Occupation: Artist
Website: www.torihiga.com and www.torihiga.blogspot.com
Biography: Tori Higa started her own handmade greeting card company in 2004. Her cards have been sold to over 300 stores and boutiques including Anthropologie, Kate’s Paperie, and Urban Outfitters Europe. Her work has also been seen in the pages of InStyle, Country Home, Jane, and the “O List” of O Magazine. In addition to her handmade line, she has recently started illustrating stationery for Cardstore.com and has an exciting design collaboration in the works with a non-profit organization called International Sanctuary (where her handmade card designs will directly help survivors of human trafficking in India). She lives a happy and creative life in Southern California with her husband, Branden, and young son.

What do you do and how did you start?
I design greeting cards and stationery. I started with a very small collection of about twelve handmade cards and brought them to three different stationery stores I had scouted out. Two of the three buyers placed orders on the spot. Because of the initial encouragement, I filled the orders, designed a slightly larger collection, and quickly applied to exhibit in a couple of trade shows in order to make more sales and grow my business.

How old were you when you realised you wanted to do and how old were you when you actually began.
I always knew that I wanted to grow up to do something creative. It wasn’t until my first “real” job after college (as a textile designer) that I started obsessing over greeting card design and longing to break into that industry. So I guess I was around 23 when I specifically wanted to become a stationery artist and I was 26 when I officially took that leap.

What steps did you take to create your own business?
I definitely took baby steps. I took various art classes in the beginning and did a lot of personal artwork I thought would be suitable for greeting card illustration. I did a lot of research before I finally ventured out on my own. When I felt ready I invested a small amount of money into some supplies, designed my first collection, and started showing my work.

What kind of formal education, training or experience do you have that applies to what you do?
While attending community college I worked part time at As You Wish (one of those pottery painting places) where I worked on the floor helping customers pick their pieces and in the back with the glazes and kiln. That was the first place I was given the opportunity to do custom artwork. I had an amazing and supportive boss who let me paint samples for the store and out of that came custom design projects on the side. She even had me paint a mural in the store which led to more commissioned art opportunities. At nineteen years old that little part time job coupled with the custom work on the side showed me that people would actually pay me for my art and creativity and that being an artist is a valid profession and the path I am supposed to take.

I went on to earn an art degree from Pepperdine University (where I remember a professor telling me that my paintings were “too cute” and “sweet with sugar on top” – which I guess is a compliment if you want to design greeting cards). After I graduated, I worked as a textile designer for Milliken Carpet, designing carpet patterns for large public spaces and corporate offices. I learned so much about how to be a designer at that job. I’m so thankful for that experience – especially getting to work alongside such inspirational and talented women.

The most relevant job that I had before I started my company was working as a handmade card manufacturer for Studio Daedre, an established stationery company who produces handmade cards and other stationery items with the lino block printing technique. Daedre was truly a great mentor. I learned so much about the ins and outs of working in a small business – so much so that I swore I would NEVER start my own company. It just seemed like way too much work and way too many hats to wear. At that time I really only wanted to be an artist – and not a business owner. I guess a lot of artists who start a company are reluctant business owners at first.

How did you first begin to sell/market your work?
The very first thing I did was make appointments with buyers to show my designs at local stores. Because selling is not my strong suit, I did a local trade show (Los Angeles) and a few months later did the Stationery Show in NY, which really took my company to the next level

What is the most rewarding aspect of what you do? The most frustrating?
The most rewarding aspect to what I do is being able to be creative as well has make my own hours – especially now that I am a mother, being able to work when my baby sleeps is key. The most frustrating part is not having enough time in the day to get everything done.

Do you have any fears about what you do, and if so, how do you deal with them?
My biggest fear has always been dealing with the business side of things. I consider myself an artist and not a businessperson. My way of dealing with this has been a long process but I have reached the solution to the best of my ability at this time, which is that I know what my weaknesses are and that it’s OK to have weaknesses. So I just get the help that I need in the areas that aren’t my strengths and try to focus on the areas that ARE my strengths. Basically my sweet husband does the books – I wouldn’t be here without him.

How do you deal with creative blocks?
If I am experiencing a creative block chances are that I have been sitting in front of a computer way too long and not really getting out much. So the first thing I usually do is get out into the world and start observing and absorbing what is going on. In other words, I people watch and trend spot. Another thing I do is just start sketching – the subject matter isn’t important as long as I can put pencil to paper and am drawing just for the love of drawing.

What has been your biggest struggle(s)/challenge(s) with your creative career?
My biggest struggle has been trying to do too much. I have the tendency to work too long of hours if left to my own accord which leads to burn out. And that’s not pretty. Having a baby definitely helped change that because a baby needs you whether you have deadlines or not. Suddenly the concept of a “greeting card emergency” seemed rather funny to me. I always knew logically that we all need to have a healthy balance in our lives, but it wasn’t until I had my baby that I learned that first hand.

What kind of work environment do you have?
I have a home office/studio that is separate from the rest of the main living space. That makes such a huge difference for me – no longer do we have envelope boxes stacked up in the bedroom like that first year of business! Now work and personal life don’t get mixed up as much and there is more balance and order in my life – not that my studio is always clean and organized by any means – but it’s freeing to actually have a creative space.

Have you encountered any financial obstacles, and if so, how did you overcome them?
I think that all small businesses – especially those that are product driven as opposed to service driven – have financial obstacles. Mine is no exception. There actually seem to be a lot of obstacles in my experience – i.e.: stores not paying for their goods when they are supposed to and sometimes (rarely) not ever paying, a large corporate store cancelling their order after you have already put up the money to get the order filled specifically for them (this only happened once to me and thankfully I was able to sell it to another chain and move the inventory anyway – phew!) having to put up large amounts of money in products that you don’t know are going to sell or not, needing to re-invest your profits in your business when you really just want to go and drink a fancy latte and do some shopping like a normal person.

The way I try to overcome those obstacles is to focus on what I do best which is create artwork. The minute I try to guess what is going to sell and invest my money there, I end up loosing in the end. Nothing I have ever designed because a sales rep told me to or I thought I needed to for whatever reason has sold well for me. When I create from the heart, that’s when I make sales as well. Go figure. Also, because my work is handmade, I am able to manufacture things based on individual orders as opposed to having a lot of inventory sitting around which really helps for cash flow. As far as late payments go, I now only work with reps that I trust and that go after those sneaky stores for me (also, getting a valid credit card when the order is placed helps a lot) Lastly, I have recently been learning to overcome those obstacles by focusing more on design and less on manufacturing. Because my priorities have changed a bit after a baby, I now believe my time is much better spent doing custom work (which I love), creating art for art’s sake, and partnering with other manufacturers instead of trying to do it all on my own.

What is your definition of success?
I think that success can be defined as having integrity in what you do. You should have the same integrity in your professional life as you do in your personal life. You may not be “successful” in the corporate world’s eyes if you don’t make a ton of money, but I really believe that as long as you don’t compromise your basic moral structure that you are a bigger success than someone who does shady business deals just to make an extra buck. So if you treat everyone with respect or turn down a big job because of a personal conviction that you can’t ignore, you can count yourself as very successful in your career – and you can sleep well at night, too.

Who or what are your inspirations?
I find inspiration in anything vintage. I especially love vintage textiles – the patterns, colors, textures – everything about the design. I also love mid century fashion. If it was socially acceptable (or practical in any way shape or form) I would walk around with enormous hats, sunglasses, costume jewellery, and three inch heels twenty four seven. But instead, those items just tend to show up in my artwork.

Words of advice for those pursuing their creative goals.

Try to carve out a little time for your creative pursuits – even if it’s just a few hours a week. Those few hours can make all the difference. I’ve always been “athletically challenged” to say the least, but I do love NIKE and their famous motto: Just Do It. That’s what you have to do to achieve any creative goal. I say that it’s great to have lots of ideas and daydreams, but if you really want to live your creative ideal you have to make time to do it and not just daydream about doing it. You literally have to Just Do It…and the rest will work itself out.

Do you know any helpful/inspirational books, websites, organisations etc.?
There are so many fantastic business sources and inspirational venues for artists and crafters these days. Hmmm…where to start…

First of all, I really love all of the resources on Another Girl At Play – and I’m not just saying that! There is a wealth of information as well as inspiration here.

My current favourite blog for inspiration and motivation is Creative Thursday; I love Marisa’s art, love her pod casts, and love her insights.

Speaking of pod casts, Craft Sanity is really great for inspiration as well. ()

I have also really been enjoying the Lilla Rogers blog lately.  Click on “thoughts” on the right and scroll down to the title “Can Artists Make a Living?” on the left for an especially good blog entry.

I also love the book Craft Inc, by Meg Mateo Ilasco. I only wish I knew about this book before I started my creative journey – although it was still helpful and inspirational in the midst of it.

What do you do and how did you start?
I am a collage artist and designer who runs my own online shop. I sell my own greeting card line, collage prints, ephemera and design services.

I first got started when a friend took me to her rubber stamp club and I found a piece of vintage sheet music on the table. I grabbed it and spent the whole night cutting it up and using it in little collages — I never even touched a rubber stamp or ink while I was there! The next day I went to an antique shop and found a box of old sheet music for five dollars… the rest, as they say, is history!

How old were you when you realized you wanted to do and how old were you when you actually began?
Since before I can remember I was always cutting up magazines and collaging them together on journals or poster board to hang in my room. I grew up with a creative mother who did craft shows and sold creations made from seashells. It was always a hobby for her, never something she considered as a career so I never really took being creative seriously. Then I found myself creating nonstop after the rubber stamp club night and I started showing people my work. I got such a positive response and several requests to purchase my work so I decided to pursue it. When I first started selling my creations in the summer of 2005 I had just turned 33.

What steps did you take to create your own business?
I really did not plan it out, it just all fell into place for me. I got a lot of encouragement from friends who are creative and have their own businesses, and they suggested that I start slow to see how I liked it and how my products would be received. I created a website for myself and offered a couple prints of my collages that I printed myself (I spent hours researching and testing papers to get something high quality). Since I got such a very favourable response, I slowly added more and more products.

What kind of formal education, training or experience do you have that applies to what you do?
I took one art class in collage which helped give me a basic foundation for design, but other than that I have no formal training. I am self taught.

How did you first begin to sell/market your work?
I created a website, which in itself was a fun and creative project. I then had two good friends help with the item descriptions… one is in marketing, the other a journalism major and they were more than happy to help. I started out just selling prints of my collages and was so shocked when people started purchasing them. Soon after, I moved onto postcards and eventually greeting cards. Some of my first customers, who have seen me grow in products and style, still shop with me today! I am always adding new items as I discover them within me.

I actually love the selling aspect of the business as much as creating the products. I love re-doing my website design and thinking up new ways to market my items. I feel lucky that I’ve taken to both creating the items and running the shop.

What is the most rewarding aspect of what you do? The most frustrating?
The emails from happy customers are always wonderfully rewarding to receive. As a shop owner I strive to offer excellent service. The emails from other artists or people just starting out, finding their creative side, thanking me for being so inspiring, warms my heart and makes it all worth while. The frustrating thing for me is getting my name, work and product lines out there in a world forever dominated by large mass-market companies.

Do you have any fears about what you do, and if so, how do you deal with them?
My biggest fear is that some day what I love to do will turn sour for me, and end up being a heartless means to paying the bills. I really try to focus on the here and now and make decisions for Paper Relics with this in mind. So as I grow as a person, artist and company, I can stay on track and true to myself.

How do you deal with creative blocks?
When I get blocked while working in cut and paste collage, it is time for me to switch to digital work and vice versa. It’s as though I need to do both, and when the balance is tipped one way or the other I just need to change gears. If I am blocked by both, I find that joining a group project helps get me going again. Also picking up my camera and viewing the world through the lens for an hour or afternoon is always refreshing and inspiring and jump starts me.

What has been your biggest struggle(s)/challenge(s) with your creative career?
My biggest challenge is creating my own niche in the creative world. I am constantly getting off track and looking for that one place I can fit into comfortably instead of working on making a niche of my own.

What kind of work environment do you have?
I have a home studio that I love. It is filled with artwork from all sorts of artists so that when I walk in to start on a project I am always amazed and inspired.

Have you encountered any financial obstacles, and if so, how did you overcome them?
I really have a lot of ideas that I would love to implement if I had more money to spend. Then again, a year ago there were things I am doing now that were not financially possible, so who knows what I will be able to accomplish a year from today!

What is your definition of success?
Being happy with what I do and who I am in all aspects of my life. I feel strongly that all the aspects of my life are connected – if I am unhappy personally, I find I do not put in 110 percent to my company. So finding balance in my life and being happy is the best definition of success for me.

Who or what are your inspirations?
Oh… So many! Photography really inspires me, the moments Robert Doisneau captured in his work makes my imagination soar. New Orleans makes me see creatively, it was the first place I really discovered my eye for photography which has played a major role in my work today. I love old typology and graphics. The huge network of online blogs and websites of artists small and large. Artist Maggie Taylor. My closet friends. That first warm day of the year. Cupcakes… I could go on and on!

Words of advice for those pursuing their creative goals:
Follow your heart– It will not lead you astray. Sounds so simple, I know, but I spent such a long time fighting what my heart was telling me and all it did was cause confusion and pain. Once I started paying attention to what my heart wanted, things started to fall into place for me. It is so much easier following the dreams you truly want. You do not put in everything you can when you are chasing false dreams and goals.

Do you know any helpful/inspirational books, websites, organisations etc.?
I find most art, photography, craft books, and magazines to be an inspiration. I love going to the bookstore and just browsing through books as they catch my fancy. The same goes for the internet. Find one blog that interests you and you can lose the whole night following link after link to one inspirational place after another.

What do you do and how did you start?
i draw with colored pens, and sew with various sewing machines! my favorite materials are paper and fabric, though occassionally other types of materials sneak their way into the limited edition stationery and fabric accessories i make.

How old were you when you realised you wanted to do and how old were you when you actually began?
ever since i was small i wanted to be a grown up, draw or make things all day, have a dog and live by a beach and a redwood forest. i have 3 out of 4 of those things now, almost there!

What steps did you take to create your own business?
what i do full-time now is what i’ve always done on nights and weekends after the day jobs. making things gradually took up more and more of my time, and gradually began paying the bills. i still augment my blissen income with other freelance jobs.

What kind of formal education, training or experience do you have that applies to what you do?
i avoided the “real world” as much as possible by going back to school whenever whatever latest day job i had became too tedious to bear. all of my degrees have been in design: fashion, illustration, design theory, and most of my jobs have been in small companies or freelance.

How did you first begin to sell/market your work?
i’ve always worn clothes or accessories i’ve made myself, and often would be asked to make more by friends or strangers. it wasn’t until i got my own website and the ccnow payment system, and later paypal came along, that i realized the possibility of having my own “line” or “company.” if it weren’t for the internet, i don’t think i would be where i am now!

What is the most rewarding aspect of what you do? The most frustrating?
the most rewarding thing about being self employed is that i can set my own schedule. i’m braindead between 3 – 6 pm, so that’s when i slack off or run errands. i’m most math/planning productive in the morning and most creative at night. generally i love what i do and am thrilled to finally be able to do it just about all day and night, everyday. sometimes i try not to work so much and have a “normal” life with friends and weekends off and vacations and such, but then quickly get bored or broke and get back to work!

Do you have any fears about what you do, and if so, how do you deal with them?
there’s always the fear of having to return to a crappy day job again, which just makes me work harder!

How do you deal with creative blocks?
i have years of sketchbooks of ideas so i can always consult those. but, generally, my problem is too many ideas and not enough time and money to see them all through!

What has been your biggest struggle(s)/challenge(s) with your creative career?
balancing time and money!

What kind of work environment do you have?
my sewing studio is in what’s supposed to be the master bedroom of my converted live/work space, the shipping area is in what’s supposed to be the kitchen/ dining room, and i do all my drawing on the couch in front of the tv at night.

Have you encountered any financial obstacles, and if so, how did you overcome them?
as i said before, if it weren’t for the internet i probably would not be able to do what i do! before the internet came along, having a small business like mine took a lot more money to start up and maintain. also credit cards have been a big help when orders come in that i don’t have the cash flow to produce.

What is your definition of success?
living where you want to live, doing what you want to do, surrounded by people you want to be surrounded by.

Who or what are your inspirations?
i like to go for walks or hikes, or travel, or read non-fiction books or magazines. anything that gets me out of my usual routine.

Words of advice for those pursuing their creative goals:
i didn’t realize until very recently how helpful it is to make a plan with concrete goals to reach, and outline steps on how to get there from where you are presently. strangely, that’s not something that was really taught in all my years of design school, but it’s the most helpful tip i’ve learned on my own.

Do you know any helpful/inspirational books, websites, organisations etc.?
for essential business and legal stuff, check out the books on nolo.com; for essential graphic design/ illustration business practices check out the graphic artist’s handbook from gag.org. you can also borrow these from any good library if you’re short on funds.

What do you do and how did you start?
I am an artist and designer working in the gift, home and textile industries. My first line of work was for my own clothing label, Handmaiden, which I started a few months after I earned a fine arts degree in drawing. These days I design related collections of art which manufacturers translate into everything from ceramic tabletop items and table linens to greetings and quilting fabrics.

How old were you when you realised you wanted to do and how old were you when you actually began?

It wasn’t quite a single lightbulb moment that I can remember. I guess as soon as I realized at a young age that being an artist was an occupation option, that pretty much became the plan. I can’t remember not drawing or doing something that involved putting together materials of some sort. I learned to thread a needle at around 5 years old and immediately embarked on trying to make a patchwork quilt for my doll. My mom had this old red, white, and blue trunk stuffed with fabric. It was a dream world. I waited till some pieces got small enough then asked if I could have them. Our house was also full of my dad’s own paintings, so I always knew what was possible.

What steps did you take to create your own business?
I started my current design studio about 4 or 5 years ago, slowly at first. I started contacting different companies that I had interest in designing for to see if they worked with independent designers. From there I started building a list of clients through small two or three item projects. I have built my list of companies to around 20 and I update them regularly with new artwork to see if there are projects we can work on together. These days my collections range from just a few pieces to 50 items or so in one collection. I exhibit at Surtex in New York every year which is a trade show that gives surface and textile designers a chance to display their designs to manufacturers who make every type of product imaginable. I also made a website mostly catered to my clients or potential clients for them to see a sample portfolio and bio. I recntly started a blog, for myself mostly, to put all that I do in one spot, in a fun and open way. I get alot of interest and feedback there from both creatives out there doing similar work or from companies or publishers interested in working with me.

What kind of formal education, training or experience do you have that applies to what you do?
I have a fine arts degree in drawing….as to how much that helps me on a daily basis, I don’t know. I owned and operated my own clothing line for 5 years, both retail and wholesale. That taught me alot about the structure of merchandise and how it gets from a concept in my sketch book to the store shelf and everything in between. Developing product for companies is a very steep learning curve and mostly I’ve asked alot of questions and absorbed all I can about the process. Honestly just shopping helps me understand what I do and who I am designing for. I can thank my mom for letting me at her sewing machine at a very young age. The fine art degree really gave me a place to develop my aesthetic sensibilities, which of course I am constantly tapping. I’m hardly painting everyday, but it was very important for me to accomplish something there, in the fine art arena. Which is why I still like to show in galleries on occasion

How did you first begin to sell/market your work?
By making cold calls to art directors and sending out emails to every company that I thought would look at my portfolio. Attending different tradeshows where products are sold to retailers is a huge thing too, just to see whats out there.

What is the most rewarding aspect of what you do? The most frustrating?
Seeing my name on product is a thrill. People taking the time to contact me and let me know how much they are enjoying either sewing with my fabrics or wiping their mouths with my cocktails napkins…that’s really fun.

My frustrations are usually organizing all my creative thoughts into the most effective output of concepts. I am never at a loss for ideas about art or design, I’m just not always sure that I am thinking everything through enough, or seeing it from every angle in a way that helps me see the full potential of each idea.

For instance, if I’m working on a new collection of florals for fabrics what if it doesn’t occur to me until later on that I could be showing those same ideas to a wallpaper company, or a stationery company. I always show my work as much as I can to as many people as I can, but soimetimes having to do that interrupts my flow of just creating. I sometimes have a nagging feeling that everything I’m working on could have a deeper reach somehow. I am always striving for optimal yield from my time and efforts. I tend to overwhelm myself sometimes and need to appreciate the now and what I’ve gotten accomplished already.

Do you have any fears about what you do, and if so, how do you deal with them?
I guess I worry about maintaining all the tasks of my work on my own. I fear that hiring help means losing control, therefore not getting my creativity out the exact way I want to.

How do you deal with creative blocks?
It’s rare that I have them, usually I have time blocks and can’t get to all that I have the interest in doing. I do sometimes feel a little limp in the brain though. I usually just get away from the studio a bit, walk, fold laundry, do something mindless but busy.

What has been your biggest struggle(s)/challenge(s) with your creative career?
Focus. There are too many options.

What kind of work environment do you have?
We’ve converted the recreation room in our house into my home studio. It’s a nice large space, about 500 square feet, and 3 big windows. Its right next to our bedroom (which is really the guest room in this house) and also next to the laundry room and kitchen. So I flit back a forth from studio work, to cooking, to laundry to caring for my 5 kids. I have a place in the studio for just about everything my work requires.. a computer table for developing my artwork, emailing and blogging, a drafting table for painting and drawing, a ten foot long handmade tack wall for inspirational scraps of different sorts, a decoupage work table that holds up a huge shelf of fabrics arranged by color, a sewing table with shelves of trims and baubles at the back, a handpainted “think” table and chairs in the center of the room for planning, product shelves that feature all my past collections set up like a gift store, and a bed (!) where the kids can lay down a read or play while I work….often its holding piles upoin piles of laundry too.

Have you encountered any financial obstacles, and if so, how did you overcome them?
My actual work doesn’t require a huge amount of money outside of art supplies and software. In fact, I swing software and tech work completely free thanks to my loving and wonderful programmer husband. Exhibiting in tradeshows is not cheap, and promotional materials, and printing portfolios is pricey too. So far its really been a matter of careful planning and being willing to do without the fancier stuff for a while, when expenses start piling up. It’s been important to me to not make a gigantic investment, due to having done that with a retail space for my clothing line for a few years. It can really bite you in the rear! Most of my work is risk free by just designing for the companies and not actually investing in the production side of the product. This all could change of course as I plan to publish my own line of sewing patterns.

What is your definition of success?
Earning enough money and appreciation to make it worth the time not spent with my kids. I do find alot of value though in them seeing their mom seeking out her own goals. The balance is not easy, but I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think it was a healthy thing for my family

Who or what are your inspirations?
Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keefe, Matisse, my grandmothers Eleni and Anna, Oilily clothing, Esprit clothing from the 80′s, folk art, Pucci, Prada, Duy Hyunh’s paintings.

Words of advice for those pursuing their creative goals:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I would urge anyone to not worry about what you may consider wasted time with an endeavor that doesn’t have a guaranteed success. If it interests you and you think you have something new to bring to a given craft or industry, do what you have to do to at least dabble in it. It will only help you focus in the end on what works. Sometimes the most off-the-wall endeavors or projects will in time bring you to what you were meant for and may not have been obvious to you in the beginning.

Do you know any helpful/inspirational books, websites, organisations etc.
No, not so much, sorry! I am always so short on time, that I seldom have the chance to read or browse much online or elsewhere. I find inspiration in simple and varied things like the tempo of conversation and laughing, people’s behaviour, my flower garden, true fashion design- not the hype. It’s mostly what I make of anything from within, and not so much external things.

Occupation: Designer and Author
Website: Tera Leigh
Biography: Tera Leigh is the author of The Complete Book of Decorative Painting (North Light Books). She is spokesperson (and co-developer) of the Paintability line of painting products, and the Robert Simmons Sapphire brush line. She also writes columns for four painting magazines, and has had her designs published in many craft and home decor magazines.

What do you do and how did you start?
My first book, The Complete Book of Decorative Painting, was released in October 2001. I currently write columns for PaintWorks and Decorative Artist’s Workbook, and will be adding columns in Quick and Easy Painting and Tole World magazines. I also freelance for many other magazines.

I committed myself to becoming an artist in 1999. My first creative goals were to create a product line and write a reference book to make it easier for people to learn how to paint. I have a real passion for creativity and I want to create products that encourage people to use and explore their own creative potential.

During the transition between my “grown up” job and my dream of being an artist, I wrote a “personal manifesto” of sorts about creativity and living the life you were meant to live. I did it as a way to think through what I really believed about what I could be and what others expected of me. That became a website called “Tera’s Wish” and I continue to explore the topic in a free quarterly newsletter.

My personal motto is borrowed from Virgil, “Fortune Favors the Bold”. I believe that means that if you put your honest intention out to the universe and are willing to follow it up with work, God will honor it. Within six months, I had a book deal with North Light books (for the largest book they’d ever produced) and a product manufacturing deal (with a business partner, Tracia Williams) for a line of painting products. That product (Paintability) won the 2001 Product of the Year award from Craftrends at the Hobby Industry Association convention.

In 1995, I started an online group for decorative painters. That experience connected me with some of the pioneers of the decorative painting industry and they were incredibly generous with their time and knowledge of the industry. It was that online “networking” that gave me the industry support and knowledge to get started.

How old were you when you realised you wanted to do what you’re currently doing and how old were you when you actually began/What jobs did you have before you went out on your own?/How steps did you take to create your own business?
There is a joke in my family that my father told me that I could be anything I wanted to be but that I misheard him and thought he said “everything” I wanted to be. My first job was as a make up artist, then I became and Esthetician, then a secretary, then a law clerk, then attorney.

I loved being a make up artist but my mom wanted me to get my license so that I could work in a salon (which I did not enjoy). I was not very confident as a teenager and pretty much followed what my parents wanted me to do. Eventually I went to work in my father’s law office and became an attorney myself. I loved school – but I hated being an attorney. Living in a world that was all about confrontation and argument was really not healthy for me. I felt myself becoming more and more aggressive.

Happily I met my husband and he wanted to start an internet firm and I quit law and used my business knowledge to help him run it. That gave me flexible hours to explore my own creativity again. He also introduced me to Photoshop and web design. I had discovered decorative painting in 1993 and really fell in love with it. I was blessed to find a man who was more interested in my personal happiness than the money I could contribute to the relationship as an attorney. He encouraged me to take more time for my art. He is a rare gem and I thank God for him everyday.

The real turning point for me was the death of my best friend. In 1998, Debbie was diagnosed with cancer. She had been visiting me when she thought she had an infection. None of us ever dreamed she was seriously ill, and within six months she was dead. She was 42, I was 35. It was devastating. Throughout her illness she kept telling me that I should not take my life and talents for granted but I just didn’t want to hear it. When I got the news of her death, which was from complications of the chemo and was unexpected, I suddenly heard her loud and clear.

I had been in the habit of doing a “goal setting” workshop with myself three or four times a year. About two weeks after her death I sat down and reviewed my goals, and realized that I had been making goals that would make the people in my life happy. After all, I couldn’t just walk away from my law degree and leave “business” for “art”, could I? Well, it turned out that I could, and I did. The irony is that I probably use my law degree knowledge more now than I did answering the same questions over and over in a law office!

After a lot of tears, I sat down and wrote out the first “real” set of goals I probably had ever written. By “real” I mean goals that truly resonated with me – not things I thought would make the people in my life happy. I took them to my husband – and I was really nervous because I knew what I was proposing would mean that I would eventually leave the business we had started together. He could not have been more supportive. When I told him I wanted to write a book he took me to a big book store and together we went through all the craft and home decor books to find a list of three publishers that would be my “first choice” for my book.

From there, I wrote a book proposal and told everyone I knew in the industry that I wanted to write a reference book. (I mean it literally when I said “put your intention out there”!) On the day I was ready to send my book proposal out to my first choice – North Light Books, I got a phone call. It was from an Editor at North Light. They were looking for someone to write a reference book on decorative painting and my name had come up. I asked for her fax number and sent her the outline I had already written. It was a magical day!

What kind of formal education, training or experience do you have that applies to what you do?
I have very little art training. I studied make up at Joe Blasco in Hollywood. That was an amazing experience and much of what I know about art came from the many talented teachers at the school.

I do believe that my doctorate in law is helpful in terms of my business success. When you are an artist, issues of copyright, intellectual property rights such as licensing, contracts, etc. come up on a regular basis. In general, I have been able to negotiate better contracts for myself simply because I understand business and contract negotiations. As much as I did not enjoy being a lawyer, I would not trade that experience for anything.

How did you first begin to sell/market your work?
“Fortune Favors the Bold!” If you want to become known, you have to be willing to put yourself out there. That can be extremely daunting because as artists and writers our work is so very personal. Just the other day someone said to me, “I wouldn’t give you .50 cents for that!” referring to a table I had painted. Yikes! Happily, just a week or two before I had been offered $8,000.00 for the same table. You have to take the good with the bad and not take it personally. (To that end, I recommend reading Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way” and Don Miguel Ruiz’ “The Four Agreements”.)

The first step to marketing is to get your work seen. I go to the Hobby Industry Association and Society of Craft Designers conventions. I have a website that showcases my writing and artwork. I create and send out visually interesting and unique press kits for the HIA convention and anytime I have a new book or product to promote. I write to and follow up with magazine editors and television producers after I meet them at the shows. I keep good notes of my conversations and use Microsoft Outlook to create reminders to follow up when I say I will. As a result I’ve gained a reputation for being reliable and for making my deadlines.

I personally think you have to be fairly aggressive with your marketing. I don’t mean obnoxious – that will get you nowhere – but you can’t assume that your publisher or manufacturer is going to make sales happen. You have to take responsibility for the success of your product and work with those companies to maximize the PR that you get. One of the best things that I did early on was to hand-write a short letter to people I met at conventions. I would recap our conversation and tell them how much I enjoyed meeting them, etc. People get so few hand-written letters anymore that they made an impact. Being aggressive means putting the time in to follow up with every lead you get. Many – maybe even most – will go no where, but occasionally you will get a “hit” and that is what starts a career.

What is the most rewarding aspect of what you do?
Getting an email, or meeting in person, people who have read my book and/or column and felt encouraged by them to get moving with their own creativity is an awesome gift. Knowing that you are making a difference is the best reward I know.

The most frustrating?
I find it very frustrating when people do not value or respect art. Sadly, most freelance designers make little money. (There are exceptions, so hang in there!) It is even more frustrating to see the copyright infringement that goes on online!

What has been your biggest struggle(s)/challenge(s) with your creative career?
My biggest struggle is dealing with both the business and art side of work. I spend as much or more time on dealing with paperwork, accounting, and PR than I do on my art. My solution to this has been to hire a virtual assistant (we work together online and she is an independent contractor.), an accountant, a literary agent, etc. Although it was scary at first to pay the money out (or share my percentage), I am actually making more money now that I have more time to do what I do best, and let others do what they do best as they can do it faster and more efficiently. It also takes an emotional burden off my shoulders, and that helps me be more creative and productive!

What kind of work environment do you have?
I have a home studio for my design work. I like to write in bed using my laptop, with lots of pillows behind me, and dogs and cats strewn about all over my reference books and papers.

Have you encountered any financial obstacles, and if so, how did you overcome them?
There is no way I would be doing what I am doing without the financial support of my husband. I went “full time” as an artist in May of 2000. This year will be the first that I make a profit.

What is your definition of success?
An experience is a success if I learn from it. I believe that successful people are those who make a difference with their lives.

Who or what are your inspirations?
I believe that success is like a path. Every person down it tramples down the foliage a bit making it easier for the next person to walk down it. I am inspired by the stories of Tracy Porter, SARK, Mary Engelbreit, Queen Oprah. I am also inspired by my mother, Marie Gemmil, who is the most generous person I’ve ever met, and my sister, Tonya Mills, who has followed in my mother’s footsteps. Priscilla Hauser (“First Lady of Decorative Painting”) has been my creative mentor since I entered the painting industry and is one of the most incredible women I’ve ever been blessed to meet.

Favorite books: The Artist’s Way (Julia Cameron), The Four Agreements (Don Miguel Ruiz), How Much Joy Can You Stand (Suzanne Falter-Barnes), 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women (Gail McMeekin) . . . I could go on and on. I love to read!

Words of advice for those pursuing their creative goals.
I hate to sound like a broken record, but . . . “Fortune Favors the Bold!” If you ask for something and the reply is “no” you aren’t any worse off than you are right now without it. There is no reason not to get started.

Make a difference every day. The best way to survives the inevitable creative slumps is to do something that makes a difference to others. One of my projects was to start a memory box program to provide boxes to for infant bereavement in hospitals. I learned that many hospitals don’t even have a counselor on staff and women were being sent home with their babies effects in a bio-hazard bag! I believe that the best way to repay what your creativity gives to you is to turn around and use it to benefit someone else. I also believe that people who are using their creativity are among the most generous on the planet. We started in 1998 and to date we have provided over 30,000 boxes – free of charge – to hospitals.

My father used to tell a story when people would talk to him about wanting to go to law school. I’m sure it is an old story with lots of variations, but this was his. “A woman wanted to learn piano but after her first lesson she was very frustrated. She told her instructor, “do you know how old I will be when I finally master this?” The response was “the same age you will be if you don’t.” You are never too old, too young, or too anything to follow your dream. Tenacity and passion are generally far more important than talent and skill. How many brilliant people do you know that are working menial jobs? How many successful people do you know that you wonder how they ever got where they are? Put your intention out there, follow up, and keep at it.

Finally, don’t get stuck in a rut. If you are doing it right, you are going to learn along the way. You may find that what you initially wanted isn’t what you thought it was once you learn more. Give yourself permission to be flexible and alter your dream as you go. Every experience will help you in the future if you learn from it. When I started, I thought I wanted to be a painter. Today I know that painting and design is just one of my skills. I think of myself more as a communicator through speaking, writing, and painting. If I had held myself rigidly to being a painter, I wouldn’t have been any happier than I was as an attorney in the long run.

What do you do and how did you start?
I design and manufacture a number of different items including journals, photo albums, clothing, fashion accessories, basically whatever I am inspired to create. My latest project is screen printed tee shirts.

I started after the ’94 earthquake destroyed my store. I had no merchandise, little money, and customers who expected a constant stream of cool stuff. It was either close down or start making things.

How old were you when you realized you wanted to do what you’re currently doing and how old were you when you actually began?
Actually, I always wanted to own an art gallery; I think I started dreaming about that when I was in junior high. That morphed into wanting to own a gift shop during college when I began collecting ‘pig’ mugs, coffee cups with pigs on or in them. I thought it would be fun to own the kind of store that sold the crazy things I was attracted to. I opened my first store at 28, after a career writing advertising that never really flowered. I started making products to give my store a competitive edge. I was in my early 30′s.

What jobs did you have before you went out on your own?
I worked as a writer for about ten years. I got a job straight out of college and jumped from agency to agency until I could no longer find work. While transitioning to my own business, I telemarketed, worked at crate and barrel, and baby sat a couple of kids.

What steps did you take to create your own business?
Things just sort of fell into place. Freelance gigs fell into my lap. I sold my mother’s engagement ring. I gave up my apartment and moved into the back of my store, illegal, but cheap.

What kind of formal education, training or experience do you have that applies to what you do?
I have a BS in journalism which is totally useless for just about everything. Most of what I know, I’ve learned along the way. Fear of ending up living in a cardboard can make you learn a lot, quickly.

How did you first begin to sell/market your work?
As I mentioned, I owned a store and was having trouble finding enough cool stuff for my Hollywood creative type customers, so I started designing and making things. Not long after I put my creations out on the shelves, other store owners began asking if they could buy them. I was encouraged, contacted a sales rep I bought a lot from, and signed up for the Los Angeles gift show.

What is the most rewarding aspect of what you do? The most frustrating?
There is nothing that feels better than holding in your hand something you’ve created. The most frustrating is when my customers don’t pay their bills.

Do you have any fears about what you do, and if so, how do you deal with them?
Recently, I heard a story about a man who went to a trade show, set up his booth, then went out to enjoy all that new york has to offer. Unfortunately, he got hit by a car as he was leaving the convention center and was killed.

I’ve never worried about that happening. But just about everything else makes me shake in my boots. As far as dealing with it, I’m always in favor of a competent therapist.

How do you deal with creative blocks?
I never seem to run out of ideas, rather energy and money to get them made.

What kind of work environment do you have?
I rent a studio/warehouse from a man who put a brass knob, suitable for the front door of a suburban tract home, on our back, and loading, door. It fell off in the first thirty minutes we were tenants. The door fell off the hinges soon after. on a positive note, the space is five minutes from my house, which allows me to run home and see my husband and dog whenever I like.

Have you encountered any financial obstacles, and if so, how did you overcome them?
Money is always an issue in a small business. I never have enough cash. No one ever pays their bills on time. Recently I got a box of merchandise returned because I angered the store owner when I sent an invoice, quietly marked ‘past due’, in hopes of getting paid after six months. Luckily, the meteoric rise in real estate values here in southern California has allowed me to secure a line of credit. This was very helpful until we used it up remodeling our house.

What has been your biggest struggle(s)/challenge(s) with your creative career?
My struggles are always in flux. Right now, I am dealing with the way the world views my work. Having just returned from a trade show in Atlanta, where I am seen as far too edgy because my palette extends beyond pink and green, I am considering trying to be sweeter. This is a source of great frustration.

What is your definition of success?
Success is one step farther than where I am standing. The idea of it is what keeps me getting out of bed in the morning.

Who or what are your inspirations?
My mother, who died when I was in my early twenties, was an extremely creative gal, but unfulfilled. I consider myself lucky to live in a time when I can choose to do what makes me happy and work hard to make sure I am always living up to my potential. my friend curlin, who believes she deserves ‘plenty’ in her life and accepts nothing less, has taught me how good it feels to always have enough.

I am inspired by my husband, who is never afraid to try, and always finds a way to make something happen. And on really tough days, I just look to my dog, who can entertain herself for hours with a pebble or a leaf or a piece of dental floss and that always gives me hope.

Words of advice for those pursuing their creative goals.
Erase the words, ‘yea but’ from your vocabulary. There is never a perfect time, you’ll never have the right balance in your checking account, you’ll never feel safe enough, or ready enough to do what you want. So, just get on with it already.

Occupation: Owner/designer
Website: Parlez Vous Cards
Biography: Julianna Arden is the designer and illustrator of her greeting card company, Parlez-Vous. She sells her products wholesale to boutiques and card shops across the country as well as through her website. She lives and works from her home studio in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two children.

What do you do and how did you start?
I design and produce a line of hand-embellished greeting cards, notes, and invitations. My cards are kind of girly, kind of old-fashioned, and a little playful. I started my business in 2001 when I decided to print my first run of cards. I got the bug after I made my daughter’s birth announcement and thought it might be a great way to earn some extra cash for our growing little family.

At first, I submitted my designs to large greeting card manufacturers like American Greetings and Sunrise, and I was rejected by all of them. I was crushed and confused but also tenacious and optimistic and I decided to self-publish my own work. My parents started several businesses over the years so the notion of running my own company wasn’t foreign or overwhelming to me—sort of a rite of passage in our family, actually. I looked through some old fashion sketches and illustrations I did in college (I dreamed of being a fashion designer) and pulled together some couture-inspired greeting card designs with French phrases (I also dreamed of being French).

I had experience in commercial printing so I called my old boss to get costs for printing on different papers in different quantities, etc. I had a very tight budget (pretty much nothing) so I fit as many designs as I could on a press sheet and printed just enough to make it cost effective. I opened up a business checking account and printed 1,000 each of eight different designs. I also designed a business card and put that on the same press sheet to save money. I put the printing costs on a personal credit card and I found a local supplier of envelopes and plastic sleeves and bought all of my embellishments at a craft store.

I put together my samples and my sister (Alicia Paulson) made me a really beautiful portfolio cover made of cotton and silk with my logo hand-embroidered on the front. I called the nicest stores in town and set up appointments to show them my wares. I took my portfolio of samples, my business cards, and some handwritten order forms and did my very best to sell my work without revealing my mind-numbing nervousness. (Unfortunately, I can’t hide an emotion to save my life. My face was splotchy and red and I was totally pitting out my favorite shirt.)

Fortunately, the buyers didn’t notice (or didn’t mind) and they placed orders. I was very honest about what I did and didn’t know and asked lots of questions. One buyer recommended a sales rep that she thought might suit me. I jumped at the opportunity to have someone else sell my stuff and within a few weeks, I got my first sales rep.

How old were you when you realised you wanted to do and when you actually began?
I’ve always wanted to be an artist and I have been making art since I was a young girl. I remember going to my dad’s office where he worked a graphic designer and drooling over the pens and markers (no PhotoShop or InDesign back then). At some point, he gave me an old cartoon book and I learned to draw animals and people. I thought about doing greeting cards when I was 28. It was everything I loved to do: lettering, illustration, color, pattern, and I could work from home. I started my own business a few months later.

What jobs did you have before you went out on your own?
Most of these jobs did not last six months: camp counselor, nanny, picture-framer, volleyball coach, salesperson for the Gap, seamstress, display designer, jeweler’s assistant, product designer for a gift manufacturing company, production coordinator for a printing company, and illustrator. I quit my last job when I was 25 and I vowed to never work for anyone else again.

What steps did you take to create your own business?
After I decided that I wanted to produce greeting cards, I made the prototypes. I tracked down the sources for all of my supplies and made sure I could assemble my cards by the hundreds, not just one at a time. (I must admit, I always thought big.) I didn’t want to get stuck making one lovely sample only to find out later that it was impossible to reproduce in large quantities.

Then I opened a business checking account and went to press with my cards, business card, and letterhead. I turned my bedroom into my studio and got a business phone, a fax machine, and an email account. I told everyone I knew about what I was doing—someone always had a friend that owned a store, or had a neighbor who could help me do production, or something. I learned as much as I could from other business owners (not necessarily in my field) and read lots of magazine articles, books, and websites.

What kind of formal education, training or experience do you have that applies to what you do?
I received my fine arts degree in papermaking from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. I took lots of classes and even convinced my advisor to let me substitute sculpture for science. I made a ton of art over the years but I think most of the experience that applies to what I do was gained from a job I had doing package design and illustration for a gift manufacturing company. I learned how to take an idea from concept to tangible product and I also learned about sales reps, marketing, and trade shows.

After that, I worked for a large printing company that printed brochures, magazines, posters, and greeting cards. I was fascinated by the printing process and intrigued by the mysteriousness of ink on paper. I learned as much as could from that job, too, and since everyone in the graphics industry was in the process of going digital, I wasn’t the only one who had a lot to learn. My dad gave me his old iMac and I taught myself to use it (though I must admit I had a significant amount of help from my incredibly tech-savvy husband). I bought a scanner and started scanning some of my drawings and playing around with them in PhotoShop. Basically, I learned as I went and asked lots of questions along the way.

How did you first begin to sell/market your work?
At first, I went around to the best boutiques in town, saw how they displayed their merchandise, and made mental notes about what kinds of things they carried in their stores. I made sure that my packaging looked as professional as the things I saw, maybe even better. I felt good about what I was doing and aimed to prove to any store or magazine—no matter how fancy or famous—that I was worthy of their attention.

After I got my first few orders, I went to the next city and wrote some more. As I mentioned earlier, I hired sales reps with established customer bases that showcased my line in showrooms all over the country. Travel (for me) was not an option so this made sense to me, as is does for lots of manufacturers. I sent press kits to magazines and newspapers telling them about my new business and products. Once I was in a few reputable boutiques, it was easier to get people to notice what I was doing and they starting coming to me.

What is the most rewarding aspect of what you do? The most frustrating?
The most rewarding aspect of what I do is that I get to grow and evolve at my own pace. If I want to stop, I stop. If I want change something, I change something. It’s very gratifying to drift wherever the wind takes you, where you can truly live your own life.

Another rewarding aspect of what I do is that I make money doing what I want and I get to be with my kids at the same time. It’s always been important to me to set my own schedule. When I was working retail I just wanted to heave myself out the window when my boss would come over and say, “You can take your ten minute break now.” I like working hard for myself—not working hard to make someone else rich. I do something that I love, something I would be doing anyway even if I weren’t getting paid to do it and no one but me gets to decide when to take a break!

The flipside to having all that freedom is that there is a lot of pressure to keep a small business like mine afloat. It’s just me at the press checks and it’s just me doing the bookkeeping. I am the one in charge of generating sales, marketing my designs, funding my own production, filling orders, and collecting bills. Having to deal with production problems and credit checks wasn’t part of my original dream but it’s all worth it to me and I’ve never looked back.

Do you have any fears about what you do, and if so, how do you deal with them?
How did I deal with the fear that the orders will stop coming or that there may be cuter, cheaper stuff at Target? The truth is I don’t let myself think about it much. I do my best and I do what I love. I trust in my ability to adapt. I have realistic goals and I believe that my business has already been a success, regardless of what happens to it now. I remind myself everyday that I am living my dream, and in the process, teaching my kids to do the same.

How do you deal with creative blocks?
Creative blocks don’t happen to me all that often. I usually have more ideas than I have money to produce them but there are times when I am just so sick of thinking about what to make! My tried and true method of dealing with blocks is to start cleaning. I take a good look at my studio and change what’s starting to look ugly and get rid of the clutter. (I must admit that I am borderline neurotic about rearranging my house and studio. Mission: Organization is my favorite show.) I firmly believe that when my physical space is organized, my mental space is, too. And when I’m organized, I’m free to create.

Sometimes, even when my space is clean and there are no excuses, I just can’t get that last design to work. The printer is waiting and the reps start calling and the phone starts ringing and the next thing I know, I’m behind schedule and I’ve missed my deadline. To save my sanity, I give myself permission to make something bad and move on. And sometimes, as with my last press run, I struggled and struggled with my last design and I really hated it but I ran out of time and it was the best I could do and the kids had to get ready for school and we were carpooling that morning and I had to get groceries and I needed a shower and my voicemail was down and I had a headache and it was time to go and people were waiting so I sent in the file and I promised myself that I would do better next time and the next thing I knew…it was my best seller.

What kind of work environment do you have?
The production part of my business is done from my studio in my basement. It’s not bad—lots of light, high ceilings, brick walls with existing built-in shelves that we painted a bright white. Everything is labeled on big heavy duty shelving units and we (my two assistants and I) work on big worktables in the center of the room.

I also have an office in my children’s playroom, that’s where I do my designing and bookkeeping. It’s nice to have the kids and me in the same space. It might be loud but I get a lot more done if my kids aren’t running around the house wondering where I’m hiding. My daughter is seven years old and my son is three so my work environment is pretty “lively.”

When I first started my business, I would only make or take business calls in a quiet room when the kids were asleep but now I’ll take a call any old time. I don’t try to hide the reality of my situation anymore and I think my customers appreciate hearing those little voices in the background. (At least they have never complained.) I’m always looking to rent that perfect studio space but so far, it’s still right here.

Have you encountered any financial obstacles, and if so, how did you overcome them?
Yes, definitely so. I have a very limited amount of money to work with so sometimes I have to print fewer designs than I’d like. Or, I have to think of ways to cut other production costs. Having a limited amount of resources causes me to get pretty creative with my money and though I hate to admit it, I think it makes me a better designer. I’ve also been known to take advantage of a 0% interest credit card offer or two.

What is your definition of success?
To me, success is leading—or at least trying to lead—the life you truly believe you should. I think it comes from taking risks and pushing yourself past your comfort zone, even if it’s just a little bit. I think a person’s idea of success can change overtime, maybe even over the course of a day and that even the smallest successes should be celebrated.

Who or what are your inspirations?
My tireless, passionate daughter for her discerning, artistic eye. My son for his irrepressible enthusiasm and his desire to get in the game. My husband for his dedication to the task at hand and for his refusal to get wrapped up in the details. I’m inspired when things are quiet, when life seems simple, and when the days are longer than the nights. But more than anything, I am inspired by change and all the possibilities that come with it.

Words of advice for those pursuing their creative goals.
Don’t wait. There are some things you just can’t figure out until you start doing it. Have conviction and be flexible. Stay focused while remembering to do stuff that is pointless and fun. Keep an open mind. Give it everything you can. There is no such thing as failure when you are following your passion. Don’t wait.

Occupation: Embroidery Goddess
Website: Sublime Stiching
Biography: Jenny Hart is an embroidery artist and craft designer living in Austin, Texas. She began working in embroidery as a means to deal with stress and anxiety. Wanting to introduce others to the therapeutic effects of needlework, she realized a perfect opportunity to introduce updated embroidery patterns. Meant to encourage anyone not turned on by ‘country-cutesy’ craft themes, Sublime Stitching was born.

What do you do and how did you start?
I run a craft design company offering needlework patterns of my original designs, and project kits. I also end up fielding constant “how-to” advice from beginners, so I’ve started doing some instructive (and I hope, fun and motivating) writing as well.

How old were you when you realized you wanted to do what you’re currently doing and how old were you when you actually began?
I’ve always been drawing. I was really fortunate to have parents that encouraged me and my brothers to explore art, music, theatre, which wasn’t easy in a small town. But, they’re actually surprised we all became artists! I think my mother really had her hopes on my becoming a dental hygienist.

I always knew visual art was what I would do for the rest of my life. So, being an artist began with my first summer art class (at a museum in Iowa) when I was five.

I had no idea I would ever own, operate and make my living from running a small business. That it would be a craft design company, and that I’d find I was actually a business-minded person and capable designer was news to me. I always thought I’d be a French teacher, or continue doing museum preparatory work while continuing to work as an artist in whatever capacity.

Maybe because my mother stayed at home as I was growing up, home is where I like to be. I’m happiest when I can be at home, and be creative there.

What jobs did you have before you went out on your own?
Photo re-toucher, Retail Sales, Banquet Waitress, Museum Security Guard, Nanny in Paris, Kindergarten Substitute Teacher, Assistant to Museum Exhibition Coordinator, Museum Preparator.

How steps did you take to create your own business?
Being in working/learning environments where I couldn’t work at my full steam and potential was too frustrating. So, instead of spinning my wheels, I put that energy into becoming financially and professionally independent as an artist.

I read a lot of ‘how-to’ books, asked the advice of others who worked for themselves, examined businesses that I liked, introduced myself to some local business women (who are now good friends of mine and successful colleagues)?Most importantly, I worked on something every day and took my business education upon myself.

What kind of formal education, training or experience do you have that applies to what you do?
I have a BA in French. I’ve studied drawing the most closely my entire life both in and out of classrooms and studios. My biggest artistic motivation and awakening came from my eighth grade art teacher: Sarajane Boyd. I’ve read lots and lots of comic books since I was a little girl, sneaking my brother’s Heavy Metals, Weirdo’s and art books.

My father worked in the industrial and marketing film industry, so there was a running commentary in my life on marketing strategies coupled with an artful aesthetic. Everything I learned about marketing and graphic design came second-hand from my father and from reading comics.

My mother had been an art teacher before I was born and always encouraged my interest in art. She tried to introduce me to sewing and embroidery when I was little, which I did for a while, but I was too impatient then. I?m not the best student. But, as an adult, I realized I wanted to learn some of these things from he. After she h showed me some basic stitches to begin in embroidery, and I went from there with it. But I’m a terrible seamstress.

I’m a self-taught business woman, which goes to show: anyone can run a business.

How did you first begin to sell/market your work?
My website began as a showcase for my own embroidery work, and then I began getting requests for doing portraits by commission. That was the first thing that I offered, and then I moved on to selling patterns. My initial investment into startup cost included $200. for one print ad in a magazine. I started telling people what I was doing, had free business cards made up, asked other online e-tailers to link to my site. As the business had any money, it went straight back into inventory and advertising.

What is the most rewarding aspect of what you do?
Being thanked for doing what I do, because someone else enjoys it.

The most frustrating?
Not being able to produce everything as quickly as I can think of it.

Do you have any fears about what you do?
I worry about the pressures of maintaining my own success, making enough money to sustain not just the business, but my own needs. I worry about making the right choices for me, my business, and my customers. But, I usually keep a perspective on things that keeps the ?I?m ruined!? feelings at bay. Taking a nap helps.

What kind of work environment do you have?
I work from a home office and sewing room. My husband saw that my business was expanding from my desk to the kitchen table, the computer room….so he let me take over our computer room and consolidate it into my office. But it’s good and bad. Good because it’s right there and I can work anytime. Bad because it’s right there and I can work anytime.

Have you encountered any financial obstacles?
Not really. My business was started on a private loan of $1,000 (with a promise to pay back half once I earned a profit), and I’ve funneled all my earnings back into advertising and inventory. At this point, my business has been expanding entirely on its own, with no out-of-pocket expense to me. Sure, I’d love to have more money to expand in certain ways, but this is a self-regulating way of letting a business grow on its own rather than risk a large investment and have it falter. I think that’s very important advice I followed: start small and let it grow on its own.

What is your definition of success?
Being happy with what you’ve accomplished, and feeling you can still offer more.

Who or what are your inspirations?
Any artist who can draw a fine line inspires me. I love comic art, illustration as well as painting, music, design. When someone else has made something out of seemingly nothing, and its beautiful, I’m inspired. That always excites me into making something of my own.

Words of advice for those pursuing their creative goals:
Get to it and do it. Learn who to listen to, and who to ignore. Go with your guts, ask for help and you’ll be steered the right way. Don’t take perceived failures too hard, learn to live with multiple rejections, and learn from them. You’ll apply what you know from the experience in the future to make the right decisions. Be persistent, tenacious and you’ll get what you’re going for.

Occupation: Handbag/Product Designer
Website: Posie: Rosy Little Things
Biography: Alicia Leronemo Paulson is a designer who develops, manufactures, and sells a line of vintage-inspired handbags, accessories, gifts and crochetwear. Her company, Posie: Rosy Little Things, offers its collections through a web site and her brick-and-mortar boutique, Ella Posie, in Portland, Oregon.

What do you do and how did you start?
I design and manufacture a collection of handmade, vintage-inspired products that I sell on my web site and in my little boutique. I started Posie five years ago by offering custom silk-ribbon embroidery on a commission basis to fashion designers and interested individuals. That evolved into selling a line of embroidered sachets and photo albums wholesale. Selling handmade things wholesale on that scale proved to be kind of a nightmare for me — it required sales reps and showroom fees and road samples, not to mention a very low price point, since boutique buyers will double the wholesale price when marking up to retail (customer) price. Since I was paying my reps and my material costs out of what I was able to charge, the margin was so low that it just didn’t make doing all the work worth it. So in 2002, I made the decision to stop selling wholesale exclusively, start designing whatever I wanted whenever I could, and offer my creations to my customers directly, at a reasonable price that I feel really good about. My products are now available almost exclusively through my web site and at Ella Posie, our boutique.

How old were you when you realised you wanted to do what you’re currently doing and how old were you when you actually began.
I started doing embroidery in 1998, when I was 29, and after I was in a bad accident. I had six surgeries over six months while doctors worked to reconstruct my foot, which was in danger of being amputated. It was terrifying and painful, and, during my recovery and after my husband returned to work, I faced long days alone in bed with only visitors, nurses, television, and the kitty for company. I pulled out some old embroidery I had played with years before and started stitching from morning until late at night. I found that when I stopped, my pain was significantly increased, and I’ve since heard that doing this kind of detail work is widely known to be an effective pain management technique.

Eventually my skills and my health improved, and it became obvious that I was going to have to rethink all sorts of things in my life. I was working full-time as a book editor when I was injured, and I knew that I couldn’t keep up that kind of 45-hour-per-week, deadline-intensive work, and didn’t even want to. I had been very interested in my job, and had gone to graduate school in English, etc., but suddenly – I was different. People were starting to become interested in the embroidery I was doing, and began commissioning projects, and I found myself being incredibly satisfied by the thought of self-employment. And I could put my feet up when I needed to. . . .

So I think I was 31 by the time I was considered “recovered” and had quit my job and applied for an assumed business name and a Posie checking account and designed a business card. But I think I’d always wanted to make things for a living. My family was and still is very entrepreneurial and artistically inclined, and my parents had always encouraged us to work for ourselves–my dad was a freelance graphic designer and my mom sells fimo clay jewelry through craft markets. They fostered irreverence for the corporate world, so I was quite comfortable with the idea of not being a part of it. I’d had little businesses all through growing up and had always loved product packaging and display, so the concept of starting my own thing was never foreign to me.

Also during this time, my dad passed away at age 54 after a very quick but valiant struggle with cancer. I think that after a near-death thing like a bad accident, and then losing a parent, you sort of think: No time to waste here! Let’s get this show on the road! I’ve just been to hell and back so this can’t scare me! I felt very brave and impatient and adamant that if there were things in my life that I could control, like what I did for a living, then I would control them. So the transition was a long time in coming, but when it came it was very quick and sure.

What jobs did you have before you went out on your own?
Movie theater candy girl, administrative and publications assistant, waitress in the best stuffed pizza restaurant in Chicago, creative writing instructor, editor, and probably a few others I’ve blocked out. When I look back, I would say that being a waitress is actually what gave me a taste of being self-employed: you had your own tables and your own chores and you were responsible for how much money you made on any given night. It was so busy and hectic and yet there was no one to really answer to-you were very much on your own. And since I worked nights, It was so much better than sitting in an office all day, which I have always, always, always loathed. Ever since I was little, I have always loved to be at home during the day.

What steps did you take to create your own business?
Well, aside from the obvious ones like applying for a tax ID number and business name, I think the biggest step was gaining a big, bright, beautiful studio when we bought a new house. I’m so sensitive to space, and had always lived with nowhere near enough of it. I’m a true believer that if you don’t have room for your stuff and your projects, you won’t do them. In the mid-90s, my husband and I had lived in a 20-by-20-foot studio apartment where we moved furniture to pull the bed out of the wall every night, and, for me anyway, there was no room to employ any creative ideas I did have, somehow. But when I got the studio, I knew that with a room like this, I would just figure it out, no matter what. It was an incredible gift, and it motivated me to be worthy of it. The physical conditions were absolutely ideal and it opened up all sorts of veins. The ideas and the projects (which turned into products) just started pouring out of me. The effect that empty shelves and clear worktables had on my inspiration was incredible.

What kind of formal education, training or experience do you have that applies to what you do?
I have a BA in English and an MFA in creative writing, and believe it or not, both serve me daily in my work on Posie. But it’s taken me a while to see that all of my experience and education is informing what I do now. I’d been in school for English forever (I don’t even think my liberal arts college had a marketing degree) and I was encouraged academically, so I just always thought I’d do that, and be a writer and editor. (Also, everyone, including myself, had spent so much money on my education that I couldn’t imagine doing anything else and not having people freak out.) But writing was always very hard for me, in retrospect, and I suspected that I didn’t have the drive it takes to do it professionally. I was always sort of off making something out of fabric and feeling guilty because I knew I was supposed to be writing. In grad school I took a flat-pattern-design class in the costume shop of the theatre department as an elective, and I was forever running into writing workshops or readings late, trying to hide these enormous paper patterns I had to carry with me. My friends were always like, “Where have you been? What are you doing?” I started to suspect that I liked making things better than I liked writing. Now I write in the service of what I make, and I think both mediums benefit. I know I’m much happier. And of course my work in publications trained me to design all of the marketing materials, packaging, catalogs, invitations, web site stuff, media kits, and the gazillion related forms you need for a small business.

As far as the sewing stuff and product design and construction, I’m just self-taught, from books mostly. I do believe that there’s a book out there to teach you almost anything. The work that goes into books is incredible, and the things that you can learn–from how to make stuff to how to run a business–just blows me away. I spend hours and hours and hours in fabric stores and bookstores just browsing through patterns, fabrics, photographs, and books, books, books (and magazines). If I sense that I’m having a bad day or about to, I high-tail it over to the bookstore, alone, and get a big stack of stuff and a coffee drink and stay for hours, until I feel better.

How did you first begin to sell/market your work?
At first, I offered custom embroidery on a commission basis and worked for a few local independent fashion designers here in Portland. We did a few trunk shows where I would show my samplers and take orders, but it became pretty obvious that people wanted an actual thing, a product, to go home with. I’d bought a bunch of wired ribbon to learn how to make millinery flowers and found that I was terrible at it–but I had $60 worth of ribbon I didn’t know what to do with! So I sewed some embroidered squares of dupioni silk together, stuffed them with lavender, hand-stitched on wired-ribbon ruffles and took them around to a few stores (which I was awful at–nervous and awkward and taking any rejection personally, of course). I didn’t know anything about wholesale or sales reps, but my sister was starting her own card company at the time, and we would sort of have these marathon phone conversations about what stores we should take our stuff to, how to price it, how to find a rep, what a rep even was. We didn’t know anything.

But eventually we found a rep together, and she took us on and started selling products to boutiques throughout the Northwest. Later, I signed with a bigger company that had several reps over six states and a showroom in the Seattle Gift Mart, but as I said, the amount of money that I was able to charge the buyers, knowing that they had to double it for the consumer, wasn’t enough after I paid my reps and my material costs and did all the work. So now I sell my work directly, through the web site and the shop, and although I may sell certain products in the line wholesale to boutiques that I really like, I’ll only do it if they butter me up and make me love them, and understand that I am not primarily a wholesaler. My goal is to make enough money to support myself and not make myself crazy busy. I have to cobble together several different ways of doing that, while always keeping an eye on the future. Right now I’m heading away slightly from piece-by-piece manufacture to designing patterns – you put your very best into a design, and get paid to produce copies of it, which is more sustainable in the long run and allows me to stay balanced.

What is the most rewarding aspect of what you do? The most frustrating?
Knowing that no matter how hard it is or how much time I’ve spent or work I’ve done, it’s all in the service of creating this little dream, which represents a true victory for me in a million different ways. There is something so incredibly satisfying about coming up with ideas and working your tush off for yourself and your own company instead of your boss that once you do it, I don’t think you’ll ever be able to do anything else. That said, it is kind of scary and a little lonely at times. And working alone, you know that if it is gonna get done, you’re gonna have to do it. If the money is gonna get made, you’re gonna have to make it-no more automatic pay check or 401K plan.

Do you have any fears about what you do, and if so, how do you deal with them?
I’m always afraid that the phone will stop ringing, but mostly I just try to be very disciplined about what I do and how I think about it. If it’s quiet, or it seems like no one’s interested, I just try to stay calm and do my work and keep making beautiful things, keep the infrastructure ready for when the phones start ringing again, stay prepared to get that great opportunity that always seems to come when you think maybe this time it won’t-a big sale, a great invitation to do a trunk show, a little publicity. Things go in waves, it seems-very much a feast or famine kind of situation at times, and when it’s slow I try to remember that I should enjoy it a little more than I do! There’s an epigraph at the beginning of Annie Dillard’s book The Writing Life by Goethe that says, “Do not hurry; do not rest.” And I really try to live by that when I get scared. Steady on, keep the faith

How do you deal with creative blocks?
I don’t seem to have any anymore. I have way more ideas (and fabric) than I have time to execute them. Usually I’m so busy with all the business stuff that I long for more time to do the fun stuff. And I make sure that, although I make things for other people for a living, I’m always working on a project for myself at night-right now it’s a series of crocheted pillows.

What kind of work environment do you have?
I work in a home studio that was built as an addition onto our 1927 house by the previous owner, who was a painter. We painted it pink, and the room absolutely glows, no matter what the weather. It faces west and south and has huge windows, skylights, and French doors leading into our backyard and garden. Please don’t hate me.

Have you encountered any financial obstacles, and if so, how did you overcome them?
Gosh, right now, things are very tight. Very tight. I’ve invested a lot and need to make that money back, but the economy hasn’t cooperated lately. If I chart month by month I can see trends in my sales reflecting national issues, and since what I sell is considered something you would treat yourself to, not something you really need, I think my sales are reflecting peoples’ need to cut back on things they probably really want but can’t splurge on. It’s tough right now, I won’t lie.

What is your definition of success?
Success for me would mean continuing to design and make exactly what I want and market and sell it exactly as I want, and still make enough money to support the business and myself comfortably. Success would mean getting to create my own schedule every day. Of course, I also love knowing that people are happy with what I’m making and that it’s bringing a little bit of fun and flowery stuff into their lives. I’m still so tickled when customers come and just start smiling when they see what I’ve made. I love seeing that. It makes me laugh and feel connected with the world.

Who or what are your inspirations?
Gosh. So many. Famous people, like Audrey Hepburn for her style and everlasting generosity and kindness. Laura Ashley, Cath Kidston, Nigella Lawson and the country of England for green heaths and calicos and crumbly stone walls and nostalgic comfort kitchens and down-to-earthiness. Veronica Mars, Girl Detective. The Gilmore Girls. Debbie Bliss, knitwear designer. The novel Snap by Abby Frucht for its vision of a sparkly, sassy, serendipitous creative life, and Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson, for illuminating the alternatives and writing the novel I would’ve wanted to write if I could’ve. All the other girls at play, for obvious reasons. My husband, Andy Paulson, for inspiring all of us who know him, including his lucky patients, to see the world the way he sees it.

Words of advice for those pursuing their creative goals.
Do it. At the end, no one is ever going to thank you for not living your life. You just have to sort of bang on through, don’t worry about being perfect, don’t worry about whether people think you’re a “success” or not. You will be. You just keep slogging away at it, and remember what a gift it is to have this kind of independence and responsibility and opportunity to do it on your own, exactly as you want to-you will make as much money as you need, because you’ll have to. Learn who to listen to and learn to say no if it doesn’t feel right. Trust the feeling in your stomach. Laugh at yourself. Have a good time. Be happy with what you’ve done each day and whom you’ve done it with, because that in itself is a worthy contribution to this crazy world.