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What goes into making an art doll
What goes into making an art doll
Lessons I've learned sculpting my second BJD
Lessons I've learned sculpting my second BJD
Sculpting hands - my favourite techniques
Sculpting hands - my favourite techniques
 

creative business

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Jackson's art supplies - review and first impressions
Jackson's art supplies - review and first impressions
Doll artist's studio tour
Doll artist's studio tour
How I take photos of my dolls?
How I take photos of my dolls?
 
 

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I'm sharing my story on how I made a transition into the full-time artist more than 4 years ago. ✨ DAY 2 - Marketing. ✨ As a self-employed artist, you have to wear many hats and do a lot of admin work behind the scenes. One of the most important is marketing. If no one knows that you and your art exists, no one will simply purchase it. Marketing is quite a broad term so at the beginning I suggest sticking to social media because it's free and you can reach a lot of people using great photos, interesting captions and some help from hashtags. I'm all about sharing my mistakes in this realm too, so at first, my social media profiles were pretty boring. I'd simply take a photo of a doll in a white background and write something along the lines "Here's my new doll, I hope you like it". 🤦‍♀️ No story, no behind the scenes, no character, no nothing. As you can imagine I wasn't getting a lot of attention. The small number of people who saw my work didn't feel any connection to it. And why should they if I wasn't giving anything to them. Just when I've started to share more of the process of my work, some personal tidbits or show how the dolls could look in their home (not against a white background), I've started to get more traction. Now, most of my clients find me on Instagram or my blog (which I consider a good marketing tool as well). If you struggle with this, think about what you can offer to your viewers without sacrificing your personal space. Share not just your work but how you made it, what materials you use, what you like to do in your spare time, how you organize your space. Take pictures and write about them. People are curious beings, show a little bit more of yourself, not just the white background! 👌
I’ve mentioned yesterday that for the next 5 days I'll be sharing my story and tips about transitioning into a full-time artist. I've been a full-time doll artist for more than 4 years now and the first year wasn't that great to be honest, haha. It took me some time to understand the specifics of self-employment and finances. So today I'll talk about it! 💸 DAY 1 - Finances. 💸 My biggest mistake at the beginning was to be reliant only on my Etsy shop. It seemed that all is going well and I can live off it. But after a few months, something changed and I made only €40 (~$45) in the whole month. 😱 I was so anxious and depressed about the whole situation that it took me some time to find a solution. And that solution is to diversify your income sources. Only when I found other ways to sell my art or services, I could truly make a living off it. Now I have 4 main sources of income: Etsy shop, porcelain dolls, online courses/tutorials and my blog (affiliate marketing and ads). If one of them fails one month, others still bring me a substantial amount of money. If you’re just starting out, think about all the ways you could get income but still create the things you love. So, going back to the month when I made only €40, I was able to continue my art journey just because I had savings. When I was still working at the office at a 'normal' 9 to 5 job, I put aside a little bit of money every month, didn't take any vacations and still made dolls in the evenings. This way I was able to save 3 months worth of paychecks and then quit the office job. Savings kept me afloat in the rough times. I was still struggling financially but I saw that things were starting to pick up and I just had to see it through. Savings and diversifying your income, my dear artists, that's the secret of starting your first steps as a full-time artist! 😌
Lately, I got a few comments and messages from people considering taking the steps to become full-time doll artists. Which can be a daunting process scattered with mistakes and intimidating risks. But very rewarding one as well once you see it through. I talked a little bit about that on my blog - adelepo.com but I've decided to summarise that information into 5 biggest tips that I can give from my personal experience. Starting tomorrow I'll share one every day. From very honest financial realities to marketing and so on. Tune in tomorrow for the first tip! Also, let me know if you have any specific questions so I could include the answers into the information tidbits that I'm preparing. 👌✨
On a rainy afternoon I took out the fairy lights for some glimmering sparkles to use in the photo. ✨ Photography is one of my favourite parts of the job. Even though it took me a long time to figure out how to capture the essence of my dolls. Today I enjoy the process of setting the scene, figuring out the lighting and matching colours very much. As with most skills in life, it's a journey to become better at it. I'm very curious to see how my photography will evolve in the following years. 😌
Catching the evening sun rays. ☀️Once the August hits, I always get this "back to school" excitement, haha. For me, autumn and new beginnings accompany one another harmoniously. I start planning new projects, tidy up my studio to boost productivity and ponder about what I want to achieve next. I guess years of schooling shaped my perspective tremendously. 😀 Do you ever feel this way?
A little bit of fluff for your Friday. 🐻 I'm so ready for the weekend that I'm procrastinating by eating oat cookies with chocolate and watching meaningless Youtube videos, haha. A few small tasks left and I'm off to my hometown to enjoy some family time. What are your plans? ✨😌
White and pink is probably the most cliche colour palette but it looks so good, I love it, haha. 🙈 . . . . . #textiledoll #artdoll#babysroom #dollstagram#instadoll #handmadedolls#muñeca #softtoy#stuffiesofinstagram#plushiesofinstagram #plushies#stufftoy #clothdoll #dollcollector#dolllover #dollcollecting#handmadegifts#handmadetoysofinstagram#heirloomdoll #handmadetoys#fabricdolls #clothdollmaker#clothdollartist #makerlife#dollmakers #etsysuccess #etsy
At this point, I have quite a large selection of different dolls. Some more popular than others. This goofy guy is one of my earlier creations, designed in 2015. I made one maybe three months ago and now I got another order so shipping this one today. It's really refreshing to work on some older designs in between all the fluffy creatures that get more attention in my shop now, haha. 🙃
Simple studio life. 🌿 Today I was working on a new article that will come out on Wednesday. In this article, I'm approaching the topic of what goes into creating an art doll. When you see just the finished results and a few photos of work in progress, it might be difficult to imagine all the steps that go into making dolls. My newsletter subscribers always get the articles first! To join the tribe you can subscribe on adelepo.com 👏
I've had such a wonderful weekend which involved some pizza, sipping wine outdoors when the night is warm, fragrant and slightly humid, few hours in the forest and even a quick dip in the lake. I was so immersed in all the experiences that I even forgot to take a single photo. Cheers to friends and beautiful weekends! 🥂
 
 
 
 
 
 
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