CREED OF SCIENTOLOGY

CREED OF SCIENTOLOGY

  

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INTERVIEW WITH AN ARTFUL DESIGNER

 

Hi everybody,

today's interview is with Meiya, from BoxDesignStudio on Etsy.

It offers handmade gifts from natural flowers.

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/BoxDesignStudio

 

Here she tells us about herself. Thank you for sharing your story with us Meiya.

I am a landscape architect from Latvia (a small European country by the Baltic Sea ).

I'm 42 years old, I live in the countryside, I have my own garden, 2 playful dogs, 1 cat, and 3 children

 together with my husband. I love nature very much, I love to be in the meadows, forests and collect

 flowers for my artworks, my Etsy store's motto is "Made in Nature". I grow a lot of flowers in my

 garden, I collect, press and dry them and I make epoxy resin suncatchers and lamps with natural

 flowers. My idea for the flower items was to capture a small piece of meadow or garden in a piece of

 art and to make the flowers flower forever!

Therefore some of my flower lamps are called "Frozen Meadow" and "Frozen Garden" - it's like a piece

 of meadow or garden frozen in time! And these flowers will never wither! I miss the flowers very

 much in wintertime and I love to look at my flower items in winter - it makes me feel like in summer!

Every flower item is a unique piece of art and the flower arrangements never repeat, so it's a really

 unique one-of-a-kind gift for someone special.

 

1- How did you decide to have your own business (as opposed to getting a job somewhere)?

After 10 years of having a company of landscape and interior design I decided to end my

career as an architect and to switch to creating handmade flower ornaments, suncatchers

and lamps. That was my second start of a new business and required a lot of courage,

creativity and persistence.

The best thing during this time was the support from my family members, especially my husband,

 which helped me to believe in myself while there were no noticeable signs of success yet and I didn't

 know if my design products will ever be appreciated or demanded by customers.

2-What were the first five actions you took to get started?

 * I spent all my free time creating new items and putting all my ideas into real materials.

  *I took good pictures of the newly made items and put them into my just opened Etsy shop.

  * I also spent a lot of time advertising my shop and items and I participated in Etsy’s Teams. 

  *I looked for ideas to personalize my items as the option to personalize the purchase is what differs

    Etsy from other online stores and it is very important to the customers.

  *I actively worked with social media, I put my items on different social networks and shared them in

     different groups.

That's actually all I did, making new items took the most time, but I also think that the right timing was

 important for such type of product. Covid-19 had just started and people switched to online shopping

 and it was also important to express support to dear people by sending such gifts and often people

 couldn't meet their close ones in person so they chose to send gifts. But I didn't choose the time on

 purpose, it was just a period in my life when I felt like leaving my old profession and I had an

 inspiration to start something new- so that there came a sudden demand for online gifts-that was

 another gift from my fate.

      

 

3-Did you come across with challenges and doubt yourself (thinking am I going to

succeed ? )

There were a lot of challenges, failures, disappointments, risks and falls all the time.

 If you want a simple, relaxed professional life without risks and stress and if you want normal working

 hours – then don’t start your own business. Having a business means feeling like ‘living on the edge’

 all the time. It’s never secure and predictable – you can always lose everything in one moment and

you have to solve crises and make hard decisions constantly. 

4-How did you overcome them?

If I examine my business path from the beginning, it seems that there have been more

failures than success, more falls than uplifts, but after about 20 handmade design products,

which I designed and which didn’t become demanded and popular, came one product, which

became a huge success. And after learning and working in such professions as landscape

architecture, interior design, advertisement design, photography and product design I found

myself in the unique profession of a flower designer, which makes my heart smile and which

has made the business successful. So I guess that the key to success is persistence - not to

give up and to continue working on new ideas until the most successful ideas are

determined and you can continue working on them on a deeper level. The tennis training I

took as a child for 7 years added a lot of endurance, patience, persistence and strong will to

my character, which are the essential necessary traits to keep the business running. I think

that it’s also crucial to open your business within a field that you’re most interested in and it’s

important that you love very much what you are doing – then all the challenges on your way

will seem small. 

Keeping my mind calm, my thoughts in harmony, overcoming emotions-that's what helped me most to

 overcome difficulties. When I had some really hard times both with work and relationships, I started

 some spiritual practice, I found my spiritual teacher and that helped me to overcome hard times and to

 become a completely different, stronger, happier and better person. (It's important to deal with your

 emotions-finding something that can keep your mind calm helps a lot-whether it's sports, walking in

 forest, yoga, meditation or breathing exercises- whatever works for you.)

 

                     

5-Did you invest a lot of money?

At first I didn’t invest a lot of money as I was offering services, which didn’t require to buy

expensive materials or equipment. But later I saved some money to invest it into materials

and equipment to implement my ideas of the flower items. I didn’t always get the desired

result from the first investment – I had to buy more and more materials until I found the

particular material, which could provide the quality I wanted. When I started to get more

sales, I saved some more money to invest into the working premises, advertising and better

equipment. So expanding the business went step by step, it didn’t require to invest a lot of

money at once. But when I look back to the whole process, I have invested a lot of money

altogether, but it took a longer period of time and I always invested a part of the profit into the

development of the business.

6-How do you see the future of your business?

I don’t really have big plans for the future of the business, I like what I am doing right now,

my personal goals are to harmonize my working schedule and to divide the tasks better to

avoid overworking in the future. I also think that high expectations are not always beneficial

as they can lead to disappointments sooner and create unnecessary tension. It’s better not

to get attached to success, money and uplifts as it all comes and goes, it’s better to be

always flexible, open to changes and to make the best use of them when they come for

gaining experience, wisdom and new opportunities.

7-Do you have any advice for people who want to start a business?

I would suggest to choose a business field that you’re interested in and most excited about.

Your excitement and inspiration will give you the strength to overcome different challenges

and even severe difficulties. I also believe that in our path we are given opportunities and

people to support us, we just have to be brave enough to accept them. In any business there

will be risks and we should be able to take reasonable risks to succeed – if I wanted to stay

safe and avoid all risks, which often mean also new opportunities, then I wouldn’t have

succeeded at anything. I’m always trying to maintain the idea that everything happens for

the good even if it doesn’t happen the way I have intended or expected to. Events which

seem as a failure from the beginning, at the end can lead to an unexpected result, often to a

much better one than we could have ever imagined. Try to think outside the conventional

framework – invent new things or invent a way to use commonly known things in a new way

and try to make your work personal to the customers, then you will be able to offer what they

need most and your products or services will become most highly demanded. If your first

ideas don’t work well, don’t give up, but try out other ideas until you will get to know your

potential customers and understand what they really need. If you fall, get up and start anew.

Don’t get attached to success and appreciation, then you won’t have the fear to lose them. If

you lose, again, get up and start anew. Believe in yourself, that you are a unique and

talented person and even if you won’t succeed in something, then you will try something else

and succeed there. Even though some people can be unfair, greedy and cruel, wish good

for others and do good to others (people, animals, earth) – I can see from my own

experience that this world works as a huge mirror, the more good I do to others, the more

this world gives back in return – more love, more friendship, more welfare and more

happiness. Try to stay in a state of loving harmony, then your state of mind will attract

success as a magnet, you will have a better contact with all people you’ll have to work with

and it will be easier to overcome all difficulties. Take all failures as gifts for learning, gaining

strength, building character, better understanding yourself, expanding your consciousness.

and gaining new opportunities. Trust in yourself and your path and associate with people

who believe in you, your skills and talents.

INSPIRING MUSIC

          

                                      When we get together in a creative way this happens!

INTERVIEW WITH AN ARTIST

 

www.robynmartinsart.com 

 

Interview with Robyn Martins, an artist from Florida.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us Robyn, and keep up the 

good work : )

 1-How did you decide to have your own business (as opposed to getting a job somewhere)?

 

I had worked for many years and was fortunate to no longer need a traditional job, which allowed me to explore art, first only as a playful hobby. Initially, painting and creating three-dimensional art for my own enjoyment was enough, but as my skills progressed, I wanted to sell my work.

 

2-What were the first five actions you took to get started?

I studied the work of artists I admired in order to improve

I read as much as I could about how to market my work

I began participating in local arts and crafts shows

I created an Etsy shop in order to reach a broader audience

I met the owner of a local gallery who agreed to host a show for me

3-Did you come across with challenges and doubt yourself (thinking "am I going to succeed?" ) ?

 

Marketing, both locally and online, was a big challenge initially, and it continues to be challenging. As an artist, I expect to always strive to improve my work, so jumping those hurdles isn’t discouraging. But getting my work out there can be a struggle. Especially with an online shop, driving traffic to that shop requires creativity and effort beyond painting, and sometimes it seems exhausting. I worry it might be a younger person’s game, but I keep plugging away on social media, and I keep apprised of various events local galleries are hosting.

4-How did you overcome them?

 

Etsy provides lots of information about how to market your online shop, and I do my best to follow those tips, maintaining a social media presence and updating my shop with fresh work.

 

For face-to-face art sales, I joined a local arts organization, which gave me leads for local galleries and sales opportunities, and I now exhibit in two galleries and participate in other arts events when I can. Getting outside of the studio and being bold in showing my artwork has been essential.

 

The easy thing to do would be to hide away in my little studio and paint and paint, but I really do want exposure, and I am proud to show my work to potential collectors. So, I keep putting myself out there, and I keep expanding on the kind of work I create.

5-Did you invest a lot of money?

I have been economical in setting up my home studio and in choosing art supplies. It’s never good to skimp on paint or painting surfaces, so I cut costs elsewhere in order to invest in those things. I look for sales, I avoid impulse buying when I see ads marketed to artists, and I keep my studio rather sparse—just enough to do what I want to accomplish.

 

Also, there is a small cost in operating an Etsy shop, and I have invested in my own website (www.robymartinsart.com), which has an annual fee.

6-How do you see the future of your business?

 

As long as I have the opportunity and the space to paint, I intend to keep going. Art is not the sort of thing you age out of as long as you are healthy enough to do the work, and I know several successful and active artists who are 10 or even 20 years older than I am.

 

Wherever I find myself living in the future, I will defintely connect with other artists and local galleries, and as I refine my online shop, I imagine the little business only improving.

 

7-Do you have any advice for people who want to start a business?

 

I hestitate only because I am not financially dependent on my gallery and online sales. I have the luxury to relax in that regard.

 

I can speak to maintaining an online business, however, regardless of which host site you choose. I would suggest putting only your best work out there, honing your work to reach your market, and being energetic and bold in your social media presence in order to drive customers to your online business. Also, patience is essential—it can take a couple of years to be discovered out there regardless of what products or services you are selling, so don’t give up if early sales are slow.

 

Most importantly, let potential customers see how proud you are of your work. Every maker/doer/creator/service provider is unique, and there is a market out there for all we have to offer. Do the work, and you will find your people.

                                   Clearwater, FL 2021

INTERVIEW WITH A POTTERY MAKER

 

My second international interview. Look forward to having more of these!

Vered is from Israel. Thank you for talking to us Vered. 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/VIBceramics

My name is Vered (Hebrew for Rose).

VIBceramics is a one-woman business. I work alone and hand-build each ceramic item from scratch.

I create colorful, natural, simple, and functional handmade ceramics (stoneware), inspired by the Mediterranean Sea and the beauty of nature here in Israel. 

The plates and bowls I make are relatively large, influenced by the Middle Eastern hospitality culture, where there are often family meals with plenty of home-cooked, delicious and comforting food, made with love ♥.

I love creating and love knowing that my creations are enjoyed every day, bringing color and joy to peoples homes

Q1: Why did you decide to have your own business (as opposed to getting a job somewhere).

 

I was working in high-tech for 22 years (since my army service as a programmer in the Israeli Air Force). When my kids were 5 and 3 I decided it is time for a change. I quit. I wanted to be available to my family and myself. To do something that make every day special for me and for others. 

 

Q2: Did you have any worries at first? And how did you overcome them?

 

Yes. At first and along the way. It takes time and hard work especially when you are on your own.   

I made a plan with budget and a dead line. I had the support of someone close that believed in me even when I considered to give up. 

Q3: What were the first five actions you took to get started?

- I created a home studio in a small patio. (Improvisation)

- I bought a used kiln

- I opened an Etsy shop

- I created few designs/collections

- I used my skills from my career in high tech for customer service procedures. 

Q4: Did you come across with challenges and doubt yourself (thinking “what am I doing?”)

 

Yes. I am a self taught artist and came from a different “world” with no connections to the art world. I was alone. 

Also I felt I am failing for the first time. Wasting our savings. Being irresponsible to my family.

Dreaming. 

Q5: Did you invest a lot of money?

 I had to start with arranging a place to work from. Set a studio with big desk, many shelves , a place for the big kiln, sink, a place for the computer and printer and for packing and packing materials. Electricity adjustment for the kiln (for firing at a high temperature).
I don’t have the exact amount.

The biggest investment was the kiln. Especially for online international shop It is important to also budget branding, marketing and  packing materials. 

Q6: How do you see the future of your business?

 

I feel I am on track now. 

There are better and less good months. This is how it is to own a business. I hope to be able to create ceramics for many years.

 Q7: Do you have any advice for people who want to start a business

It has to be about something you enjoy but also find very meaningful. 

Be ready to work harder than ever before. To have to deal also with things you like less. 

Get help / support. Offer the best customer service you can. The one you would like to get. 

Good luck.