I’m not sure yet who I am writing this for, but I suppose mostly just to get it down into words.
I’ll start with some background- In 2018 I was really excited to move home and make the leap into doing artwork full-time. I had an amazing start, with tons of local support and moved quickly into selling wholesale.
In 2020, I opened the doors of my first little retail space on Souris Beach. It came together quickly- And to be honest, it was surprisingly busy. It was a really great experience and tons of support (thank you thank you).
In truth though, I’ve come to realize that what I did on the whole, was take something that I really love doing, and turn it into work. Making artwork my main source of income just turned it into a whole different ballgame.
It really got to the point where every piece was coded, released, marketed, advertised, tracked- And frankly I just dislike that whole other half of it. I love drawing, I love creating, I love sharing that. I do not love hustling, branding, pushing sales and the rest.
If you’ve followed along with me for awhile, you may have noticed how little I post now, or how few new things I’m working on. It’s truly that I just sucked all of the joy out of it on myself. I don’t have any of that “#hustle entrepreneurial spirit” left.
What this means for me going forward is:
I will be closing my Souris shop.
I will be closing down the wholesale side of my business.
I will no longer be partaking in local artist run collectives.
I am going to keep on with Etsy. I have existing inventory, and there are some things I still want to share with the world.
I am going to do smaller and limited runs of new works.
I’m exhausted of some of my old work and they are going to retire!
I will likely still do the odd market, and most (all?) Etsy markets. Those days are really fun.
So- That’s it. I feel like a weird ingrate child who’s having a tantrum- And a little bit like I worked hard to get to a point that a lot of people would really appreciate being at, and I’m just tossing it away.
The upside is- the excitement about the idea of enjoying artwork again is strong enough to overcome that ingrate feeling.
I’m also keen on the idea of detaching myself from the tourism industry a little. I moved home because I wanted to spend more time with family and friends. Looking forward to more weekends free, more long beach days and late nights.
Thanks for reading!