How I make a living as a working creative

Celebrating 25 years of my art business!

I’m exactly where I wanted to be. Thriving, not just surviving, as a working creative.

I’m celebrating 25 years of Crafty Chica and am going to share helpful lessons I learned along the way.

“Creative” is the operative word because it’s not just about using my hands to make a product. It started that way - in the early 90s, I made and sold my handmade wares to local boutiques, then decided I wanted to conquer the world and signed on to sales reps who took our pieces to trade shows. I visualized STACKS of orders!

My vision came true. My husband and I spent two years in the crazy cycle of hand painting hundreds of flower pots, magnets, picture frames, earrings, etc. for retail stores all over the country.

Our manufacturing plant…was in our Phoenix living room. All while to raise two toddlers.

I’m talking 300 accounts, and each account ordered our handmade designs by the dozen. It was insane. And depressing. That got old real quick.

Side bar:

Before I continue, know that my FIRST action is to sit and visualize/identify the end result of what I want. I did this with the above story, and it happened. Even though that era was painful (I explain below), it taught me to think at a much higher level.

This is so essential, at least to me. I pinpoint the goal and work backwards to make it happen. It’s a great head start, trust me.

I’m sharing this because as I look back on all my accomplishments, this was the thread that tied everything together. Starting from fifth grade when I read an essay out loud and imagined/begged my guardian angels to make everyone love it and cheer me on.

There is a sense of magic to imaging and believing in your success, no matter what age or stage you’re at.

Using this method I’ve had all kinds of crazy, awesome life experiences. Building community, buying a house for my family, features in the New York Times, Forbes, authoring best-selling books, product lines at Michaels, B&N, big speaking gigs, teaching all over the world, etc.

IT ALL STARTED WITH MY LOVE OF STORYTELLING AND MAKING STUFF!

Okay, back to ditching the living room production

Plan B? I worked at the newspaper (as a clerk and eventually a columnist) and seeing all those press releases that came in with pitches taught me so much about marketing my talent. BTW: I worked in the newsroom because in high school, I chose journalism as my dream job.

No more mass producing my art and crafts. Then our side-hustle became vending at events, now known as pop-ups. The trouble with that is there is not a way to scale it up unless you go into some kind of production or manufacturing. With two kids to raise, I didn’t want that. Our wrists and backs were sore from keeping up with events. I just wanted to make stuff and share stories - and enjoy life and have a decent bank account balance.

I still LOVE doing pop-ups and wholesale orders, but do them with more intention.

Blogging/having a web site was the answer.

I started CraftyChica.com in May 2001. Rather than creating a thousand items and hoping people would buy them, I shifted to sharing my “Crafty Chica-style” tutorials.

The craft industry is $43 billion strong with very little cultural representation. I positioned myself as an expert in the space, fueled by culture, passion, and strategy. This expanded my creativity, and introduced me to the craft trade industry. That’s where I had my first $1K craft design gig!

I eventually took a risk, quit my newspaper gig to do Crafty Chica full-time, and guess what? I doubled my salary. It’s grown even more since then. I now have a business manager and production help when needed.

The success and flops taught me about branding, discipline, connecting with community while striving to be a force of good in the world.

I’ll do another post breaking all of this down, but here is a list of income branches I’ve created from my brand, using my website as the trunk, so to say…

Hopefully this will give other creatives faith and inspiration to keep pursuing their creative goals. It’s is totally doable, and will challenge you to take more risks in order make the most of your life and gifts!

Remember:

Think bigger and long-term.

Zoom out to see the big picture of what you want in life, then the different branches (goals).

Pinpoint the end result you desire for each goal. Write down the specific benefits it will bring, what it solves/heals. SO IMPORTANT!

Feel good?

Great! Start with the easiest, make a timeline, compile resources, investment, and make an action plan of how to get there. Be willing to let go of things to make space.

Know that not everything happens in your desired time, but at the right time. More on that to come!

Continual income streams as a full-time creative (kinda in order):

Product licensing/royalties.

Social media campaigns.

Handmade goods in online shop, and one local boutique.

Blog ad network.

Online and in-person workshops.

In-person craft retreats.

Speaking engagements.

Craft activations.

Affiliate marketing.

Event hosting.

Consulting.

Social media bonus programs.

Custom orders.

Grants.

Thanks for reading!

Kathy :-)