Art Style Academy:  https://www.laurenlesley.com/asa-sales-page-35-spots

Guest Episode Application:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdIGrg1q59yw4c47VniYirOBpp2aoEYjA33N9o9a4eWgYR_tw/viewform?usp=pp_url

Transcript:

Hey, how are you?  I basically disappeared from this podcast for the past 2 years and I owe you an explanation!

If this is your first time listening, hey, I’m Lauren of Lauren Lesley Studio.  I’m an artist and textile designer, and I started The Design Tribe podcast back in 2019 as a way to add some transparency to someone who was just getting started in surface pattern design and the whole licensing world.

In this episode, I’m going to spill the tea on what it’s REALLY like being a full-time artist…. Full disclosure:  it’s not exactly how I thought it would be.

But first, let me explain where I’ve been and what the plan is for the Design Tribe podcast moving forward!

Back in the Fall of 2021, I decided to go back to an in-house job and I found out I was pregnant all in the same month! 

On top of that, my husband and I decided to move houses to have a more suitable neighborhood for our baby to grow up in.  The idea of moving after our daughter was born really stressed me out so we were on an intense timeline trying to find the right place.

The housing market was incredibly competitive when we were moving and it basically took up 150% of my time.

We literally closed on our old house one week before my daughter was born! Then, she came into the world and my full attention was on her.

So, I’m very sorry that I’ve been gone for so long.  That was never exactly the plan, but you know, sometimes life gets in the way of creative pursuits.

So, what is the plan for the Design Tribe podcast moving forward?

During this season of life, I have to be realistic about the fact that I just don’t really have time to conduct a lot of interviews myself.

But, that doesn’t mean I won’t in the future.  I personally hate the idea of letting this podcast die just because of my own time constraints.

So, I started thinking outside the box and was wondering what WOULD be feasible for the podcast moving forward.

Sometimes, as artists and designers, we simply don’t have time to create ALLLL of the content all by ourselves.  It’s probably been a year since I’ve even created an Instagram post for my actual feed..  I am way more active in my Stories though!

But, the point is…. I started thinking what if The Design Tribe lived up to its name and became more of a collective effort?  Wouldn’t it be great to be able to hear from different voices and different artists who have different experiences?

SO!  I’m opening up the podcast to publish more guest episodes.

That means, if you are an artist or designer who has conducted your own interviews… either in podcast format or on YouTube… and you’d like to repurpose your episodes for further reach, please get in touch with me!

Especially, if you find yourself unable to keep up with a demanding weekly interview schedule on your own podcast… I’d love to collaborate with you! 

Wouldn’t it be great to slow down and put our content efforts together… and get a bigger bang for your buck?

Imagine if you could relax the pace and schedule out one interview per month.  The Design Tribe is the perfect place to contribute those podcast episodes and reach more people.

If this sounds interesting to you, please look in the show notes for an application.

OKAY, so now let’s get into the good stuff.

Why the heck did I return to an In-House job and what was it REALLY like being a Full-Time Artist?

So, I dreamed about being a full-time artist for as long as I can remember.  Back in college, I was an oil painter so back then I envisioned doing something more along the lines of Fine Art.

But upon graduating, I realized I needed a JOB and a stable income to pay the bills.

So, I got my first job in Graphic Design at a T-shirt company.  While I loved some of the people I worked with, I still longed for something more creative.

That’s when I discovered Textile Design.  I ended up pivoting to a Textile Design job and have honestly really loved working as a Textile Designer.  It’s 10X more fulfilling than Graphic Design ever was, for me.

However, at my first Textile Design job I worked with a lot of licensed artists.  This is where I first got an education about licensing.  And I started thinking, huh… how do I get onto the OTHER side of this licensing thing?

I saw that these artists had their own style, their own brand, and their own name on their designs.  They got to keep the copyright and license their work across multiple products.  And what was really cool is that they were totally independent business owners!

That sounded like something I really wanted to do.

Long story short, I went independent and started my own design business back in 2019.  I worked really hard to develop my own art style, I exhibited at Blueprint Trade Show, and I landed my first licensing deal.

Things were starting to happen!

But, the reality with licensing is that it takes a LONG TIME to get paid.  I kinda already knew this and thought, “Okay… if I get can multiple deals throughout the year then it will start to build up… and I can probably replace my old salary by the end of the year.”

And friend, let me just tell you that is NOT what happened.

I quickly realized how difficult the licensing world is in terms of making a full-time income.  I even signed with an agent, but it didn’t prove to be very fruitful.  I wasn’t getting a lot of deals through my agent and I became really frustrated since I had no control over the process, and when I did get a deal, I had to split my income basically 50%.

I thought that the agent was going to get me enough deals to make their cut worth it, but that’s not what actually happened.

Now, I realize that some artists are able to build 6, or even 7, figure businesses from licensing, but the truth is that licensing income can fluctuate A LOT!

I learned that most artists are supplementing their licensing income with multiple streams of income, and I can guarantee that the majority of those 6, or 7, figure art businesses are doing the same.

I made a lot of friends in the surface pattern world, and I’m so grateful for their transparency and kindness, and willingness to talk to me.

Most artists supplement their income either with freelance work, a YouTube channel, teaching, coaching, selling books, or some other means of reliable income.

This is just the reality of licensing for 99% of artists!

I basically tried all of the things, which took a LOT of time.  Sometimes, I felt like a chicken with its head cut off running around trying to make this independent artist thing work.

I always felt spread too thin, and maybe if I had concentrated on only 1or 2 alternate streams of income, I could have had more success earlier on.

But the truth is, without some experimentation you just don’t really know what you enjoy doing or what’s going to work for you.

I realized that I absolutely hated doing freelance work, but I really enjoyed making YouTube videos and teaching classes.

The funny thing is… I always thought I would love freelance work!  I fantasized about working from home, making my own schedule, being able to travel and take my laptop on the go, and choosing the clients I worked with.

And hey, some designers do really love working with their freelance clients!  I think if you can nail down really good clients who repeatedly come back to you with a reliable stream of work, it can be a lot better.

I had so many people contact me who gave me a design brief, said they wanted to hire me, and then… crickets.  They would ghost me completely.

For the freelance gigs I did have, I felt nickel and dime-d to the point where I dreaded working on their projects.

I know, I know.  Lauren, you need to charge more.