I'm messy. I'm messy and I love making things. My creative process usually begins with having to clean up after my last creative endeavor.
I have been making stuff forever, but I started working professionally while I was still in college as a textile designer, creating those cute little frogs that your kids have on their jammies. I had to "strong arm" two companies into using Adobe Illustrator because that was clearly the better option. And I've been working in vector illustration ever since.
From the fashion industry to the gaming industry, it was all vector. But after working through 4 different gaming companies, because they keep selling or going under, that didn't seem a stable way to earn a living.
My kids were still small, so I had a go at an after school daycare program out of my house. It was nice, not thrilling, but nice. But my daycare kids got too old for afternoon care, and I didn't want to run the risk of getting kids that I really didn't like. The kids I watched were awesome, but getting new kids was like Russian Roulette. Or like a box of chocolate; mostly sweet, but some are just too nuts.
Meanwhile, I discovered laser cutters worked off of vectors. Squeals of delight! I was making everything I could out of that laser, and started selling a few things on my Etsy shop. I found that hand painting my laser cut designs make adorable charms that I can make into earrings. Those are still my best sellers today. But I'll try lots and lots of new products and see what sticks.
One of the things I realized that I could put on the laser, besides flat wood, was pieces I had turned on the lathe. I had to take a wood turning class when my step-dad gave me a bunch of tools that he wasn't using anymore, one of which was his lathe that he never used much, and I'm sure is older than I am and yet the tools were still in their original box! I never thought I would make so many pens in my entire life.
But that's me. Plugging away at my latest creative endeavor that may or may not lead to something that I can monetize. And looking for where I left my coffee. Again.
