We were lucky to catch up with Krista Rogers recently and have shared our conversation below.

Krista, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I have been fortunate to be able to earn a living from my creative pursuits, both making polymer clay jewelry and portrait photography, but it has definitely taken a different path than I expected.

I initially went to college to pursue a degree in photography with a minor in psychology. I never really knew what I wanted to do, to be honest, but I always loved photography and being creative so I felt if I pursued that avenue maybe I would figure it out along the way.

Near the end of my degree, I had a bit of a crisis – I realized I didn’t enjoy the business side of having my own creative business. I was doing really well with wedding and portrait photography, but didn’t feel I had the knowledge, skills, or desire to do the day to day business and administrative tasks I would need to scale to a full time successful career.

I ended up using my psychology minor and pursuing a masters degree in clinical mental health and school counseling and became a school counselor; putting my camera down for nearly 7 years while I pursued the degree and worked in schools for 5 years. However, I quickly realized how toxic the education system is and found myself missing being creative. I would come home almost every day exhausted, stressed, frustrated, and quickly was burnt out as a school counselor, and knew I needed to figure something else out for my career.

Looking back, my time as a counselor, and working in education, gave me the confidence needed for running a business because of how detail oriented you need to be in that profession and the different skills school counselors today are made to learn and know.

Where I’m incredibly fortunate is how my career as a polymer clay jeweler began. I often call it a misunderstanding that has gone too far, because I started it as an outlet during the final year I was in education and it really just took off. My initial plan was to pursue my photography business again, but in the process I found that making clay earrings was something I really enjoyed – and apparently others did, too.

Once I realized the potential in my businesses, I knew I had to quit my full time job as a counselor and take the risk. It was definitely terrifying but, in the end, if I hadn’t taken the risk I’m not sure I would have worked so hard to find ways to scale my hobby in to a full time job. I’ve spent a lot of time networking, listening to podcasts, researching trends, and failing (because that’s often the best way to learn) and I’m finding each month it is paying off more and more.

I’m officially 2 years in to running my businesses and have found: where I put my energy is where I see results. If I want success in these business, I can’t be afraid of the risks more than I am excited about the possible successes. I think that is the attitude that has really allowed me to take my creative career full time and allows me to (knock on wood) continue to be successful.

Krista, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I create polymer clay jewelry (primarily earrings) and also am a portrait photographer located in Myrtle Beach, SC.

I have a BFA in photography and a MA in Clinical Mental Health/School Counseling, but have always been drawn to creative outlets. No matter what avenue I try to take, I seem to end up back in a creative field and with the desire to use my creativity to create my career.

While I’ve done photography professionally for the last 13 years (with a bit of hiatus in the middle), my earring business, A Little Selah, only began just over 2 years ago. Though A Little Selah is a much newer business, both in age and in medium to me, it has grown incredibly in the past 2 years and it is my primary business and source of income.

I still do photography, most often family photography during the summer months here at the beach, but I am able to be choosier with what sessions I take on due to the success of A Little Selah and for that I’m really grateful.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing others enjoy and treasure what I create.

Though my particular avenues may not seem as vulnerable as some creatives – such as musicians or artists who create deeply personal works or collections – I still create my jewelry and take photos from a very personal place and use inspirations that have had a deep impact on me.

In particular, some of my favorite earring collections are based from different experiences I have found impactful. Currently, I am working on a collection based on a character in a novel that moved me, and am using her journey and development throughout the novel as a basis for how the collection is created and looks.

With photography, I also photograph clients in a very candid style. To have clients be vulnerable in front of the camera though – to have them be fully themselves and interact with others in a genuine way – it requires being vulnerable with them in return. I enter each session with the intent of connecting with my clients in an authentic way, with the understanding that it will allow them to feel more comfortable and enjoy the photo session more as an experience than as a means to an end.

Because I take view my businesses in this light of being vulnerable, it is the most rewarding part when the creations made are celebrated by others – whether they are enjoying wearing their jewelry or sharing photos of their prints on their walls.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

The biggest hurdle I find when talking to non-creatives is the misunderstanding the overall process.

Being creative, much like success, is not linear. Often the end result is the product of countless hours of work – of multiple failures and ‘try agains’ – and resources.

Because of this misunderstanding it can be really difficult, I’ve found, for others to take creative work seriously.

I find this hurdle the most obvious in my work creating polymer clay earrings. Generally, I will get comments about how easy it looks and how I am charging too much for something that can be created “quickly”. Unfortunately, what isn’t seen is the skill behind the pieces and the craft that is constantly having to be honed to create more refined work overall.

Creativity is not a field where you ever reach ‘the top’ – it is constantly evolving and growing and there is always room to grow and improve.

A way I’ve found to combat this mentality though, has been to offer classes to show people the skill and detail that goes in to my particular crafts. It has been a fun way to encourage those who may not be creative minded to think about the talent it takes to create the different creative pieces they encounter and the value they really hold because of the skill that goes in to them.

Contact Info:

• Website: alittleselah.etsy.com
• Instagram: @ALittleSelahDesigns
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ALittleSelah
• Other: Photography Website: kristacampionephotography.com Instagram: @KristaCampionePhotography

Image Credits
All photographs are my own.