We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Songa Kim a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Songa, appreciate you joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?

I am beyond ecstatic being a business owner. I know intimately well what it is like to have a “regular” job having been an accountant for twenty years before pursuing my daydream as a full time career. The thought of going back to a “regular” job has crossed my mind several times and each time I have concluded that growing this business that is my love child outweighs (by a landslide) any “regular” job, even one that’s high paying with shiny benefits.

Songa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Harmony Art Shop is the unleashing of a lifetime of pent-up goofy thoughts and feelings. After twenty years as an accountant, I decided it was time to stop being an undercover goofball and go full ham. In 2019 I left my life in accounting to pursue my dream of being a full time creative and unapologetic goofball. It wasn’t a straight line to Harmony Art Shop. There were certainly ups, downs, and sideways ventures before the realization hit that stationery was the perfect vehicle to share all the unhinged musings that run rent-free through my head all day, every day, with the world.
Every single illustration is inspired by a real person or happening in either my life or the life of someone I know. For example, I have a greeting card with an illustration of a person smelling their fingers. It reads, “I love you, you finger sniffer.” When it comes to finger sniffers, you either are one or you know one. I’m not going to put the finger sniffers in my life on blast today but do want to give them each a shout out. Love you, ya finger sniffas!
The comment I receive most from customers is how very specific yet oddly relatable all of Harmony Art Shop’s illustrations and messaging are. They love that Harmony Art Shop’s products aren’t mainstream. The stationery industry is full of so many undeniably talented individuals. I’m proud that my unique illustration style and sense of humor set me apart from the masses.

Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?

Direct to consumer pop-ups where we make in-person sales is our main source of income. Our customer base is awesome in that they support small businesses like ours in the ways they can. Whether by making a purchase in person or online, introducing our brand to retailers or engaging on social media our customers have always been so supportive and for that we’re so grateful.
We also have multiple retailers who carry a selection of our items. San Francisco Mercantile, Welcome Castro – shout out to Robert who is a shining gem in the retail space, Skyline Community Market, Luke’s Local, Wild One Collective, Resurrect Oakland – shout out to Kate and team who are responsible for anything cute in my wardrobe, and Grand Lake Kitchen are some of the Bay Area retailers where we’re proud to sell our products.
Additionally, exhibiting at tradeshows like NYNOW and the Faire online wholesale platform have helped our products make their way to shops in Colorado, Nevada, New York, and Oregon.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

Starting out we didn’t know whether we would dabble in mainstream retail platforms and we don’t hold it against anyone for choosing to sell their products via some of those platforms. In fact, there was a time when we entertained selling on some of them but ultimately decided against it. Every single one of our products is in some way connected to us or someone we love so there is a certain preciousness attached to it all. We prefer to keep our products within the realm of other small businesses, so our customers know where their money is going with each purchase. We also like dealing with real people over bots when communicating with our customers and retailers. Our customers and retailers are all pretty awesome. It would be a shame if we missed out on those relationships because we never had human interaction.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.harmonyartshop.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harmonyartofficial
• Other: Wholesale Direct:
  www.harmonyartshopwholesale.com

  Faire Direct:
  harmonyartshop.faire.com

Image Credits

Harmony Art Shop