We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tiffany Mason . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tiffany below.

Tiff, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

This literally just happened, which is why it has taken me extra time to do this interview….

On March 3rd, a client placed an order for a custom bag. She ordered a Marie Antoinette themed bag for her trip to Paris. Her trip isn’t until mid May, so she gave me plenty of time to get her bag all painted up and sent to her by the time she left for vacation. I had the bag finished and mailed out by April 10th. I paid for two day shipping. By April 23rd, the bag had still not been delivered to her home. The tracking number said that it was in possession of the Post Office, but no one could find it. Please keep in mind that, that bag took me 12 hours to paint. I decided on April 24th to stop relying on the Post Office to find the bag, and to just paint her a new one. I finished the bag in one week. I spent 15 hours on it, and this was also during the last week my husband was home, because he was just deployed for 7 months. Needless to say, I shipped the new bag with UPS, instead of the Post Office and it was delivered yesterday. My client is happy, and her custom bag made it in time for her trip to Paris.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have always loved art and travel. I started out my art career as a figurative artist. I wanted to be a Fine Artist like, Goya or Degas. Then, as we all remember, COVID happened.

Being in quarantine Fine Art seemed a little “frivolous” to me. The world was in a panic. People were online shopping like crazy, for clothes, gadgets and accessories, but no one, that I knew, was sitting around buying paintings for their walls.

After being unemployed for a year, and my art sales grinding to a screeching halt, I started painting on handbags as a joke. I would go to TJMaxx, buy some handbags and paint on them just to pass the time. Then I posted a few TikToks about my painted bags, made a website and my first collection of bags sold out! I was like “ok”…..

So, for the better part of 2021 I kept painting on bags that I would find at TJMaxx. I created a logo for my business and I had a great website and my handbags started keeping me busy. People were buying my art again!

I got it into my head to get my logo legally Trademarked. Once I did that, I didn’t want to be painting on other brand’s bags anymore, So, I drew up some mock-ups and I created my own line of bags to paint on embossed with my crown logo.

The crazy part was, the bags I had made showed up around the time my daughter was born. The Bomb Bags we’re finished May 5th 2022, I had over 10 pre orders I had to finished before I gave birth. I had my baby girl June 6th and then my Marleaux bags came in two weeks later!

I enjoy painting on handbags because I feel like there is a huge sense of freedom in doing it. Luckily I have an artistic range that allows me to paint many different subjects.

I’ve had a lot of clients come up with some really cool ideas for custom bags that they want. All of my clients have really put a lot of trust in me and my work and they let me “do my own thing” when creating a bag for them. My custom bags do come with a mock up, that I do on Procreate and I always show that to my client first, before I start painting on their bags.

If I’m being perfectly honest, my biggest challenge in the industry is being seen. Marketing is hard, plain and simple. The funny thing is, a lot of my sales are returning customers. I have some clients that have up to 4 or 5 bags of mine. I think a lot of people who haven’t bought from me before are worried about the sturdiness of the paint on my bags. My bags last. I have made so many videos of me spilling drinks on them, throwing them in the pool, throwing them off balconies, putting them in the shower.

I have a client who is 9 years old. Her mom commissioned me to paint a backpack for her. That little girl wears that backpack to school everyday. It’s been almost two years and the painting I painted on it still looks brand new. I have another client who constantly takes her TIFF bag on the back of her husbands Harley. My bags last.

Integrity in my work is number one for me. I have never missed a deadline. I was painting and mailing bags 4 days up to my due date with my daughter, l still got those commissions out on time. My husband is in the Navy. I’m a single parent household right now, I still get my bags done on time. I use only the best, top quality products when making my bags, they last. Anything with my name on it, I want all my potential future clients to know, that I strive to be the best, and give them the very best product.

This is my passion, and I wake up every day, doing what I love. I want my clients to feel that when they wear my products.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Let’s take a second and go back to December 2019. I was pregnant. An uninsured driver pulled out in front of me. It resulted in my car being totaled, a sprained arm, and a miscarriage.

I made a claim with my insurance and I got a small settlement. (there was no suing involved) *cue laughter….

I sat on that money during quarantine, I wasn’t sure what to do with it. When it came time to start having my own bags manufactured, we used some of that money to get started.

I am busting my butt trying to do this without going into debt. I understand that, that may mean I will grow slower than some, but I’d rather grow slow and steady than grow fast and fizzle out. I want to make sure I’m making the right financial decisions for me and my family, especially during these economic times.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience is my middle name. I believe any successful entrepreneur is made up mostly of resilience.

I started TIFF STUDIOS in 2021. It’s been a roller coaster ride. I like a little bit of craziness in my life though, that’s where I seem to thrive.

My first hurdle started on TikTok in Sept of 2021. I upset some artists on there. I like to talk about having integrity in one’s own work. I don’t think you should “steal like an artist”. I think being inspired by someone is a beautiful thing, and if someone inspires you, give them credit, give them a shout out, spread the love, don’t just steal their ideas. Well, my opinion didn’t turn out to be a popular one amongst a group of artists on TikTok and they were trying so hard to “cancel” me. I also like to talk a lot about copyright and plagiarism in the community and there are a lot of artists that get upset about that too. I will not paint any licensed characters on my bags, that’s a big NO for me. So between Sept-Nov I was getting threatened on the daily. People were making videos of my profile and telling people to unfollow me. At first, that was giving me so much anxiety. On camera, I was cool as a cucumber, but off camera I would cry, I would shake, I was a little scared this was going to be bad for business. But what have we learned about TikTok? It LOVES controversy. The TIFF Hate Fest actually gained me a lot more followers at that time. People were coming to my page and seeing my work. I wasn’t making hateful videos towards my haters, I didn’t let the haters get to me, I just kept working, I actually would love to thank all those haters now. That was such a valuable lesson. You can’t control what people are going to say about you on the internet. But you can control how you respond to people on the internet.

While the hate fest was going on and TIFF STUDIOS was staying really busy, I was surprised to find out I was pregnant. My First Trimester had me more exhausted than I have ever felt before but my business was also more busy than it had ever been before, so there wasn’t much time to rest. Trying to keep my groove going during my first trimester and the holiday season, the Navy, like it always does, threw in a wrench and told my husband it was time for us to move. So now, in the middle of the holiday season, haters, first trimester pregnancy, we’re trying to find a home to buy in a different state because now we have to suddenly move in two months. Fun!

I used to manage restaurants so I kind of love doing 10 things at once, Everything at that time felt so crazy, but I remember really thriving off of it all. Then in January I decided to have my own handbags made. I had several online meetings with potential manufacturers. I was so excited about the prospect of having my own handbag line. However, one by one the manufacturers weren’t working out for me, it felt like absolute chaos. I was on the verge of throwing in the towel, In February I finally found the perfect manufacture for the TIFF Bomb Bag, and I remember the feeling the very first time I touched that prototype, with my crown embossed in that Saffiano Leather. It felt like heaven.

Then in March we moved to a different state. I’m trying to stay relevant on Social Media, make product, move, be pregnant and unpack an entire house all within three months because my baby was due at the end if May.

In April I put up pre-orders for hand painted Bomb Bags on my website. I had 10 orders right away. The Bomb Bags got here in the beginning of May 2022 and I had 4 weeks to paint 10 custom bags, before my baby was due.

I’ve been doing everything in my power to make my time management really work for me. I’ve got this, I’m stoked and I can do it all. THEN, the Navy announces they moved up deployment by an entire YEAR and that my husband needs to leave. I was like “of course”.

Being a single parent household and running a business is a great example of resilience. This year started off with a bang. I got into two different art shows this month that I wasn’t planning on doing. One I got invited to by word of mouth. The second show, is a big one. I have wanted to do this art show for over six years. They have turned me down multiple times. Finally, this time around I wasn’t turned down, I was wait listed. I knew for sure that I wouldn’t be going to this show, They emailed me the day before my husband left saying that I’m off the waitlist and in the show now. I have two weeks to get my inventory in gear, find child care and get some help to run my booth.

It’s crazy trying to run your own business, but it sure is a lot of fun!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tiffstudios.com/
• Instagram: @tiffstudios
• Facebook: @tiffstudios
• Linkedin: @tiffstudios
• Twitter: @tiffstudios
• Other: TikTok: @tiffstudios