This month, The Mint Museum in Charlotte hosts works from 150 artists from the Guild of Charlotte Artists. The piece that I created, one that took me over 160 hours to complete, and used a wide range of techniques I have gained throughout my years as an artist, is HER Sovereignty. This is, by far, the most intricate piece I have created to date and, subsequently, the one I am most proud of.  The piece represents a woman’s ability to make her own choices. The piece centers around three defining parts of a woman: mind, heart, and fertility.

Mind

Many people take having the ability to speak their mind for granted.  Around the world, there are many people, especially women, who are not afforded this opportunity.  A woman’s voice, her thoughts, and her opinions are silenced in favor of obedience and compliance. A woman’s mind can offer a unique perspective, can see things in a different way, and can solve problems in unique ways that only she has the ability to accomplish.

The flowers I selected for this portion: daisies and jasmine

Daisies: symbolize innocence, purity, and simplicity.  A woman’s mind is capable of being able to see things in clearly and purely when it is unencumbered by the expectations of the world, society, and those around them who believe they know “what’s best”. The pure, simple, and innocent mind we are gifted as children is capable of so much more when it is allowed to think freely.

Jasmine: symbolize purity and love. Love is what drives many women. Being able to have a mind of purity and love allows women to have the empathetic and caring nature that allows us to be the caring and nurturing beings we are meant to be.

Heart

I see the heart as the center of the body. It pumps life through our body. If the brain is what is responsible for the mechanical processes our body conducts it is the heart that feeds the body.  Much like us, as women, are responsible for caring for and feeding our young, the heart is responsible for feeding our body and keeping us going. The heart is also the symbol of love, and love is the nature of women.

The flowers I selected for this portion: roses, lilies, peonies, and chrysanthemum.

Roses: symbols of love. Red roses, in particular, symbolize passion. This is because woman need to follow their passion to achieve what they set out to accomplish. I also chose to use the roses to cover the woman’s bare breasts. This is because the greatest form of love that a woman can demonstrate is nursing their child.

Lilies: represent new beginnings. I chose Orange Tiger Lilies specifically because they represent wealth, prosperity, and good fortune and that is what we hope life will provide for those that we love.

Peony: represents romance and beauty. The heart tells us what is beautiful.  Not TV, not magazines, not social media.  And every woman is beautiful

Chrysanthemum: represents friendship, happiness, and well-being. The friendships and bonds that a woman creates throughout their life help to center them, help them to define their sense of self. Without friendships, we would never know love.

Fertility

There are many people who believe they can tell you what is best for your body. We, as women, know better than anyone what is best for our bodies, and that is why I firmly believe that we have the right to make choices as they pertain to our bodies. This is something I feel strongly about and hope my piece represents that.

For this portion, I selected: lotus, orchid, and daffodils.

Lotus: represents strength, rebirth, and resilience. A woman’s body is a testament to strength and resilience. Childbirth and what our body goes through every month is extremely taxing and a true representation of the woman’s strength. A woman also needs to demonstrate emotional strength to cope with loss and grieving 

Orchid: symbolizes fertility, beauty, charm, and love. Fertility is such an important part of what it is to be a woman. Whether you choose to bear children or not, it is still one of the most defining qualities of who we are.

Daffodils: represent new beginnings, hope, joy, and rebirth. Childbirth is the very definition of new beginnings. The hope and joy that comes with motherhood is unsurpassed by any other feeling on earth.

I hope this gives you a bit of a better understanding of my piece and what it means to me. Do you have a piece that is special to you? Tell us about it and tag us @bz_furfur and, as always, stay unique.

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The Call to Adventure

Before I had my business I always dreamed of being my own boss.  I woke up every morning and decided for myself what direction my career was going to take. That was until, one day, I decided to take my life into my own hands and fulfill that dream. With some tools for wood-burning, a few raw materials, and an Etsy account I began creating what would develop into a thriving business. 

Little did I know that, in the beginning, being my own boss didn’t mean not taking orders. Sure, I didn’t have a boss to take orders from: instead, I had dozens of bosses i.e. my customers. Rather than spend time working on the things I was passionate about I, instead, found myself catering to what was popular, what was in demand, and what was going to sell.  This gave me some mixed feelings about my choices initially but I decided to see it through and find out what lay ahead.

Challenges and Temptations

As time went on it was extremely difficult to meet the demands of my growing business. Competition at markets was fierce. People making similar products by machine could mass produce what I was creating in a fraction of the time for significantly lower costs. I felt like my dream was dying. Sometimes weeks or months passed and nothing was moving on the Etsy shop, I was barely making my table costs at markets, and the custom orders would be down to just a trickle. It was extremely disheartening to see my hopes and dreams go up in smoke. 

You read the statistics about small businesses, how long it takes them to become profitable, how many fail in the first 3-5 years. You never think, however, that your business will fall subject to that fate. Once the profits are drying up, however, you start to question everything. Did I make the right decision with this business? Am I catering to the right audience? Do I need to invest in more marketing? Maybe there just isn’t a market for this product right now. All of these questions and doubts pop up in your head on a daily basis and it becomes more and more difficult to continue on.

Revelation

Sometimes when things are their darkest that is when you see a glimmer of hope. About three years into my journey I realized what it was that set me apart.  I was trying to compete with people selling products whereas what I should have been doing is selling myself as an artist.  Instead of lowering my prices, I would instead demonstrate the value that people get by purchasing my art (yes, now is when I start recognizing my work for what it is, art). When customers would come to my booth I would talk about the techniques I use to create my pieces, what differentiates my work, and the quality of the material and craftmanship. 

What I wanted people to understand is that, when they buy something from me, they are investing in something that tells a story. The wood into which the piece is burned has history, the design was of my creation, and it is truly one-of-a-kind. By collaborating with other artists, learning about different forms of media to incorporate into my work, and building on techniques that I had gained from skills I acquired over a lifetime of learning I was able to differentiate myself. I was no longer trying to compete with the mass-produced, carbon-copy products at the markets, rather I stood apart from them creating something that you buy to add to your house to make it your home.

Transformation

Once I started thinking like an artist then things started to change. With the confidence I gained, I started joining arts councils and guilds to share my ideas with other like-minded individuals. I was no longer intimidated to enter my work into art galleries, juried shows, and other events reserved for fine artists. Much to my surprise, the more I treated myself like an artist, the more others treated me like the same. Invitations started showing up in my inbox, I was accepted into my first juried show, one of my pieces won honorable mention in a show, and now I am going to have a piece on display at one of the most prestigious museums in Charlotte: The Mint Museum in uptown. 

This is a tremendous accomplishment for me. Validation that the past five years of scraping and clawing my way through the grind of markets and festivals was worth the effort. I now have a resume lined with achievements that I never dreamed of when I started this journey. 

Return

I look back at where I started and I see the hope and determination I had. I also see the pain and rejection that I experienced along the way but now I look at it with a newfound sense of confidence. Today, I am an artist. Tomorrow, I will be an even better artist with more exciting opportunities that will be realized based on the successes I have achieved. What is your journey?  Share it with us @bz_furfur and, as always, stay unique.

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1. Price point: The biggest driver of how your product will be seen is how much it costs. You want to set a price point that will cover your costs and ensure you are compensated adequately. At the same time, you need to make sure that your prices are palatable to your customers. Do some recon; go to markets in the area before your market and see what comparable work is selling for. If similar works are selling for less than what you are charging you need to consider a few things.  Can you afford to lower your price? Are there less expensive pieces that you can make that would better suit this clientele? If neither then maybe this isn’t the right market for you.  Listen to what people say as they browse your booth. If they are commenting on the price (too high / too low) take note of that and see if you can adjust your prices accordingly in the future
2. Display: How you present your work is going to play a major role in how it is perceived to your customer. How do you want people to see your work? Are you going for a craft show, small business, or fine art? If you are trying to appeal to the craft show crowd think of lots of simple, cute, low-price pieces. Display is important but not as important as matching the price point of your customers. Small businesses you should appeal to customers who are looking for quality and value. Having a good variety of products along with some high-ticket items is a good balance. Offer “deals” such as two for one or buy one get one half off. Cross-promote your products and try to upsell.  If you are going to fine art think about fewer, expensive pieces.  Leave the low and medium prices back at the studio and present only your big-ticket items. Invest in good quality displays (pedestals, acroterion). This crowd is looking for quality and isn’t generally thinking about price. So your display should reflect that.
3. Style: When you start out you may have a very specific style of your own. This could be subject matter, technique, color palettes, or detail. It is good to stick to your style as that is what will eventually set you apart from other artists. At the same time think carefully about what customers ask for. Are a lot of your customers asking for pet portraits? Try your hand at them. It may not be your passion but being able to give people what they want can pay the bills while you spend the bulk of your time working on the things you want to work on. As you work on these pieces you may gain new skills as well that you can then incorporate into your pieces. Try not to be too stubborn in what you are willing to create if it means that you are alienating yourself from your customers.
4. Marketing: this is something that is going to change constantly throughout the life of your business.  You may find that your social media posts aren’t getting much traction.  Look at what other people are doing, read up on what the people are saying is trending, and adapt your strategy accordingly.  Maybe Facebook is prioritizing lives or Instagram is promoting reels. Use this to your advantage. If you have money to invest in marketing spend some money on a campaign. Run a contest or a giveaway to increase engagement and gain followers.  The important thing is to try new things until you find something that works. Then, when that thing doesn’t work anymore, try other things until you find something new that works.  Rinse and repeat.

Learn to adapt your business to best suit your customer and you are on your way to being a successful small business. Remember, this doesn’t mean you change your style every time someone suggests something to you. You don’t need to chase trends or try to make everyone happy to be successful. But look for indicators of what is selling, what is working of others, and what you read online, and make adaptations as you go along to better meet people’s needs and wants. Have your own tips? Tag us @bz_furfur and, as always, stay unique.

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I spent years in retail selling other people’s products in big box stores and, to be honest, I was pretty good at it. Promoting the things other people create was “easy” for me. This was especially true if I knew about the item and felt strongly enough about it that I could back it.

The one thing I am not comfortable promoting or selling, however, is my own creations. 

“Impostor syndrome, also known as impostor phenomenon or impostorism, is a psychological experience of intellectual and professional infraudulence.”

Imposter syndrome is “the subjective experience of perceived self-doubt in one’s abilities and accomplishments compared with others, despite evidence to suggest the contrary.” Truth be told, I know I am good at what I do. My pieces are beautiful, the lines crisp (so much so that it is often mistaken for machine-made), and the painting is clean and vibrant. There are some pieces I am more proud of than others, especially on my more intricate works, but somehow when talking about myself something gets lost. Promoting my work feels so much like boasting and bragging. I subconsciously fight with the voice in my head telling me that being proud of my work is “wrong” and that humility is what I should be striving for. 

Unfortunately, being unable to promote myself is not conducive to a profitable business. Being able to promote yourself in order to attract buyers or customers or patrons is critical to success. Fortunately, I have Brian. He truly is my biggest supporter, advocator, cheerleader, and partner. We work very well together at markets because I can sit on the side and quietly burn, while he engages people. Networking events are a different story. I can’t go hide in a corner and wait for someone to approach me. I have to leave my comfort zone and engage with people myself. This is definitely a work in progress.

I met a metal worker, Jill (@JillMelyssa) at a coffee networking event hosted by The Guild Of Charlotte Arts (@guildofcharlotteartists). She makes unique, beautiful jewelry pieces. She asked me to attend a fashion show with her recently. As I work mainly with wood, it isn’t really in my scene, but I had never been to an art fashion show. The artist Jonay Di Ragno (@jonay_di_ragno) is a mixed-media artist, who works with canvas, acrylics, glass, clothing, and other media. It was a fun night, the art was beautiful and the fashion so unique. It was out of my normal networking circles, but I spoke to a few people and made some connections. I did not think I would be able to do that, because to me fashion and pyrography are in two different worlds. But I soon realized by talking with attendees that I was wrong. I burn on cotton and leather, which is wearable. Bags and purses can be made of wood which, also, I can burn into. I realized that there could be opportunities for collaboration. If I had allowed my self-doubt and fears to be dominant I would not have had the opportunity to expand my horizons and think about where that could take me.

Do you struggle to get out of your comfort zone? What is your success story. Tag us @bz_furfur and share it with us and, as always, stay unique.

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As a crafter, I have taught myself many different skills. Various forms of fiber crafts: knitting, crochet, embroidery, Tatting (creating lace), and macrame. Jewelry making, watercolor painting (I am not so good at this one), diamond painting, and of course Pyrography just to name a few.

When I started the business in 2021, I knew I couldn’t do all the things I knew because it would be way too much, plus many of those crafts take time to make. Realistically, I also knew that the market was over-saturated with many of those crafts. So I had to think about what I wanted to focus on, what did I want to do? What would be my focus. I have always been someone who immerses themselves in whatever craft/art I have decided to teach myself. I had been wanting to try wood burning for a while. I had a pyrography pen for years and never really tried it. I knew if I wanted to give it a go, I needed to leave my comfort zone and try a new medium. I would have to step out of my comfort zone. Never one to back down from learning a new craft, I did some research, watched some YouTube, bought a book, and some wood blanks, and dove in!

3 years later, it’s 2024 and I know I have grown so much. In my art. So much so that I am trying to move into a fine art realm. I started with SVGs, and simple pictures – essentially coloring books/pictures on wood. I sold many pieces this way at markets, many of which prompted people to want custom orders. My goal, though, is I want to do fine art. I see the work of people I look up to and I strive for the realism, crispness, and emotions it evokes as well as the prices they command. So I have been practicing with more realistic pictures, practicing the patience and techniques required for a piece that will take hours if not days rather than a few hours. It’s uncomfortable for me as I like to “be done” with a project. I have in my head that I want to be done in 20 hours or fewer. It’s a conscious practice to focus on the current project, each line, and think about THIS project and how it needs to be created rather than the next one after this project. But I have started the transition and it feels less and less uncomfortable each time. I am confident at some point it will stop being uncomfortable altogether.

What have you taken on that was uncomfortable at first? Tag us @bz_furfur and, as always, stay unique.

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“Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.”

I am an artist.  It took me a long time to admit that to myself.  Before making this realization I would describe myself as crafty. Even after doing pyrography professionally for three years, it is hard to call myself an artist.  As an artist, I struggle to to decide if I should focus on making what I love, or what I think other people will love. If I make what other people will love I have to sacrifice my own desires, but if I make what I love I don’t know if there will there be a market for it.

“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down simply by spending his money somewhere else.” 

–  Sam Walton

I will often find myself trying to follow trends. Trying to understand what the customer wants and creating something that will satisfy them. At the end of the day making art is ultimately appeasing the customer.  This often means walking around markets and seeing what others are making or searching trending hashtags on Instagram to see what people are excited about. The problem is trying to follow these trends often means that my products are carbon copies of what is at everyone else’s table at the shows or what everyone else has on their website.

“Know what your customers want most and what your company does best. Focus on where those two meet.”

– Keven Stirtz

The best thing I’ve found to do is determine what you are good at that. Do your absolute best to create a unique product and talk to customers to adapt your style to match what they love. This may mean making some concessions to your particular style. This is not a bad thing.  If you can learn to adapt to your customers, ultimately, you will find a place where your talent and what he customer wants meet.

“To practice any art, no matter how well or how badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. So do it.”

– Kurt Vonnegut

At the end of the day, it is important that you are making art that both you, and your customer, will love.  And, as always, stay unique.

“Ignoring what sells doesn’t make you a better artist, it makes you a starving artist.”

– Marie Forleo

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The truth is I am, and always have been, an artist. It is not a title reserved for people who gather in galleries in SOHO. It is something that we are the moment we create something. This past weekend I participated in my second Art Walk in Monroe NC and it was a blast. In addition to meeting other fabulous artists, we were able to put my artwork on display without the added pressure of trying to sell. Rather it was an opportunity to just share my creations with the community. To witness people appreciate what I created and to enjoy the company of people who love what I do.

Sometimes we just need to slow down and let our art speak for ourselves. I hope you all have a chance to do the same with the pieces you create and, more importantly, I hope you all take the time to realize that you are artists. And, as always, stay unique.

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