Welcome back!
Join us as we continue to chat with Sally Walsh, from Sillier Than Sally, Engadine, New South Wales, Australia. You can go to last week’s blog post to read Part 1!
In Part 1, you shared some of your artistic background and how you become inspired to create new designs. Can you take us through a day in your life ...? What does an average day look like for you both professionally and personally?
I have two types of days.....
Type A Day....Creative Biz Day: about (3) days per week
Wake up early (around 5 am...hopefully before my kids get up) and start the day with painting. I find starting my day off with painting makes for a great day for me! Squeeze in a social media post of one of my recent art pieces. Once my kids are up, we have some play time and then I get them fed, dressed, covered in kisses and hugs and bundled off to day care and school.
I come back to my home art studio, have a cup of tea and get started into my day. That may be either sketching and painting especially if I have commissions or projects that are due. Or, working on my biz, social media, website, orders, packaging. I also need to post new original art, licensing imagery and deals. I find my days are more productive if I focus on only 1 to 3 projects a day versus time blocking. It helps me to focus on getting large chunks of those projects completed. But alas, that's something I am still working on doing better! I usually have lots of projects due and 100 emails that need responses so I am usually scrambling like a crazy woman to get through it all...as I mentioned, I am working on it. A work in progress!
Check out Sally's video here.
Type B Day .... Kids Day: about (4) days per week
I have kids for the full day so I get up early to try and sneak some work in before my kids get up. However, I usually get foiled by my 2-year-old, who likes to get up at 5 am! At that point, it’s breakfast time then play time ... try and squeeze in a social media post ... try and stop my crazy two year old from dismantling our house time ... more play time ... more food time (my kids are bottomless snacking pits) ... more play time ... attack my kids with hugs and kisses time ... let my kids have iPads so I can sneak into my studio to paint time (BUT my kids usually find me in seconds) ... then it’s everyone paints in my studio time ... which turns into my two year old trying to eat paint time ... then becomes clean paint off kids and furniture time ... then more food time ... and so it goes! As you can see, it’s a super smooth day, he-he ... not!
Oh my .... that's a whirlwind for sure! It's amazing that you are so prolific with your art considering how busy you can be. What have been some of the biggest surprises during your art career?
Well, not that it was really a surprise to me but it was amazing to realize just how much is involved in running a creative art business .... It's a LOT!!
Running any small business is a heck of a lot of work but running your own creative art biz is even more work. Way more than any 9 to 5 job I have ever had! With running your own creative business, you need to wear about 20 hats: artist, marketing guru, sales rep, graphic designer, brand strategist, website tech gal, copy writer, social media manager, photographer, accountant, etc. You either need to learn all of these skills along the way and get darn good at them or outsource them .... And what artist can afford to outsource much of anything at the beginning of their art journey? He-he ... none!
So, it is definitely a steep and continuous learning curve for me. Creating art is just the first step!
I'm sure our readers will have an even deeper appreciation now for what you do! You've offered great insight into your world. I think everyone will be excited to know that your second fabric collection is now in the works ... yea!! Little Darlings Woodland is shipping to stores in October/November. What have you learned through the creative process of developing your fabric collections?
For me, it has been such a joyous experience to have fabric creations that showcase my art! I have been a fabric hoarder all of my life. So, seeing my own collection come to life has been mind-blowingly awesome! The process has taught me how much love, attention, detail and time goes into developing a fabric collection. It's such a TEAM effort to bring everything together!
Sally...thank you, thank you for sharing with us! It has been not only extremely interesting but just so refreshing to read your candid responses. We wish you and your family all of the best. We are all looking forward to many more fabric collections from Sillier Than Sally!
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