We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Abril Robbins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Abril below.
Abril, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
During my last year of college I took my first ceramic class. I first learned hand building techniques then I took a wheel throwing class the following semester. The key to ceramics is patience, it’s taken me years to really understand the process, but even to this day I continue to stay humbled with clay. With the knowledge I have today I don’t think I could have changed much to speed up the process. Working with clay requires trial and error, it’s a science of it’s own and requires time. The most essential skills have been good organizational skills and the ability to meet deadlines, business and self-promotional skills and determination. A few obstacles I’ve encounter have been organizing my time between jobs, I have a full-time job aside from making ceramics so sometimes I work from 8am-12 midnight with small breaks. I’ve had to learn to organize my time efficiently, to meet deadlines and most importantly, take care of my well-being. I also haven’t gotten the chance to own a kiln due to space and this has been a big obstacle during my process.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I specialize in ceramics and have been running a small supporting art business with growing success for the past four years. My goal is to create playfully functional pieces intended to brighten your home and your day. I produce small-batch handmade work and no one piece is the same as another. I am most proud of getting the opportunity to have my work at The Contemporary Austin along with so many talented artists.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I am the happiest when making art and sharing my work with others.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Social media has been a rollercoaster, it’s constantly changing! I began my presence by building my website and primarily using instagram for my business. I’ve built my audience with instagram by participating in local markets and talking to people about my work. Also, now that instagram has shifted to video as the primary content source, I’ve created reels that feature my process and it has helped bring new viewers to my page. Some advice I would give is to be patient, numbers aren’t everything and remember that everyone grows at their own rate. Be yourself and don’t rush the process, just keep showing up for your art and people will show up for you as well!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.freewheelingoods.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freewheelin_goods
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freewheelingoods