When’s the last time you collaborated with nature? Can you remember a time when you really, really engaged with the earth? 

Maybe you took a walk through the woods with crisp, crinkling leaves under your feet. Or you stared up at a grey sky of falling snowflakes. Have you ever grounded yourself after a long flight with bare feet in the dirt of your destination? Or picked berries at the height of summer?

As a trailblazer in the world of fine art creative professionals, Silk & Willow has niched down with major success in a way we can all learn from. Shellie’s silk ribbons have found a forever home in the hands of the world’s greatest floral designers, stylists, stationers, and photographers. Each spool of handmade, naturally dyed ribbon is crafted with sustainable materials–often sourced from Shellie’s own backyard. There’s something about that bespoke touch that strikes a chord with creatives like us, no? Maybe it’s because we’re familiar with how much heart and soul goes into a finished product. Or we know what it’s like to be the driving force behind a business with heart.

Listen to today’s episode as we talk about inspiration, clever curation, and the good old-fashioned power of pounding the pavement to build your creative enterprise from scratch.

The building blocks to finding the root of your inspiration as a creative:

• What’s present in your daily life that moves you? 
• Where do you spend your time? 
• What catches your eye when you’re out and about? 
• What is seemingly “everyday” and commonplace in your life that could have a little poetry hidden inside it? 

There’s a beautiful brand story in the making when you think about your origin story and the scrappiness behind a business in the making. Shellie’s business began in her kitchen, experimenting with plant-based dyes using table scraps like avocado pits, turmeric, and onion skins. When she realized the dissonance of wrapping sustainable, earth-friendly gifts for school fundraisers in polyester wrap and synthetic ribbon, Shellie knew there was a distinct problem that she could solve. “Who else might like this idea?” What’s a cornerstone of your story as an artist that hasn’t been told yet? There’s a chance your clients may fall in love with you *even* more. 

The product of a thoughtful, values-driven business is worth paying for–and the right customers will open their wallets without question (so don’t be letdown when there are others who won’t). For all the effort, energy, and time you put into your business, you deserve to charge a premium. 

Wherever you’re at in your business, think back to when you first started. What were you willing to do to lock down that next customer? What would you say to open that next door of opportunity? Channel that scrappiness for your first year in business and admire how far you’ve come since then. Shellie approached her customer acquisition the old-fashioned way by pounding the pavement and sending clever PR boxes to her ideal clients. Today, those florists on the PR list continue to sustain her business. She’d also forage in her backyard for natural materials to incorporate into her natural dyes. If we were to look at our businesses with a beginner’s mind again, what would change about our process for the better?

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