Own Your Process

It’s easy to be destracted by other artists. No matter what job you are doing there will always be someone in this world doing the same exact thing. As an artist there may be a similar painting. As an interior designer there may be rooms designed in ways that you are cetain your ideas were stolen. The truth is your ideas will be taken. I have lived with this my entire life.

About 25 years ago I was decorating a show home. I had beautiful custom bedding that I had designed. Beautiful lavendar, plum, and sage green and pink plaid fabric. With three other accent prints. The bedding, window treatments, even the stuffed rocker was custom designed with this print and colors of the room. It was beautiful and it was unique. The twinsize customer was expensive and made with the finest fabrics. I sold many custom orders for the next six months. The room design of that ” Street of Dreams” home was recreated in my front showroom window. It was a beautiful and popular suite. Typically post show I would have the room front and center in my showroom. We were decorating and selling this room like crazy. When I would go to a cleint’s home and we discussed the whole home concenpt it was this room suite clients wanted.

Then one day a customer walked in and asked, “Why is your comforter so expensive? Target sells this for $89.00. This is the exact fabric.” My heart sunk. I drove over to Target that afternoon and sure enough the same fabrics I was using, the same exact fabric designs printed on a lower grade fabric. I was in a tizzy, I was crushed. Keep in mind I had a beautiful showroom with hundreds of custom bedding options. But this was my feature, my investement and I thought that one customer was representing all future sales, or no sales. Instead I pulled on my fancy interior designer shoes and walked back into my store.

What did I do? I educated my staff on fabric printing and quality. If our customer’s were paying more then my staff needed to be educated on how fabric designs are printed and the fabric grade and thread count. We were selling on quality.

I could have so easily been distracted. I was. For a hot hour. We did sell through many orders of stock and it continued to be hit. Own your process.

Stay focussed on YOUR work. Whatever that may be. As an artist your process is unique. Sure someone will come along and try to replicate it. There will be many times when seems are not going the direction you expected.

Own your process. I have had to do that over and over again.

Last year I was so excited to be placing my art on Wayfair. I had arrived. This was one of my goals as an artist. Then I realized that I could not own my process. Oh sure if you click on the link they allowed me to have some of my prints on my own page. Instead, my art was placed on other platforms and sellers’ pages to help “promote” my art. Then you see knocks-offs of my own art. Wayfair cannot control the knock-offs. I am sharing this and simply stating that know matter how mch you try to own your process there will always be something or someone that tries to knock you off balance.

You truly are unique. Own your process and stay focused doing what you love.

With Love, Elizabeth

P.S. If you ever need help in marketing your business or interior design accents please be sure to fill out the contact form and we can set up a meeting.

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