Hey friends. I have some sad, scary, crazy, and exciting news for you. This has been hanging over my head all year long, and I recently became inspired (by a crafting fail) to finally take this leap. There will be no more charm updates for the foreseeable future. I do have some wholesale and collaborative charms coming up, so that will be the only way to get charms from me, aside from what’s currently in stock on my website.
Over the past 4 years, making charms has been something that brought me joy. What began as a couple of lil Black girl charms evolved into a full-blown business.
I refined my skills, creating a unique experience with each update. Unfortunately, I have to acknowledge the fact that I haven’t been paying myself well, nor have I taken the time to fully accept just how much time each charm takes. I lied to myself for years, claiming it is “labor of love” or “worth the time” but in actuality, that doesn’t fly for business. Crafting is my full-time job and although I enjoy making charms, they just don’t “make sense” business wise.. You may ask “why not just charge more?” Well, it isn’t that simple. I suppose that’s because it isn’t just about the pay. Depending on the item, its function, and its value to the consumer, there is a limit to how much the average person will pay. For something like charms, that price is rarely enough to compensate for the effort. I am sad to be saying goodbye to this aspect of my business, and I’m admittedly nervous about my next steps…But I heard someone say, “do it scared” and that’s exactly what I will do.
Ok—enough of the sad and scary. My crazy news is that with all that being said, I am not fully stepping away from clay. I believe I need to spend some time creating one-of-a-kind (OOAK) clay figurines. I dipped my toe into figurine sculpting in August, and I fell in love with the process!
My exciting news is that I will be pouring more time into my other creative outlets. I will have a store update on the first day of Fall, Sept 22nd at 12pm PST. So get ready!! I am an artist AND a designer, among other things. I’ve been neglecting the other outlets for far too long. Here is a list of everything I will be offering from my business:
- OOAK Figurines
- Amigurumi patterns
- Crochet patterns
- Knit patterns
- Sample sales
- Digital art (stickers, prints, digital downloads, etc.)
- eBooks
And last but not least..
- Physical books
Yes, I’m getting back into writing! Many of you don’t know I used to write poetry and short stories. Storytelling is intertwined in each type of crafting that I do. The stories often got lost in the process when it came to charms, but with the other creative outlets I listed above, I know that won’t happen. For me, storytelling is the foundation of the creative process, and it’s my duty to make sure the stories and the items I create are inseparable.
I’m super excited for these changes, and I can’t wait to spend time creating in this new mindset. It felt SO GOOD to finally get all of this off my chest, this blog post was long overdue. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, support my art, and be a friend. Your presence means so much to me, and I appreciate each and every one of you!
XOXO
Whit