Another piece of the puzzle, in getting your business off the ground, is actually doing the work. Your artwork, that is.
A HABIT of working in your studio is important and you'd be surprised how hard that can be. Sounds silly, especially to you people out there who are drowning in product with no place to sell it. Bear with us a little while. We'll get to you, I promise.
There are many reasons why people don't have a habit of creating regularly, and not all of them are "bad".
For example, your craft may have a seasonal appeal--wool hats or sweaters, for example, which rarely sell well in summer or hot climates.
Or it may be difficult to produce year-round. Felting can be too much in hot, humid weather, or you may rely on plant materials that are unavailable in winter months. Or your lifestyle may simply allow you to be in overdrive part of the year and kicking back the rest of the year.
Maybe at this point in your life it's simply too much to carve out you-time. Life does have a habit of intervening in our plans. If you are already working full-time at another job, caring for aged parents, running around after babies, in poor health or otherwise suffering from lackatime-itis, then making time to be at work on your craft can seem impossible.
Sometimes, though, the biggest obstacle to getting into your studio is right there in front of you. In the mirror, that is.
Yes. YOU.
I get to lecture because believe me, I understand. I've been there.
Here are reasons I've had in the past for not being able to make enough work to sell.
No dedicated work space. It's hard to work up a head of steam when your work area is the kitchen table and you know you're going to have to clean up in time to make dinner.
Inadequate work space. If you hate basements, but your workspace is a damp, badly lit corner of the basement, you're not going to try very hard to get down there. Likewise, if your craft requires water and you are upstairs and the nearest sink is downstairs.
Guilt. Oh ho! You're working on your craft? And there are dishes to be washed? A few kids to be ferried? The yard needs mowing?? Your mother is on the phone??? How dare you!?
Technical obstacles. You've gotten your craft to a certain point, but can't get to the next step. It may be you lack a certain tool, or technique. Or you can't figure out how to finish it, hang it, package it, etc.
Too much R&D. You feel you have to find the PERFECT way to finish it, hang it, package it, etc. And gosh, there's just SO MUCH INFORMATION out there on the internet. Why, you could spend hours--DAYS--looking for the PERFECT solution....
Fallow periods. You've thoroughly explored one thread of interest, and the next hasn't appeared yet. Or you are sick of making red fuzzy widgets, you don't want to make any more red fuzzy widgets, you will positively scream if anyone even says "Red fuzzy widgets", but red fuzzy widgets are your most popular product.
Too much stuff. Your dedicated area has become the catch-all room for everyone in the house. This sometimes happens when you have to suddenly make room for something or someone else. "I'll just stick it here for now", you think. Soon your loom is covered in so much wrapping paper, it looks like the gift-wrapping counter at Macy's. (I've actually never been to a Macy's, but it sounds very urbane.) Or it's got so many winter clothes piled on it, it looks like a yurt.
Procrastination. As long as you don't MAKE more stuff, you don't have to think about actually walking into a store or fair and trying to SELL it--right? Because that would be scary.
You might be thinking right now, ohmigod, there's my reason! How did she KNOW?
Because at one time or other, I've either had one of these reasons keeping me out of my studio, or know someone else who did.
I firmly believe that, for many people, the best solution to these problems is to simply realize it isn't just YOU. It happens to many, many creative people.. But for those of you who would like more specific help, I'll share some tips I've found helpful.
Lack of time? Work in smaller chunks of time. If you can get over the idea that you "have to" spend hours at your craft, you will quickly see that even 15 minutes can move your work ahead. After all, except for certain crucial steps (turning the heel on a sock, cooking, using epoxy, etc.) your product doesn't know if you've spent six consecutive hours on it, or 36 blocks of 10-minute intervals.
Seasonal? Embrace it! OR space it out. If it's difficult to felt in the summer, do all the construction steps instead. Or work on your mailing list, your marketing, your press kits, your hang tags--whatever you CAN do in those hot, humid times.
No you-time? Many solutions. As above, learn to carve out those tiny chunks of time. You can knit while you cool your heels at the dentist's office, or watch your kids play soccer. Get a speaker phone, or a headset and talk to your mom on the phone while you work on your jewelry.
No dedicated workspace? I've visited many people's homes who claim they have no space for their art, and I can almost always find a cubby, a corner, a closet, sometimes an entire room that would work perfectly.
I've known people whose kids were grown and on their own, who were still keeping their rooms ready "in case they need to come home." Or the artist's husband had a private room for his cigar collection and their child had an entire walk-out basement space for his toys--but the artist had no space for an easel. (True story, by the way.)
Put your off-season clothes in suitcases under your bed, and use that closet for your craft station. Or simply throw them out and buy new ones every season. (ha ha just kidding.)
It's important to have an area dedicated to YOU and YOUR work. No one wants to drag out their supplies when they know in a few hours, it all has to be put away again. Make space for yourself!
When it comes to time and space for your craft, no one will take YOU seriously unless you take YOURSELF seriously. If nothing else, working on your art keeps you happy and sane. Think of all the money you're saving on psychotherapy.
Inadequate work space? Harder, I know. We can't all afford to simply have a sink hooked up, or build an extra room. Think instead of small changes you can make that will help. Can you get more lighting in there? Get an extra outlet wired in? Batch up your water steps? Move people around so YOU get the room next to the bathroom? Use one of those big plastic trays (used under washing machines) under your workstation to catch drips?
And here's a thought--be careful what you wish for. I personally know of three people who got the chance to totally redo their studio because....
Their studio burned down.
Guilt?
Get over it. Look, I've determined that the human condition (for women, at least) is to feel vaguely guilty about SOMETHING. Might as well be for making something beautiful thing that will make you and its ultimate buyer happy.
Technical obstacles? That's a toughie, too. But the internet can be your friend here. Whatever you are trying to figure out, chances are that someone else has dealt with it and figured out a solution. Ask a craftsperson working in the same media. (Unless you are trying to pick our brain for EVERYTHING, most craftspeople are amazingly generous and will be happy to help you over a bump or two.) Try to move sideways for a bit--work on another aspect of the piece. Or make other widgets that don't need that step. Anything to give your brain a break so that ideas can come through.
Too much R&D? Oy, this is my downfall. Put a time limit on it: "I will only spend 30 minutes today looking for the perfect frame for my prints." Experiment. Rather than try to figure out what will work, DO THE EXPERIMENT on which epoxy will work best for your magnets. (I remember one artist telling how she and her husband made a batch of thousands of refrigerator magnets using a new glue, for a rush order. How they didn't actually TEST the new glue. And telling how the glue gave way after a few hours. And describing the sound the magnets made during the night as they all quietly "popped" apart. A gentle sound that kept them up all night....)
Try not to get hung up on "perfect solutions". Try to go with the best solution you can. And doing better when you know better. Because sometimes you just have to go through the process of trying over and over again to come up with that perfect solution.
Fallow periods. This is tough because it's scary. I know, because working in three or four different "lines"--jewelry, sculpture, fiber wall hangings--I often find that I'm on fire with one while another languishes. Right now, I have the HABIT of writing regularly, and making jewelry regularly. But the fiber work is resting. It caused me a lot of anguish until I realized this is a natural ebb and flow for me. And MANY artists. It doesn't mean I'm out of ideas, or done with the fiber. It means I must simply get back "in the habit" of making time for the fiber, too.
Too much stuff. This can be too much stuff to make things with, or simply too much OTHER stuff that's found its way into your workspace.
Remember you don't have to completely clean up to get back to work. Clear just enough space to get started. If your total studio is buried, you may find you only have to clean up your sewing area to get back to work.
Or if you need the kitchen sink, but it's full of dishes, you don't HAVE to do them. They sat there all day til you came by, they can sit there an hour longer. Use the bathroom sink.
I often keep a polymer clay project on a sheet of plexiglass I had cut to fit an old pie safe (a wood box with shelves). If I need to work on something else, that project shelf can go back in the box and I pull out another one. Saves cleaning up my entire clay area each time. When I remember to use a plexi sheet, of course. I never said I was perfect. I just said I had an ANSWER for every excuse, not that I used them every time.
Life has crashed down on your and there is no time for your art right now?
Deborah Kruger, one of my mentors and a fiber artist in her own right, would tell you to go easy on yourself. Sometimes there just ISN'T time. Her solution is to gather a small group of trust friends--fellow artists is good, people who believe in you and your art are even better. Their job is to REMIND you that you ARE an artist. And that your time will come again. Deborah says, "Women CAN do it all. Just not always all at once."
Procrastination rooted in fear of the next step? We'll get to that.
Until then, go to your studio. Putter a little. You'll feel better, you'll get a little work done. And who knows, you might get a LOT of work done.
I gotta go vote, and urge you to do that today, too.
