Newport, RI
Born a late June water sign, Holly Spence Fisher was forever the first kid in and the last kid out of any water she encountered—ocean, lake, pool, or bathtub. She first sailed on Narragansett Bay in her grandmother’s Herreshoff 12 ½, The Rhode Island Red. At age 11, summer camp took her to Vermont where she sailed and also fell in love with canoeing, kayaking, hiking, backpacking, and all things outdoors. Arts & Crafts was the rainy day go-to, a foreshadow of the future.
At 18, Holly headed to Hamilton College where, despite a landlocked campus, she managed to find the Erie barge canal and the college crew club. Geology seemed a suitable major as it included hiking and camping, and for three summers she organized Hamilton’s freshman outdoor program, sending incoming students to the lakes and mountains of the Adirondacks. Career paths for B.A. Geology graduates all required additional degrees so Holly headed back to Vermont to teach experiential outdoor education, coach high school field hockey, and teach preschool. Upon realizing she was having way more fun making art than her 4-year olds, she left teaching and shifted her focus to graphic design.
Holly quickly learned that her passion for design equaled her passion for the outdoors, and at 34 she moved to Atlanta, GA to pursue a graduate degree in Graphic Design and Illustration. In 2009, she established Spence Creative where she has been a freelance designer, illustrator, graphic recorder, and embracer of all things creative ever since. In 2017 she settled with her wife and black labrador in Newport, RI where she lives and continues to work with amazing clients, including 11th Hour Racing and Ocean Hour Farm.
In 2024, Holly became a Girl Scout Troop leader in Newport, bringing her camp roots and love for the outdoors full circle.
What inspired you to become an 11th Hour Racing ambassador?
I have long admired how 11th Hour Racing values exploration, innovation, and intersection in everything they do. At first I couldn’t envision how my art and design would compare with the work of other ambassadors who are pro surfers, sailors, divers, and experts in climate and ocean science/conservation. But then I realized that my work has the power to evoke emotions like inspiration, nostalgia, and empathy—and that those emotions catalyze awareness, passion, and ultimately action.
It was thrilling to be involved in the early stages of 11th Hour Racing’s Shaped by Water project. In the project’s infancy, I was given deliciously broad design freedom to create art that would quickly and effectively communicate the essence of the short film, Rhythm of Water, to potential directors, filmmakers, and producers. Seeing final footage that very clearly mirrored my artwork was incredibly meaningful and I hope to be able to have that kind of impact in other 11th Hour endeavors. Accepting this ambassadorship was an easy yes!
Why are you passionate about ocean conservation?
Ever since I can remember, I’ve been that deeply feeling kid that can sense the fragility of our existence on this planet. I cry when another species is declared extinct, I grieve for the starving polar bears, I lay awake at night thinking about melting polar ice and calving glaciers the size of Florida.
I’ve always felt intense frustration that my individual efforts to “save the earth” were never enough. The ocean to me has always felt like the final backstop, this huge force that will absorb whatever we throw at it. Adult me knows that while this is true in many ways, there are very real and increasingly visible limits to what the ocean can do to offset our impact. Ocean conservation is, in my mind, the best use of our collective resources. I suppose I’m still that little kid, hoping that doing SOMETHING is better than giving up. And I really miss the starfish, horseshoe crabs, and phosphorescence of my childhood memories.