A Brave Step

I have sold a couple of paintings and some cards to friends so it is not that I am completely naive about the commercial aspects but for over a year I have had cards and prints produced but been too scared to put myself out there. I thought about doing school fairs but the cost of hiring a stall (sometimes as much as £80) meant it was prohibitive and that didn’t include needing to buy display stands, bunting as well as making sure I had sufficient stock.

Then a few months ago the lovely Amanda George posted on a facebook forum to say she was opening up a shop locally called We Make Bristol. Based in Westbury on trym it would sell only stuff made in Bristol. I contacted Amanda to ask for details and she asked to see samples but once again it felt too daunting to put myself out there. I was really worried that my paintings wouldn’t be seen as good enough and that I would get laughed out of town.

The shop opened and one afternoon I popped in to take a look. There was lots of fantastic and unique crafts, some made by people who do all this professionally but lots too by people just like me who want to make a hobby pay for itself. After a chat with Amanda I decided to take the plunge and turned up a few days later armed with framed prints and cards. They now sit on a shelf in the store and in the first two weeks I sold two prints and a handful of cards. That may not seem much but for me it is huge. These aren’t sales to friends or family so there is no bias or emotional involvement on the part of the purchaser. These are sales to people who just like the pictures and thought they would make great presents or look good hanging on their wall. It was an amazing feeling to get that validation.