Stephanie Fizer Illustration

This Artsy Life: Creative Thursday

This Friday on This Artsy Life we're sharing a glimpse into the life of Marisa from Creative Thursday.  

Marisa is a busy lady these days, painting her little heart out, running her shop and managing to teach classes both in person and online!  She's taken a few minutes out of her busy schedule to share some delightful and very wise tidbits with us.  

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do:

If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that my bio goes something like this. "I'm a creative entrepreneur who will never be boxed in, but if you insist on putting me in a box, you can start with artist" Just because I like to do so many things!

In fact most recently I've started teaching both in person and online via an e-course and I had no idea I would love it this much.

Walk us through your average day as an artist:  

My average day....hmmmm...do I have an average day? Probably not. In fact I'm still trying to get some sort of regular schedule going, because I have learned that structure helps support the freedom you get from working for yourself. It's true, organization helps you be free! Here are the things that I do almost every day along with some of the things I'd love to start doing.

Wake up and have my favorite coffee latte, from my favorite barista, Sean, my love who I share my home and my life with.

Sometimes we use the mornings to visit together, but if not this is the time when I open the computer to check email and twitter, and follow links to my favorite blogs and flickr and if I'm not careful this is also the time when I can be lost quickly down the rabbit hole and completely forget what is next on my to do list.

It seems that this part of my work repeats itself throughout my day which can be very distracting, so I'm working on checking in with the computer only twice a day. I can do it, I know I can, because this will leave me time to create which is why I started this business to begin with. It's always important to re-visit why you started your business from time to time, just to make sure you are still fulfilling your first promise to yourself.

I also try to post to my blog almost every day of the week, especially if I've created a daily painting which I've recently picked this practice back up again. Sharing my daily painting is how I actually started my blog 3 years ago this month! Fulfillment of orders sneaks into some days, accompanied by the usual office tasks. Creative lunch dates with friends sneaks into others. Errands in Los Angeles by car accompanies other days, always fun if I run into traffic :) That's why I prefer walks to the post office with Lulu, my great dane. Oh and did I mention that much of my every day is spent letting Garbo the cat in and out of my home studio door, which happens to connect to our  garden. Sitting outside in the garden on days when I remember to take a long break, and cooking accompanied by a glass of wine and more time with Sean rounds out most of my days. 

What’s your best business tip for those who are just starting out? 

Since I'm deep into my e-course at the moment, and a big emphasis of the class is about being an artist online, authentically ~ my tip I tell everyone these days is Be Yourself. Sometimes easier said than done, now that we can glimpse in on the lives of so many amazingly lovely and talented people ~ It can be easy to forget who you are in all of this. But finding your way back to yourself  and staying true to your vision will be the answer to what will make your business and your creations unique, and it will be your steady, comforting place to return to on the days when you feel like you've momentarily lost your way.

 

What inspires you and how do you maintain your creative flow? How do you handle NOT being inspired? 

So much inspires me always ~ my home, nature especially flowers, other artists, blogs, flickr {goodness some of the imagery is so breathtaking there}, design books and magazines, movies.  It's hard to find a day when I'm not inspired. In fact I have so much I'm inspired to do, that I don't know where to begin. That is my biggest challenge in managing my creative flow, deciding where to put my focus. With that said, I certainly do have days when I feel tapped out creatively and it's usually because I haven't given myself enough time away, enough down time to let new ideas percolate and rise to the surface. When this happens, I know it's time to close the computer and head away from the home for a day trip. This almost always refreshes and renews my perspective and I feel ready to begin again. And you know a little secret to jump start the creativity? Sometimes you just have to sit down and create, even when you don't know what you are going to make. I learned this from my practice of daily painting, that the process of creating is often the very thing that opens the door to inspiration all over again. 

To read more about Marisa's artsy life check out her blog.  Or her Twitter account.  Or her little shop :)

Enjoy and happy Friday to everyone!  

New Stationery: Modern + Personalized and Cute

Happy Friday to everyone!  

I don't remember if I shared this funny little tidbit or not but I fell over the side of the bathtub last week while I was cleaning it.  It was very graceful, I assure you :)  And it ended with my landing ribs-first over the side of the tub.  Needless to say, I bruised them pretty badly and have a nice big swollen spot to prove how painful it is.  

So I've been trying to take it as easy as possible on all fronts.  

But I did manage to wrap up and release a big bunch of new stationery last night.  I brought a few designs over from the Digital Sweets shop simply because I've gotten so many requests for printed versions of them.  

And I've now added a small selection of pretty personalized stationery to the mix as well. 

You can grab these pretty new stationery designs here and until July 16th (next Friday) you can also have Free Shipping on ALL notecard sets.  

Enjoy!  

And check back later this afternoon for a beautiful interview with Marissa from Creative Thursday!  I'm so excited to share this one :)

This Kitchen Is For The Birds: Now in Warm Tones

After a few custom requests for the This Kitchen Is For the Birds series is different colorways, I've gathered that a lot of people have their kitchens decked out in lovely warm tones or neutral colors.  And that perhaps the original aqua, orange, lavendar, and yellow color scheme doesn't appeal to everyone.  

So I've worked out a new version of the illustration series, this time with lovely warm colors:  

These are perfect for kitchens done up in yellows, oranges, reds, or neutral tones.  And you can purchase them here.  These are also available as 5x7 prints upon request :)  

My own little kitchen is getting a bit of a makeover this weekend with a splash of dark orange paint.  Since my cabinets are already white, I'll be trimming out the rest of the kitchen in white as well.  And now that I've so fallen in love with the new versions of the prints, I think they might find their way into lovely white frames on my walls.  

Before and after pictures will be posted as soon as my little project is finished up!  

For now, enjoy the new prints :)  

Your Name in Print

Today I've been working on some new designs for personalized stationery.  For months now, I've been tinkering around with personalized stationery using the designs from my Animal ABCs illustrations, but unfortunately those haven't worked out too well.  

But I'm having better luck with the Lil Book Monster and some of the critters from In the Little Forest and In the Little Jungle:  

I haven't decided if these are finished yet, but I hope to have these and a whole slew of other new paper goods available in the shop this coming Thursday.  It's a big stationery update :)

Mark your calendars!  

And in the meantime, I snuck this new print into the shop yesterday evening:  

It features one of my favorite quotes: "Friendship is a sheltering tree."

Well lovelies, I'm off to work on some more stationery ideas and perhaps even some personalized bookplates ;)

Woodland Animals + Teacups = Cute New Prints!

It's been a blissfully quiet holiday weekend for us.  Since we moved into the house, we've seen a constant stream of visitors so we decided to just stay home, cook out on our little back patio and just enjoy the quiet.  

The last few days have been fairly rainy and chilly--oddly so for the beginning of July--so it's been perfect to just open up the windows, grab a light blanket and sit down with a book.  Or work on new illustrations which are now in the shop:  

Bear + Enormous Teacup

Fox + Enormous Teacup

Owls + Enormous Teacup

All three prints are currently available in the shop.  These are 7x9 inches printed on 8.5 x 11 paper so there is a wide white border for framing.  The printed image DOES have rounded corners.  If you'd like to purchase a smaller size, just let me know, as always.  

Now I'm running off to work on some new stationery and paper good designs!  

Daily Photo: Prints

Happy 4th of July weekend to everyone here in the States!  Since we've had such a busy few weeks getting settled into the house, we are planning on laying a bit low this weekend.  We're headed out to buy a new grill for our back patio this afternoon and will probably have our own quiet cookout tonight.  

The rest of the weekend I will probably be tucked away in my studio, working on a few new prints for another shop update next week.  

Until then, I leave you with a couple of quick Daily Photos--did you notice how quickly the Daily Photo became not such a daily feature? :) 

Three of the new Animal ABC prints getting ready to be packaged and sent off to their new home. 

I can't tell you how thrilled I am with the difference in quality and color brilliance with this new Epson Velvet Paper that I've been using.  It is just AMAZING.  The slight texture to the paper really just makes my illustrations POP!

A close-up of In The Little Ocean(and a bit of In The Little Forest).

It's Posters!

So Animal ABC Posters have officially arrived:  

I nearly snatched these out of the UPS lady's hands, I was so excited about them.  

For those who pre-ordered, I will be popping these in the mail tomorrow.  For those who haven't ordered yet, I only have 25 in stock.  

Although I normally do all of my own printing here in my studio, I decided to have these printed out-of-house because of their larger size.  I was a bit nervous about this decision to relinquish a little control over printing, but in the end I'm pretty satisfied with how they turned out.  

They are printed on a 13pt matte recycled cover stock so they have a nice smooth texture and I think people are going to happy with the larger size.  My only beef with the final printing is that the reds--especially in the Owl and Xenops--are a bit more orange that I would prefer.  

But they are still gorgeous.  

And I still love them.  

That said, I'm hoping before the holidays to begin offering larger print options on most of the prints in my shop.  Keep your fingers crossed!  

Jungle & Ocean Prints + Shop Update Tonight

Happy Monday to you!  

I finally finished up two more prints for the shop update, even though I toiled away shoveling dirt in my backyard all weekend.  

In The Little Jungle

In The Little Ocean

These two along with In The Little Forest and the three versions of the Gaggle of Owls print will be released in the shop later tonight--probably around 8pm-ish.  It's a surprise update :)

I have tons of new stationery and bookplate designs dancing around in my head, but it will be several weeks before they come into being.  And of course, I will keep you up to date on those happenings!  

This Artsy Life: Crave Jewelry Design

This week's artist interview is with Jaci from Crave Jewelry Design.  I actually discovered Jaci's work when I stumbled upon her adorable monsieur bunny necklace via Etsy's Pounce function.  I immediately just fell in love with Jaci's witty combination of natural and vintage elements in her work.  And happily enough, the silver version of the bunny necklace that first grabbed my attention is now sitting around my neck.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.

Hi! My name is Jaci and I make jewelry that I sell in my Etsy shop, cravejewelrydesign as well as in boutiques across the United States, one boutique in Canada and an online store in Taiwan. I graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh last summer with my Bachelors Degree in Interior Design, so aside from the jewelry business, I also work part time at a local architecture firm when they are busy and need extra help. I live in Ohio with my crazy family and our awesome dog, Ethel.

 

It looks like Ethel is an amazing assistant! ;)

Walk us through your average day as an artist

On an average day, I wake up around 8:00 and head directly for the coffee pot. I then sit down to check email, Etsy and Facebook. This is also a great time to order supplies. If I have sold orders from the night before, I re-list items, print out address labels and lay out the materials for the jewelry that I need to make. I generally find myself eating breakfast in front of the computer, usually around lunchtime, because I get wrapped up in things online. About this time I take a break and head outside (which is much nicer now that it has warmed up!) to get some fresh air and play with the dog, get the mail and clear my head.

 Once break time is over I head back into my apt/studio to finish putting orders together and packing things up to head to the post office. I usually either ride my bike to the post office or drive there and then head to the gym. This is also a time that I might run errands, pick up supplies, visit my friends at Office Max for printed goods or stock up on groceries (and dog treats!).

 I will usually do some odds and ends later in the day– this is a great time for taking pictures, the lighting is great outside - but then it’s back to making jewelry, corresponding with customers, editing pictures and any other things that I need to do. I usually call it a night around 11 or 12:00. 

geez, and I thought I was organized!  my workspace is a mess compared to Jaci's!

What’s your best business tip for those who are just starting out?

For those who are starting out, I recommend first to make sure that you are creating things that you are completely stoked about – if you aren’t happy or excited about your work, how are you going to sell it to someone else?

 At the risk of sounding cheesy, it’s important to keep your ducks in a row. Save receipts, keep track of the time that you spend on your work (and the time spent promoting it). You’d be surprised at how quickly costs can add up – and if you’re not careful you could end up in over your head.

 Be sure to provide excellent customer service to everyone and know that you can’t please everyone, so if someone is unhappy do your best to correct it and don’t take it personally.

 It’s easy to spend entire days working on new projects and ideas – which is awesome! If you don’t notice the time ticking away, you’ll know that you’re doing something that you love.

What inspires you and how do you maintain your creative flow? How do you handle NOT being inspired?

I find a lot of inspiration in color, in vintage items (I LOVE thrift shopping!) and nature. While I don’t tend to use a lot of beads in my work, they inspire me a great deal with their textures and colors and often lead me to create new pieces. I am always trying to find quirky and strange pieces to use in my work. I love to lay out a new idea and try to focus on an unconventional way to wear it while still keeping it functional and fun. I also like to keep things super simple at times. I like to create a little something for everyone.

 I am always inspired by compliments on my work and by knowing that I have happy customers. Knowing that I am making people happy completely makes my day!

 I keep a small notebook and jot down ideas when I have them. Even if I don’t have the supplies or the means of creating a piece I have in mind immediately, it’s great to be able come back to that information for inspiration. It’s amazing how easy it is to forget an idea, so this little notebook is like my vault.

 If I am feeling totally uninspired, it usually means that I’m burnt out and need a break. Taking the day “off” is a great way to handle not being inspired. I try to leave, maybe meet a friend for lunch or hit the mountain bike trail with my boyfriend and blow off some steam. Getting away from my studio and not thinking about my jewelry is usually a way to wind down and work on getting inspired once again. 

Jaci, thanks so much for sharing with us!  Please drop by Jaci's shop to check out her amazing creations or become a fan on Facebook for updates and deals :)

sterling peanut necklace

vintage enamel and gold butterfly necklace

golden acorn necklace

fine silver monsieur bunny necklace

silver wise old owl necklace

sterling squirrel necklace

New Woodland Prints

Happy Friday to everyone!  Just dropping in to show off a couple of new prints to be released next week:  

In The Little Forest

A Gaggle of Owls.  

Do you recognize these little guys?  They are some of the same owls from my little sketchbook snapshot a couple of days ago :)  

Because my owl prints are always so popular, I'll also be offering two variations of this print:  

 

and 

In addition to these prints, I also hope to add two more prints in a similar design:  one with jungle animals and one with sea creatures.  So the next update should be full of sweet new prints and hopefully some new stationery as well--just waiting on a shipment of lovely new envelopes :)  

PS-  Check back in just a bit for a new artist interview for This Artsy Life!