Monthly Archives: December 2018

How I became a full-time artist

Growth & Development, My Thoughts

If you’d told me 10 years ago that I would become a full-time artist, I wouldn’t have believed you.

I would’ve thought you were out of your mind and averted your gaze while laughing uncomfortably.

I don’t have an art degree. I make cute drawings. That’s not “art.” Being a successful working artist is an option available only to a selected few.

Or so I thought.

My story of making a transition from working at a non-profit org (that’s totally non-art-related) to becoming a full-time artist fascinates many people.

If you’d ever wondered how it all unfolded and what I’ve learned in the beginning, you’re in luck!

I recently got interviewed by a fellow artist, Eileen McKenna, for her blog, and shared my origin story.

(Including my celebrity encounter, my #1 advice for creatives wanting to go full-time, and lessons I’ve learned.)

Here is how the interview starts:

What inspired you to do your “Happiness is” project?
At the time (spring of 2014), I was toying with the idea of becoming a working artist. And then I thought, if I wanted to be a working artist, I should be making art every day and enjoy the process. So that’s why I decided to start my 365 day daily art project. I’d also learned about Lisa Congdon (one of my heroes) and her daily art projects and was deeply inspired by it. I wanted to get over my fear of putting myself out there, too. It was sort of a shock therapy where I’d post my drawing (and not always perfect) every day, and eventually I cringed less about sharing my work on the internet.

As far as the topic goes, I wanted it to be something that’s relatively easy. I first thought about making art about food I eat every day, like a food journal, but knew I’d eat the same thing over and over 😀 So then I thought of happiness and what makes me happy every day. I’m not naturally a glass-half-full kind of a person…

Continue reading on Eileen’s blog.

Hope you enjoy!

xo

Not so humble brag 😎

New Products, Shop,

You know when people “humble brag”?

Queue the eye roll, please.

Humble-bragging is an act where one makes a statement that’s self-deprecating or modest but actually trying to draw attention to something they’re proud of.

I can understand why people do this – you don’t wanna appear full of yourself or arrogant.

And what if people don’t think what you’ve done is that awesome?? With humble bragging, you can keep pretending it wasn’t that big of a deal while crying tears of disappointment inside.

But am I the only one who thinks humble bragging makes you sound even more of a jerk?? I just wanna yell “we know what you’re doing!”

That was a rhetorical question, BTW – I know it’s kind of silly to humble brag – that’s why there are so many memes about it!

So here I am – I’m proud of something and just gonna tell you about it 😀

(It’s very un-Japanese of me to brag about myself, but that’s probably why I’ve stayed in the US for the last 22 years.)

Anyway look, my 2019 Llama Dream Calendar was featured in the latest issue of Seattle Magazine 😍

The editor contacted me a couple of months back asking if they could see my calendar and potentially feature it in their holiday gift guide. Apparently, one of her co-workers has taken my block printing workshops and knew I made calendars. You never know who’s watching!

It was very exciting to see the calendar in a print publication – they always do such a good job creating beautiful and inspiring spreads.

When you work for yourself and don’t have a boss to tell you what a good job you’re doing, you rely heavily on your internal compass to know you’re going in the right direction. 

I know I shouldn’t need constant external validation, but it sure is nice to be recognized like this.

Definitely one of my highlights this year!

Thanks for celebrating with me and not judging me for bragging 😚

xo

ps. I still have limited number of the llama calendar posters here. Order by the end of today, Sunday, December 16th for shipping before Christmas (remember, no shipping between 12/18-27.) Or you can pick it up at Renegade Craft Fair (my last show of the season) today 11-5!

🎁 Place your holiday order by this date 🎁

Events, Shop, ,

Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!

I had a wonderful time at Port Townsend Holiday Craft Fair last weekend.

Definitely a show I wanna come back to!

Don’t I fit right in with these otters? 😉​

If you’re shopping for adorable holiday gifts online, I want you to know I’ll be out of town later this month and need you to place your orders soon!

Please place your online orders by Sunday, December 16th.

Last day for shipping before Christmas is Monday, December 17th.

My shop will be open while we’re gone, but any order that comes in after December 16th will ship on or after Friday, December 28th.

We’ll be in Wisconsin visiting Dave’s family for Christmas. I hope there will be snow!!! ❄️🥶☃️

Let me know if you have any questions! I’m here to help.

xo

ps. Are you a Seattle local? I’ll be at a few more holiday craft fairs if you wanna shop directly in person!

This is what makes me do a happy dance ⭐️

New Products, Shop,

Do you know what your “Love Language” is?

We all experience love and connection differently. Gary Chapman has a book called The 5 Love Languages and talks about what they are and how it can help deepen your relationships with your loved ones.

There are 5 categories of Love Languages – Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts, Quality Time, and Physical Touch.

Do you know what yours is?

(You can take a quiz here if you wanna know!)

Mine is Words of Affirmation. So any verbal or written appreciation or encouragement is all I need to keep going.

BTW – it’s really low on Dave’s Love Language totem pole (his is Quality Time), so in the beginning of our relationship, I had to constantly remind him that I needed him to say “thank you” when I did something nice. In return, I need to remember to spend more time with him rather than just saying I love him 😀

It’s no wonder I get a major love fix from your customer reviews!

Every time I get a notification that someone’s left a review, I do a happy dance!

Not only does it make me ridiculously happy, it also lets other shoppers know that my shop and products are legit.

So here I am asking you for a favor 😉

If you’ve purchased my goods (including from a retail shop) and LOVED it, would you mind taking a couple of minutes to leave a positive review?

You can do so by going to my online shop, find the item(s) you bought, scroll down, click on the “Write a review” button, and write something nice. It’s super easy!

What should you say? Well, I have some ideas 💡

You can say a little bit about why you bought the product, how you felt when you received the item, what’s your favorite thing about the product (e.g. colors, texture, a message etc.), how you’ve used the product, how the customer service was etc.

If you’ve gifted it to someone, you can say what the reaction of your recipient was or why you bought it for that particular person – seriously, anything is helpful!

And, If you’ve ever had a negative experience with my shop or products, please do contact me privately first. I care about your experience deeply and will do my best to fix it, ok?

Thanks for being awesome 😘

xo

ps. Last day to place your order before Christmas is Sunday, December 16th!

pps. Seattle local? Come shop with me at more craft fairs!