About a month ago, the pandemic was still quite big in The Netherlands where I live. We were still in a partial lockdown and on certain days, I was feeling unmotivated. Until that was, a fellow creative told me she was organising an Etsy workshop for a small group of people. She runs a successful Etsy shop herself and wanted to share her experiences with others. I was just considering switching to Etsy again, since the online webshop on my website wasn't really working. The timing was perfect!
The Etsy workshop turned out to be extremely useful. Afterwards I felt energised again. I had just made an illustration of two croissants in the shape of the Chanel logo which worked really well as a poster. I sold a few, but then things became quiet again...
At the workshop I'd learned that consistently selling on Etsy is something that takes a real time investment and doesn't happen overnight. I had to keep working on my shop and adding new products to make it work. During a brainstorm session someone said 'why not print your art on T-shirts'. And I began to think about printing them on other fabric products as well... I let the T-shirt idea pass for now, but I came up with the plan to print the croissants illustration on cotton tote bags.
And THAT sparked more creativity! I could feel the energy streaming back in. Suddenly I had multiple ideas for illustrated canvas bags. Like a series with 'What's In My Bag' , based on different cities. And one with book covers, featuring literary classics like The Great Gatsby. All these new ideas hadn't been there before.
It's fascinating how new projects can bring so much energy! And sometimes, you need someone or something else to get that process started. I noticed that talking to other creatives, relieves and friends to toss around ideas is even more important in times like these than it is already in normal circumstances.
If you're interested in my Etsy shop, have a look here!
Click here for the shop of fellow creative Stefanie, who gave me the workshop.
Wow, Great
thanks for sharing