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

Amy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

Firstly, I would encourage students to know that traditional education can be one path to a successful career, but it is NOT the only path. Your success in a career will rarely have anything to do with whether you had good or bad grades. It comes down to whether you have the skills to get quality work done. Full stop. Whether those skills are learned in school or through years of working a job, skilled workmanship is in demand. Today more than ever, there are so many avenues for skilled and talented workers, who may not have a traditional education, to connect with clients and community.

In terms of the education system, it is so important to recognize that every student has unique interests and learning styles, so I would encourage personalized learning paths. This would allow students to explore topics they are genuinely curious about and would increase motivation and engagement. Involving local communities, businesses and professionals in the form of guest speakers, mentors and internships would provide real world perspectives and opportunities for students to apply their knowledge. These changes would equip students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for success in both their personal and professional lives.

I grew up knowing I wanted a creative career but I didn’t know how and where to find the exact career. I was encouraged to get a degree but was always told a “creative” degree was a dead end. I defaulted to a degree in Advertising and Branding, but quickly realized it was not what I wanted for a career. If the education system encouraged personalized learning paths when I was at school I believe I would have gotten into what I am doing now a lot faster. I have always learned better by doing and so I didn’t get the best grades in school. I didn’t do bad, but I definitely would have done better if I was taught with a hands on approach. It took years of exploring different creative paths, mediums, skills, courses, and resources to discover that a creative career is not “dead end” but can be a thriving and rewarding career. I have found amazing creative communities that are growing rapidly and work opportunities that expand as the community does. My hope with the education system is that the true potential of having a creative career is shown/taught. It is not a “dead end”. There is opportunity, community, and success to those willing to work towards it.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

In my late 20’s I got the opportunity to follow a dream of mine to travel and work in Australia. It turned into almost 2 years of traveling and working abroad. While I was living and working in Tauranga, New Zealand, in a shared living space with 15 people, I got the itch to create again. I missed all my arts and craft supplies that I left back home and missed crafting and designing. Knowing I would be in one place for a while, I went out and bought some art supplies. I bought some watercolor supplies and calligraphy pens. I spent most nights, after working 12 hours at a backpacker’s hostel, practicing and learning these new skills. The people I lived with at the time encouraged me to create an Instagram account and start sharing my work. Creating that Instagram account and using it to follow other artists is where I learnt about Surface Design. This is where I realized all of the creative skills, courses and paths I explored over the years lead me to this career in Surface Design and Illustration.

After returning from my travels I decided to take courses and learn more about the industry and learn what I could about starting a small business. Soon after, I moved to America and once I received my residency I began working as a Community Guide for other Artists in their memberships and courses and building the foundations of my design business. My very long journey to discovering this career and all the roadblocks I’ve faced along the way has made me so passionate about helping and encouraging other Artists and Designers. I believe that with passion, dedication, consistency and a lot of hard work, you can make your dreams a reality. It does also take a big shift in your mindset, which I worked on a lot during my time traveling and working abroad. This realization led me to create a free mindset guide for Artists and Designers wanting to start a creative business but struggling to overcome the common mindset struggles we deal with.

I’m working on new designs to build my portfolio and soon I will be starting my own online shop. My designs are mostly inspired by nature, architecture and my multi-cultural upbringing. I am drawn to muted and soft color palettes. I love to experiment with different mediums but my usual go-to’s are watercolor paints, brush pens, fineliners and my iPad. I love that I can create wherever I go with the iPad without needing to set up art supplies. It also makes it easier to travel and work, which is a definite bonus for me!

I’m proud of the ways I’ve challenged myself to overcome my mindset struggles that used to hold me back and that I took a risk and started, knowing it was an uncertain path and a big dream. I’m very conscious of celebrating all of my little wins. People often overlook the little steps that are getting them to their big dream and it can be discouraging, feeling like you’re not making any progress, when in fact you are making more progress than you realize. I started scared and continue to still do it scared.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

The time leading up to my move to the USA was a bigger than expected challenge. Moving to a new country, away from your family and everything you know is huge. Starting a Creative Business can be overwhelming. Moving to a new country during a pandemic while at the same time starting a Creative Business was a whole other challenge.

When you start your own small business there is a time when you wear all the hats. You’re unable to hire help in the early stages and whilst building the foundations. You have to learn new skills and educate yourself in areas you never would have thought. There’s a lot of silent and unseen work that has to happen. It is confusing, time-consuming, overwhelming and often frustrating. I was starting a business in a new country where I didn’t have any contacts or connections. I didn’t know how to run a business and I didn’t have my usual go-to’s to ask questions to. Being completely honest, it was hard. I had days wondering if I’m pursuing the right things and maybe a few mini breakdowns to my husband. But looking back it is so rewarding to see how far I have come. I’m a big believer that every experience shapes you. This experience has truly shaped me and made me realize I am capable of so much more than I thought.

I’ve had to learn almost everything from scratch, finding contacts for everything to help get questions. Instead of letting the overwhelm get the better of me I’ve been taking it all one step at a time with bite sized actions. I’ve been intentional about networking and creating new connections, which is a big deal for an introvert like me.

I got comfortable with asking questions, no matter how silly I thought they were because I realized that one of the best ways to grow is to seek answers from others. I accepted that it is ok not to know everything.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My planned (and almost fully paid for) 2020 wedding in the USA got canceled. My family and I were 2 weeks from flying out and I was 3 weeks from getting married. My belongings, including my art supplies, were all packed. A few days after my farewell party, news broke that all flights to the USA were canceled. I couldn’t see my Fiance (who was still in America) and we wouldn’t be getting married when and how we had planned. Everything I had planned got delayed. My wedding, my move, starting my business and starting my new life in a new country. 16 months later I was able to reapply for my visa and travel to the States but my family being British citizens were still unable to enter the USA.

I had to pivot all the previous plans I had made. Instead of dwelling on all of our original plans being canceled I made the most of the extra time I got with my family in England. It gave me time to slow down and appreciate what I had rather than focusing on everything that had gone wrong due to the pandemic.

Instead of the big family wedding we originally planned for, we had a small elopement ceremony with 3 guests and our photographer. It was all bittersweet, that I was finally getting married but also having to do it without my family there with me.

Our plans to move to Phoenix played out a little differently. We had to move in with family instead of our original plan of getting our own place. This meant having very little space to work.

The immigration process to get my residency took a lot longer than I thought and so it took longer to start my business than I’d hoped. During those months, I spent time to hone my skills, make connections in the creative community and started working on the foundations for my business.

It was hard going through all that but I’m grateful for the life lessons it taught me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amythakrar.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amythakrardesign/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/p/Amy-Thakrar-Design-100070644871941/
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/amythakrar/
• Free Mindset Matters Guide: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/6483e58b6242f9e5ebb68d3e

Image Credits
Loralee Joy