Conversations with Anna Laura Sarkisian

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Laura Sarkisian

Hi Anna Laura, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I launched White Flag in 2017.

It was birthed out of a dream I had in 2016 met with a childhood story my grandmother told me about her upbringing in Germany during World War II. She and her siblings grew up in the city of Frankfurt during Hitler’s rule and while she didn’t speak about her childhood very much, there was one particular story that just… stuck with me.
Her mother sent her and her siblings to live on a farm outside of the city in an effort to keep them safe while she stayed behind to work as a seamstress and provide for her children. During my grandmothers time on the farm, she recalled a very specific memory of bomber planes flying overhead. To avoid risk of being bombed – she waved a white tablecloth outside of the window to “surrender” and let the bomber planes know they were innocent German citizens. I asked her why a white tablecloth would send such a message and she told me that a white flag is the universal symbol of surrender.
Fast forward to 2016, I woke up from a dream of a person walking into a room, encountering a white flag hanging over a mantle and feeling the overwhelming love of Jesus.

From there, White Flag started to come to life. The foundation of it all was to create pieces that hung in your home, business, office, studio, etc. that sparked conversations about your own story of surrender – your testimony. Each piece is minimal by nature – white, linen flags adorned with very simplistic designs yet rooted in different bible verses. They’re not overtly Christian or self-explanatory, but instead… designed to prompt the question “what does that mean?” – opening the door for organic conversation about your faith.

In my own journey of coming to know Jesus, I’ve often found that some of the most pivotal moments in my faith were in conversation and community with others. Storytelling is a really powerful vehicle. In Mark 4:33, scripture says “He was never without story when He spoke.” Throughout the bible, Jesus often taught through story and I think there’s something to that, something to pay attention to. I wanted to create intentional pieces that invited questions, conversations, community and ultimately – the opportunity to gently share Jesus with others through story.

When I launched White Flag in 2017, it grew very rapidly – seemingly on it’s own. We worked alongside artists like Lauren Daigle and Jordan Feliz, created collaborative flags with other brands like The Knot and eventually went on to do annual events with Chip and Joanna Gaines down in Waco, Texas.

But, in 2020 – it all came to a halt. We were down in Waco for our third event with the Magnolia team when we got the devastating news that the world was going into quarantine. We suffered a great financial loss that ultimately led to White Flag “shutting its doors” and closing down indefinitely.
Between navigating foreign territory in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, walking through a divorce and becoming a single parent of two – I didn’t think I’d ever pick White Flag back up again. I didn’t feel I’d ever have the time or capacity to do so. Reluctantly, I laid it down and let it go entirely.

It wasn’t until September 2023 that I began to feel a wrestling in my spirit to revisit White Flag again. On paper, it didn’t make a lot of sense. At that point, White Flag had been “dead” for nearly 4 years. The website no longer existed and the Instagram had not been kept up with. I eventually confided in one friend about the gentle nudges I felt in my gut and she asked what I needed to get White Flag back up and running. I threw out a dollar amount without much thought and she responded by encouraging me to lean in, pray and hand it over to God. Not even a week later, I received an Instagram direct message out of the blue from a woman I barely knew asking if White Flag was still up and running. I believe I responded with “Actually… yes” and then proceeded to tell her that if she had asked me a week prior, I likely would have said “no.”
She went on to tell me that she was a creative director for a church down in Jacksonville, Florida and their new series was around the white flag. She asked if I had the capacity to take on an order, without knowing any details – I said “yes.” Within a matter of days – an order was submitted that surpassed the dollar amount I said I needed.
It felt undeniable, it was time to bring White Flag back.

Since then, we’ve relaunched into the world, collaborated with two dream artists (True Eden Studio and Rita Springer – with more on the horizon) and are currently rebuilding in a way that, frankly…. has not been by my own hands.
It’s been really exciting and humbling to witness.

At the end of the day, I think the Bible is a beautiful invitation for a deeply unique and individual relationship with God. I think two people can read the same verse and walk away with completely different ideas of what it could mean and how it translates. It’s not lost on me that there’s a lot of room for disconnect between each other when it comes to faith. While people can debate and argue scripture all day long – you can’t really argue with someones personal story. That’s what we choose to lean into, and that’s what I hope people feel when they encounter White Flag – a fostering of deep connection through story, with one another and with Jesus.

We’re only a few months into White Flag 2.0, and while I have no idea what’s up ahead — I’m really excited for what’s to come.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not.

We’ve had so many setbacks, including a worldwide pandemic (hello?)
Production setbacks, financial setbacks, personal setbacks — you name it.

The struggle has been REAL. At the same time, rejection is redirection — and I feel that in a big way! Any time I’ve faced struggle or setback, there’s been a course correction that has either taught me some valuable life-changing lessons, put me or White Flag on a better, more aligned path… or both!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve been a scrappy, self-taught small business owner for over a decade. I love telling stories and helping others tell theirs. I’d say that I specialize in brand development and connection building, you could probably throw content creation on the pile too because I genuinely love capturing, even the most mundane, moments and somehow making them look really special and magical – which could fall in the vein of brand development, capturing something or someone and sharing it in a way that turns peoples heads and pulls them in close.

What I’m known for depends on who you’re asking! If you ask my parents, they’d probably (lovingly) tell you that I’m tenacious, impulsive and big hearted. If you ask my friends, they’d probably tell you I’m passionate, protective and imaginative. If you ask my kids, they’d tell you I’m caring, adventurous, thoughtful and…. organic? (my daughters exact words. Haha!) But maybe to the people who just know me from a distance, I’m probably known for what I create because I’m constantly sharing it.

I’m proud of myself for a lot of things, it’s hard to name just one or even two. But maybe what I’m most proud of is that I’ve reached a point where I can allow myself to be proud of those things. It took a lot of healing to get there.

If I had to pick one thing that sets me apart, I’d say that I’m a big connector. I have this subconscious mission to help people connect with one another and form beautiful collaborations and alliances. Whether that’s helping a creator better connect to a community they’re building or connecting creatives to each other. When I meet other creators, I almost always get a vision of the bigger picture downloaded to my brain of who they need to know and what they could possibly create together.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’ve always been an advocate for (consciously) taking risks.
A friend recently said this to me in regards to “risk” — life is either a great frustration or a great adventure.

When you stay within the confines of comfort, you remain in a state of great frustration. When you step outside of those lines, you inevitably embark on a great adventure. Will the risk always be rewarding? It’s my perspective that it will be. The reward may not take shape the way you originally envisioned, it may come in the form of hard lessons learned and carried forward (with a side of agitation and growing pains.) But there is a reward. Every time.

Simply moving to Nashville as a single mom, away from family and any kind of support and choosing to become a small business owner were some of my greatest risks. While the seasons have not always been smooth, the view from where I sit right now is pretty spectacular. Not perfect, but spectacular.

Pricing:

• $90 for Standard Flags
• $65 for Gallery Flags

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.whiteflag.org
• Instagram: @mywhiteflag, @annalaura