Today we’d like to introduce you to Janice Parrott
Hi Janice, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have quite a long intro in a previous interview, so to put things succinctly, I have been creating in one form or another for over 30 years. Doll clothes, one of kind dolls, embroidery art. I started making fiber jewelry pieces, which are really fun and challenging. I mainly create art pieces for art/craft shows, I do several a year, which is where I sell my things. Internet shopping, for me anyway, is slow to non-existent. So I like to sell at shows, where at least I can explain my pieces and interact with customers
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I love to create, without creating in some form every day, I feel a bit lost. My main struggle is the obvious one, no sales. I’d like to blame COVID or some such other thing, but the truth is I just do not get sales from my website, ever. The only reason I keep it is to try and stay relevant and current. Also I use it for Point of Sale at shows. That has been my constant struggle for all these years. No matter how many social media posts or cards I hand out, I just do not have that audience that will go and shop outright from my website. All that being said, I have always felt that my work speaks for itself, but of course you have to “sell it” as well. Therefore live shows are really the best way to do that. Selling art on social media or whatever platform you choose is a very popular topic for today’s influencers. Everyone but EVERYONE has “just the right solution” for me. They tell you what you should do and how to sell it, it rarely works.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I think my work is full of whimsy, and mostly makes people happy. Or so I have been told :):) Embroidery work is what I do and I incorporate that into every type of art I make now. Jewelry, which most people love and many create, is something I am new at and there is not a lot of fiber art jewelry around. Also my cards are fairly unique. Most are what I would consider frameable art. I also started making cards with watercolor painted backgrounds, Those are so fun to make and pretty unusual. I am not really a painter, but with watercolors, there is so much you can do to bring out illusions of things. Most of my work has to do with nature. I love trying to re-create nature scenes, such as sunrises, sunsets, flowers, mountains, etc. I would say I try to be proud of all the work I do because I am putting it before the public. However, if I were to pick something, it would usually be dolls. The dolls I make, and I don’t make too many these days, are very special one of kind pieces and not something I can crank out in a day or two. They take usually days of planning, then weeks of execution, so generally really proud of that in all the dolls. I suppose the standout in what I am most proud and happy with is I wrote and published a children’s book a little over 10 years ago. I have second one in the process and can’t wait to share that. That too revolved around a doll I made called Lacie and as I worked on the doll, the story evolved and I was able to have it published. I think that’s a fairly cool achievement, and I am incredibly proud of that.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
The type of embroidery work I do is really intricate, yet fun at the same time. I think that’s what makes people stop at my booth at shows. That, and the dolls, which are usually eye catching. Even if people are not buying dolls much these days, they love to look at them. The dolls I make now are generally sort of fun and again whimsical. People seem to want things that make them smile :) I think all artists want to be successful to a degree, and these days and the state of things, more so. I see many artists working to put food on their tables, and burnout is very common these days, which is very sad. I make art because I truly love the process, and hopefully sharing it with people. At shows, the comments I receive the most are how much I must love to do what I do in order to make what I make. Sometimes successful, sometimes not, I definitely love to do what I do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mountaindolls.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mountaindolls/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mountaindolls
- Twitter: https://x.com/mountaindolls
