As artist-entrepreneurs, we need a vision so we can figure out what kind of plan to make for our businesses. I never expected to be a creative professional, let alone an entrepreneur. I've been lucky to live off my savings and my husband's well-paying job while I figure out what it means to be both an artist and a business owner. For someone without formal training in either art or business, it's been a long path of self-discovery—and honestly, it feels like that path shifts every six months.
My vision for this business—what I'm building toward—is a life lived on my own terms. Now, in my 40s, I’m having more of a mid-life awakening than a crisis. I’m realizing that the life I thought I was supposed to want isn’t actually the one I’m meant to live. I need to work for myself, and I need it to be creative.
I worked so hard at science—pushed myself, stressed constantly—and still didn’t feel like I was any good at it. I used to think work had to be hard, stressful, and soul-grinding to be meaningful. But I’ve learned (almost tearfully) that it doesn’t have to be that way. You can build a life around what you love—and you don’t have to be broke doing it. Truthfully, my income has been low the past few years while I’ve tried to wrap my head around marketing and business. But I’m now working with someone who’s helping me move toward where I want to be, and I’m SO excited about it (and, yes, a little nervous that it might not work out).
So here it is: my vision for the business is to create a good life for myself and my family by doing what I love. My vision for the work itself is to make jewelry that’s seen as art—interesting, different, even museum-worthy. I want the people who wear my pieces to feel like advanced collectors, wearing jewelry that’s a little unconventional but still beautiful.
I hope people see my work not just as jewelry, but as something they can connect to—something they can read their own stories into. Because jewelry means something different to everyone. I can offer a story to go with it, but in the end, it becomes yours because of the meaning you bring to it.
