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What goals have you set for your business? How do you measure success? How do you celebrate your successes? #4
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issue #4 advice + inspiration from artists/illustrators/ designers on creativity, business and life. www.pikaland.com/goodtoknow pikaland.etsy.com
get your copy at www.pikaland.com/goodtoknow
What goals have you set for your business? How do you measure success? How do you celebrate your successes?
When I started Pikaland, it was for the love of illustration. Now a year on, and with the support of the handmade and artist community, Pikaland has launched two projects and my goal is to do more and to celebrate art & illustration. I measure success by happiness: how happy I am will dictate how successful I feel. It’s a very interesting take on the subject, as some people might not understand how this equates to success if it’s not measured in dollars and cents. Finding ways to survive the eonomic downturn is stressful at times, but knowing that I made just that little difference in someone else’s lives is enough to make me smile for a long time. I celebrate small successes by going out for a nice meal. And perhaps take a look at what small little luxuries I can afford myself (like that pair of shoes I’ve been eyeing!) I think it’s important to celebrate your successes, no matter how small it may be. It keeps you going!
Amy www.pikaland.com
Issue #4’s question was sent in by Julie of UpUpCreative: www.upupcreative.blogspot.com
What goals have you set for your business? 1760 Sunday House is my laboratory. It is the place where I experiment with a rt ideas, techniques and concepts. So, my Etsy store is a place where these ideas are tested. There are no concrete goals for it in terms of how many sales there should be per month, per year, or per week. Rather, I am interested in the response to the pieces that I post in it. Eventually, my goal is to develop a line for artistic licensing, but right now, I am in the phase of my creativ-
ity where I am finding myself in all this big, amazing palette of colors, materials, styles and artistic voices. So for now, I’d say my goal is to arrive at a place that I can comfortably and consistently call my own style. How do you measure success? To me, as an artist, it’s all about how well I communicate and how well my audience responds to me. So ultimately, it’s feedback from people, whether it is through my blog, or through coverage from other blogs, writers, magazines, etc. that affirm my success at communicating or conveying an idea. I have a very practical view on the “success” of my art: I strongly feel that my work should be accessible to a lot of people because I feel that there is no point in speaking a language that you cannot use to communicate effectively and to a wide audience. Of course, it’s always nice to get commisions from people, and even better if those commisions multiply by word of mouth. How do you celebrate your successes? I love indulging in other people’s creations. I do have my favorites from Dawanda and Etsy whose work I follow closely, and I indulge in. That, or buying art materials or new tools to work with. Plus, there’s always that CD, piece of music, or book that is just waiting on my list of treats to have. Anna M. Rosete www.1760sundayhouse.typepad.com www.1760sundayhouse.etsy.com
Because both of my other businesses (graphic design and chain maille jewelry) require me, when a client makes a purchase, to be creative “on demand,” the primary goal I set for Cloudery is that I will only do what I want, when I want. I decided that I will draw only when I want to draw, whether that is for hours every day, or with a break of several days or several weeks. I keep drawing as a creative endeavor for myself, and a meditative one as well. I don’t want to be in a position in which I feel forced to produce and lose the enjoyment and happiness it brings. It can be tricky to balance Cloudery with my other work — for which I do have schedules, deadlines, and obligations — but it also means that just sitting down to draw, or to work on my web portfolio, can feel like a relief. That’s when I know Cloudery is working for me. I sell prints on Etsy to help benefit the nonprofit First Book, which donates new books children from low-income families. Though I don’t make a profit from selling the prints, I am able to watch the number of book donations Cloudery has funded rise over time as I make sales. 126 books donated to date — this, for me, feels like some of the best possible success. And I know I am achieving further success when my work is noticed, and I am invited to participate in projects, or in an interview, or the like. How do I celebrate? I’m lucky that I love what I do, whether drawing or chain maille or design. There are so many other aspects to running businesses than just the creative element, than the actual MAKING. Running multiple shops, websites, advertising, promotion, blogging, photographing, packaging, trips to the post office, writing up listings, chasing down opportunities, and looking at what else is going on in the world around
me . . . well, it may seem ironic, but my “celebration,” that is, doing that which I truly enjoy, that which makes me truly happy, is the MAKING. Whether sitting down in a quiet spot to weave a bracelet, or getting out my pens and drawing, I think those are the times in my business-life when I am happiest and most at peace. The last drawing I finished was in March, and because life gets in the way, I wasn’t able to start drawing again until July. My new drawing is called “Chase,” and whenever I find the time to work on it, yes, I feel like I’m celebrating. Cloudery somethingcloudery.com
issue #4 PARTICIPANTS Anna M. Rosete 1760sundayhouse.etsy.com
Katie Green www.katiegreen.co.uk
Cloudery somethingcloudery.com
Kerry Lemon www.kerrylemon.co.uk
Colt Bowden The Nourishing Flourish nourishingflourish.etsy.com
Lauren Denitzio Black & Red Eye blackandredeye.com
Denise Holmes www.niseemade.com
Cher Carter - Smoot, aka Pixi http://pixitogs.com
lette www.urbanfaerie.net
rdw [Daria Rychkova] http://www.flickr.com/photos/ robordw/
Kate Gatski www.gatskimetal.com Meghan Bialk nitelily3.etsy.com Lisa Evans firefluff.blogspot.com Kathy thegreenzebra.etsy.com
Shawna Stobaugh
www.shawnanonna.etsy.com Suzanne L. Vinson www.silvertreeart.net
Vicky www.vickysworld.co.uk Justin Chen www.jkhc.blogspot.com
32 pages A5 size staple bound 18 participants black & white text + illustrations
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