refinished furniture

…Building a Business – Selling

I would say for a creative person wanting to start and maintain a creative business the selling is the most tricky. It would be lovely if we could work at our craft, create, design, display and share. But the hard truth is that in order for your business to have life you have to sell your product.

If I could give any bit of advice on this subject it would be to not start out with the intent to sell anything. Creativity has to be free and moving and not stuck under the pressure of having to pay rent and the water bill. Do your craft because you love doing it. Explore it and develop your own technique. Make it the best you can and feel so proud that you want to keep the piece all to yourself.

I am still debating whether or not I want to keep this piece for my own family room. I do that with every piece I finish.

Don’t quit your day job because you think you have a great idea to paint portraits of children or the can sew the most amazing pillows. Start small and acheive the goal of making those pillows for your own couch. Then give a few away to friends. Then start talking about it to people, make some business cards and see what happens. Sign up for a few fairs. Maybe you will sell out and maybe you will sell a total of two. Ideally you’ll sell enough to pay for the tent you bought for the set up and the entrance fee. But, the last thing you want for yourself is a huge disappointment because you figured you were going to make X amount of dollars. And if you are so low and disappointed the last thing you are going to want to do is to find comfort in the effort of your creativity and the product that disappointed you. At least I wouldn’t.

(Luckett’s Spring Market 2012)

The good news is is that if you love and enjoy the art of creating something you will not be disappointed. For example, I only buy pieces to refinish that I love. I know that I love them because I’m just dying to see how they change when I paint them. I am totally content without selling that piece or not selling it right away because I get to enjoy it in my house. I even have marked items as SOLD because I sometimes decide that I never want to part with it. That is how in love you should be. That no one disappointing experience can take away the joy of creating. This will help you be successful and feel rewarded.

Still a bit sad that this left my home.

…Before & After: Mildred & Jack

A sweet friend & client had her beloved grandmother’s bar cart mailed to me to refinish. It was very special for her to have a piece of her grandmother’s home restored and placed in her own beautiful space. I was honored to help. This is what the cart looked like before.

So many of us want to hold close the pieces that we remember from our loved grandparents, but unfortunately most times the style and/or color does not integrate well into our homes. I know some people would find that painting a family member’s piece may feel painful or disrespectful in a way. I hear that. But, I do take the stance that the piece could either go in a closet as is and never be seen or touched or loved or used again. OR it could come out into the light, claim a place of prominence in our living room just a different color/texture that we can admire. (Of course the exception is anything that could be consider worth money on Antique’s Roadshow!)

Here it is in process. Yes, that is a pink Dora bike behind it.

The BFFs, Kane & Ollie, investigate the finished piece.

Owen approves.

Mildred and Jack are the names of her grandparents, which she had me paint on the bottom of the cart. When she came to pick it up tears sprang to her eyes in delight. What a special moment for me.