My studio is a wreck.
So of course it’s a good time to ponder the upcoming year. Because this one is so slow.
(I did clean up a bit last night as I was going through inventory because I couldn’t find anything)
-I’ve had a good year, and I think it will be even better this 4th quarter. I’ve doubled what I made last year, and I’m hopeful I can continue to increase my sales. I’m beginning to notice trends: bookmarks and journals sell online. Cards do not, but printable planner pages do. Art-sometimes? I do sell digital prints but not the physical prints, although at fairs they do well. So I’m pondering shifts: keep the stationery (greeting cards/note cards/postcards) but remove most of them from the online store and bring them to fairs, where they do better. Expand journals and bookmarks, convert my “fun” art to strictly digital prints, bring the prints I have to fairs.
-And I want to get Illustrator, teach myself how to do more in the digital realm, since that does seem to sell. I’ve sold planner pages and received favorable reviews (yay!), I’ve sold quite a few coloring pages. I think I could make some fantastic things there.
-I want to start making leather journals. I’ll need some tools, and of course the leather, but I think it’s very doable. I’ve also thought about expanding into wax melts, because of my “library” theme I’ve got going: art for the walls, journals for the bookshelf, knit throws for ultimate comfort, and then I could please the nose as well. But we’ll see, I estimated startup costs being a couple hundred, and that’s probably low.
-I want to make more “fantasy” art and more art with words. I really like working with moon and sun motifs, I like pairing doodles with calligraphy. I want to maybe? offer printing services, since I have a good printer. I’m still looking into costs for that.
-And fairs. I’m having an absolute blast getting ready. I want to do more of them, although I’m holding back a bit to see how this one goes. I don’t want to do too much too soon and possibly waste money/time. But I really enjoy them, I want to make them a central sales venue. Travel the USA paying my way with art:)
So of course you wanted that unorganized peek inside my head (keeping it real: I AM that disorganized when it comes to my art, it’s like I have a toddler’s attention span). I constantly am thinking about new things to try, ways to improve … unless of course I’m having a downer of a day and NOTHING WILL WORK EVER WHY AM I EVEN TRYING. But longevity … I think that’s key. The ability to outlast the others, to improve, to seek new markets.
So Art On, my friends. Never let it go, you never know where it might lead you.
Happy Hump Day!
Wordsremember 