoula resident, chose to attend Southeastern for the financial flexibility the university offered. Its proximity to home also factored into her decision, but ultimately, it was the camaraderie she felt on campus and in class that convinced her.
“I didn’t need to go anywhere else,” Guillory said.
While studying at Southeastern, Guillory joined The Lion’s Roar, the on-campus newspaper, as a reporter during her first year in 2019. She later became a graphic designer and created the current logo for the organization in 2021.
Despite her passion for graphic design, Guillory began her higher education as a general studies major with a concentration in psychology. The intrigue of psychology led her to pursue a degree in the subject, but the realization that she did not want to be a therapist, paired with what she described as a “gnawing feeling of being an art major,” inevitably planted the seeds of a fascination with art as a career.
She eventually switched degrees and pursued graphic design fully after a course with an art instructor who made the subject fascinating. At first, she was afraid of the stereotype that deters many artists from the career path: “the poor, starving artist.” Guillory instead chose to take the gamble and follow the path that called to her. The courses and professors were “the most amazing thing,” she said.
“The [art] classes were much more intimate,” she said. “We were able to build a very good community amongst the art department.”
Guillory spent time in the art courtyard, bouncing ideas off her classmates and eventually creating her senior project on the very stereotype that almost daunted her transition to art.
Knowing that an art career would require more experience, Guillory joined Le Souvenir, the on-campus yearbook. A part of her career goals aligned with a transition from the Lions Roar to Le Souvenir.
“It was on my bucket list to write a book before I die,” she said. “I was in charge of everything with the yearbook, from content, color scheme, font size, everything.”
After developing the 2022 Southeastern yearbook and completing her degree, Guillory took on graphic design full-time. In February 2024, recognizing the lack of Hammond merchandise, she created her first original t-shirt design based on the corner of Cherry Street and W. Thomas Street in front of Red White and Brew in downtown Hammond.
“That’s my baby,” Guillory said about her most popular-selling design. “It struck gold, and everybody loves it.”
After her first design, Guillory took off with her designs of various Hammond location staples. From the local skate park to Benny’s Place to Cate Square Park and more, she brought Hammond tradition to cloth. Now two years into the business, Guillory makes clothing and merchandise for the communities of Hammond, Ponchatoula and Covington.
Guillory tours the Hammond and Northshore areas, selling her products online, at various farmers’ markets and local businesses in downtown Hammond. With the highest demand being in Hammond, Elana Graphics products can be found at several local stores, grounding her business in the community she calls home.
