As the title suggests, this isn’t my first website. Here’s the story time (short version):
I was managing a very successful Boutique space for a local arts venue. They started a renovation and closed the Boutique, which meant I had a decision to make.
When those moments come, I’ve learned to sit in the discomfort and think about what I’ve learned that will be needed in the next step of my life — thus revealing what that next step will be. There were two key things that stood out:
- I had been making a lot of things for the space which had allowed me to develop my artist talents and meant I had a lot of original things already made, and
- I had learned all of the administrative side of running a retail space.
Being an independent artist had long been a dream of mine. While growing up, I had assisted my mother at her own art booths and, later, at trade shows where she was a wholesale rep for a large number of clothing and jewelry lines, and it seemed clear to me that everything was coming together.
So I did it! May of 2023 I launched out on my own. One of the first things I did was start a website – and it was decent. Then a friend who does web design helped give it a makeover and it was a lot better! It was also a challenge to get it to work and function the way I wanted. Most of that was me trying to figure out the best way to list items that were all one of a kind and were being sold both online and in person at markets. With that platform, I admit, I never did figure that out. I did learn a lot that I’m benefitting from as I build this site!
I found a wonderful local market (yes, there were some trial and error markets, but I’m so grateful for where I landed) and I began figuring out what I was doing. In 2024 I made my first ever vision board, focused on consistency, and added a few events to my schedule. I worked on developing my artistic skills even more, tried my hand at some new items and mediums that I wanted to explore. I made wonderful friends in the vendor community – friends who challenged and encouraged me, friends who inspired me, friends who gave me feedback that confirmed things I knew I needed to do and laughed with me when that made me make faces.
Here we are in 2025 and everything is different. I’m different. My country is very different. Everything is different. For one thing, I’m launching a new website and I am in love with it! It’s going to be a platform featuring my creations and offering resources for vendors (resources I looked everywhere for when I was starting out but couldn’t find!). For another thing, I have found my voice as an artist and I know what I want to make. It’s been hard to wait to do a big roll out until the site’s ready, and getting it ready is a lot of work, but I truly believe that launching everything at one time will be a wonderful thing to help build and grow momentum.
I will share that the focus of this year, for me and my art, is the fact that now, more than ever, you deserve joy. We all do. And because you deserve joy, that’s what I am creating.
So, I guess, let’s begin …
