Long time no seee. My main focus in terms of my art for the past few months has been making art and crafts to sell in person. I wanted to share with the internet void why i’m doing it, and what it’s teaching me.
It provides me with external motivation
As a neurodivergent person, this is one of the main ways that selling at markets has been a game changer. On the regular, I can start 20 projects and finish them at varying percentages, but without an external deadline, it’s really hard to get them to completion. Completing projects is important to me because it shows me i’m committed to what matters to me. Knowing there’s a date i have to have art ready by is 99% effective at getting me to work on things xD. Learning to pace myself though
Important to know my values and know why i’m doing it
At every market, i’ve donated from 70% to 100% of my proceeds from Palestine-themed art & crafts to Palestinian fundraisers and mutual aid projects. This is extremely important to me in these enraging and unprecedented times and to keep doing it at every market. I donate all proceeds from art i make or print that is themed around Palestine. It’s also important for me to be transparent about the process so I post receipts of my donations on my instagram stories.
It reminds me to pause and make time for play
Not gonna lie, it’s so easy to enter and stay in grind mode when making art for profit, especially when it’s 2 days before the market and I still haven’t finished making prints for xyz thing and coated magnets and… Being overly focused on creating art for sale conversely reminds me of the invaluable practice of doing things for the sake of it, for fun, for me. (Making crafts in the company of friends / community falls into this category also!!). As cheesy as it sounds, they’re like a drink of hydrating water, i feel replenished when i’m doing things simply because and with no goal in mind.
It helps me build confidence in myself + my abilities
As someone who’s struggled to not only believe in my art and ideas to pursue them, but also who has not always had the means to pursue it, to be able to do so at this point and see the literal physical result of my efforts, makes me feel deeply grateful but also proud of myself. It’s not easy to see this when you look at my table, but it has taken so so much work for me to even get to this point. The positive feedback loop of putting my stuff out there and folks supporting my work, continues to build my confidence and further develops my skills, which continues to build my confidence which…. 😉
It’s awesome to witness how people resonate with what I make
One of the main reasons i make art is to make other marginalized folks feels a little less alone. So when i see that something i made speaks enough to someone to pay me their hard earned money for it, it means so so much. I’m learning to price my items slide scale, when i usually price on the lower end to make it more accessible, so a higher fee makes this a bit more sustainable for me. To see folks actually pay the higher end and support my work means a lot in this sense also
I feel free enough to play around and experiment with what i sell
On that note, while i love to see what resonates with folks looking at my work, i try to find the overlap of that with what speaks to me to make, and go from there. For this reason, i’m trying new things with each market and don’t ever really sell the same things every time , unless it’s printed art or zines. The only other items i have been making consistently are the ones that I continue to enjoy making and that i know will sell, especially if they are for a benefit / to be donated. Otherwise, i make stuff from my rotation of collected hobbies as a lifelong neurodivergent 😂
I love getting to exchange art / crafts with other artists also vending
I love the part of markets where we go to each others’ tables, say hi introduce ourselves or catch up, and exchange art, crafts, jewerly, etc with one another when it’s sustainable and possible for us to do so – sometimes we really do need the cash / money and the fact that exchanges are purely organic and out of kindness is what makes them so special.
i do wish there were more ways for us to stay in touch and create community with one another though, it’s on the back of my mind and something i may try to organize in the future as i get to connect with more creatives ✨👀✨
Honestly, it’s something my inner child loves to do
I was the dorky kid who loved to pretend-play with material world things – I remember making a cash register out of cereal boxes at some point and pretending i was selling stuff 😂 (i also used a refrigerator box with my cousins pretending it was a rocket which sounds way cooler). As a Taurus moon, i like to play with / familiarizing myself with the material and the value that it can bring to people’s lives.
in conclusion…
It is a privilege to be able to make stuff all from my own room / living space and be able to make some profit from what i love and i’m very grateful it is an option at this point in my life at all. I think my next steps are to try to find ways to create local community with other creatives, share resources / tools and networks of support, co-work together, etc.
Thanks for reading!