Well, this is my first blog here. I have another blog on my website but as someone who has been utilizing the facebook platform to reach an audience for my artwork, I noticed that the reach there has not been as favorable as it used to be, even dropping a few bucks for promotional purposes. In fact, I have really seen very little improvement by doing all of that nonsense, so here I am. Then there's instagram, deviantart (but no twitter. I am unable to limit myself to 140 characters in order to articulate myself). So, I decided to branch out further and potentially drop facebook. So back story aside of why I am here, on to the topic I've decided to write about.
Although I have held numerous jobs in different industries, once people find out that I design, sew, and paint they always immediately ask me why I don't go into business for myself. I mean, I'm so talented! Well, what many people do not understand about design jobs is the problem of economic saturation. Initially when I moved to Denver I thought there would be more opportunities to show my work, to build my career that had started (and unfortunately ended due to economic hardship) in casual apparel. I've taken small side gigs in the past and made a few hundred here and there. I have taken jobs that do not exactly match my career goals in the past to pay bills. Obviously everyone has at one time or the other but I am finding as time goes by and as I get older, it is starting to get harder to work 10-12 hours a day for an employer while finding energy to continue to pursue my own personal goals. Just having talent to get ahead in an art related field is not the only thing you need. I would like to say that's true, but in fact it also takes networking skills, sales experience, technology driven savvy skills, and lots of energy intermixed with time management.
"You Should Sell Your Work"
I do. I have a domain name ( https://www.huffensen.com/blog ), a store with threadless, etsy, deviantart, zazzle, ect ect ect. My work is literally plastered all over the internet, I've shown in fairs, galleries, sold at markets, and at least once a week someone likes to point out that my prices are too high, that they can buy the same thing at walmart, ect. I have even heard stories about people at farmers markets taking photos or making notes so they can reproduce it "more cheaply" on their own....and selling it. While working in silkscreen design, I have witnessed how artists would push their limits on what they could get away with and one of my employers had even had a cease and desist placed against him for using the Mastercard logo in reference to skiiing at Breckenridge. While I understand people's mention of getting the same thing cheaper (which sorry, what I do can't always be replicated) somewhere else and the desire to save a buck. Currently in Denver the median rent for a one bedroom apartment is somewhere between 1100-2500 so that is understandable but to devalue a person's work, even after exclaiming their praises about your talent is seriously disrespectful.