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

Alan, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I’ve wanted to do art for a living most my life. In 2018 I found myself between jobs and looking at selling used cars. My wife challenged me to spend sometime trying to get my art career off the ground instead of filling out applications and do interviews. Within a month I had a sizable wholesale order. Getting through that first year was touch and go with lots of failures and successes. I’ve now settled into a pretty steady wholesale business mixed with commissions and other creative endeavors.

Alan, 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?

I am a multi-media artist from New Mexico originally. My father is an Anglo silversmith, my mother is Native American and is a painter, sculptor and has done lots of different kinds of art. I made my first piece of silver jewelry when I was 8-9. I’ve been drawing my whole life. So art has always been a part of my life. I have always wanted to do art, being a creative person. At my core I am a storyteller, I use paint, silver, pencils and paper to do it, but always in service to story and how story connects all of humanity.

The people who buy my work, either for themselves or to resell, are people who value the connections that stories make. I’ve been proud to connect to clients who commission pieces that are deeply personal and meaningful to their own story.

If you are someone who likes your stuff to be unique and personal that’s a good indicator that we could collaborate. Being that my work connects people to larger stories almost everything I make I see as a collaboration between myself and the customer.

I primarily sell through social media, I tried many traditional methods of sales and promotion but social media is what took off. My graphic art I mostly sell through my personal instagram and facebook pages. I have separate pages for my jewelry, as Stormdreamer Jewelry. Eventually I’d love to be able to leave social media and focus on just making art and not do the marketing and sales. Until then I’ll be the guy you talk to when you message my account, as well as the artist making the pieces.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

The biggest struggle I face is the pressure of constant creation without burn out. I have to plan in time away from work to be able to get re-inspired and rest. In the first couple years I struggled with taking on too much work, not wanting to say no. This ended in missing deadlines and causing me to struggle to keep customers happy.

I wish customers could see the work that goes into the thing they commission. Most of my customers are amazing but sometimes I can get impatient people who don’t understand what it takes to handmade custom art pieces

The thing I’ve found that helps a lot of this pressure and misunderstandings is to set deadline expectations up front. Also trust your gut, I’ve had a couple situations that made me uncomfortable but for reasons I couldn’t see. I trusted myself and avoided some real bad things. Other times I got wrapped up in trying to make people happy, and make the sale that I ended up in rough places.

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

I heard something from professional artists, that I ignored to my own detriment. That is this; develop a thick skin. If someone can talk you out of your dream it wasn’t where you belong.

There will always be people who don’t want to see you succeed for one reason or another. The only way thru that is tenacity and resilience to stay the course.

Early in my art career I had a customer, someone who I had a lot of respect for, try and take advantage of me in a business deal. When I confronted them, the response was degrading and insulting. For a week I couldn’t make a thing, I sat in my studio and accomplished nothing. Then I saw past the words and decided that even if I was as terrible of an artist as they said, the only way to get better was to keep going. Since then I’ve had other similar conversations but I don’t let them affect me the same now.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Stormdreamerjewelry
• Facebook: Alan eby