Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alysia Coffield. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alysia, appreciate you joining us today. One of the toughest things about entrepreneurship is that there is almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

Time. Hands down I never thought I would need as much time as I do to not only create my pieces but the work it takes to get items uploaded to my site or onto social media are all different jobs within the “job”. I’m a stay at home mom with two preschoolers so finding decent chunks of time to get much done is quite a challenge.

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’ve always been an artist with an entrepreneurial spirit but never had the courage to put myself out there. Growing up I was always creating. Taking every art class I could fit in my schedule and got a bachelor’s degree in Art Management. After college I bounced around to a few different jobs while taking commissions on the side. I struggled with a lot of anxiety and depression and it eventually lead me to put down my brushes for a long time. I had perfectionist tendencies and the beginning of paintings gave me such terrible anxiety that I just couldn’t do it. I took on other forms of creating, such as knitting, to keep my hands busy and found it a very therapeutic and meditative practice.

In 2021, after having my second child and losing myself in motherhood I started putting self care back on my priority list. I felt the pull to pick up my paintbrushes, but now that I had two very young children and no space to really feel like I could let loose in I had to wait.

We moved in April of 2022 and our new place came with my own studio that I can safely create in and let my imagination run wild. In the fall of 2022, after many years of consideration I finally decided to just jump into an Etsy business page and list all of my different handiworks for sale. I also took that opportunity to start doing commissions again in miniature size with my 2″ x 2″ canvases. My mini’s are by far a customer favorite and I think it’s because they can have a custom one of a kind piece of art without it costing a fortune. It’s definitely on my radar to start offering larger commissions but for now the mini’s are very manageable for me to be able to do while being a mom.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

When it comes to painting, I used to think if I couldn’t make it look like a photograph, I wasn’t good enough. I was a closet perfectionist for many years and never new until after picking up my brushes again last summer. Things had changed a lot for me since the last time I painted and now I have different energy around the process. Each phase of a painting has it’s purpose and rhythm. Now, I let the piece tell me when it’s done, instead of fighting every brush stroke to be perfect.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I quit drinking alcohol in June of 2021 and will never go back. I had done sabbaticals from drinking before, besides during my pregnancies and always eventually went back for some reason or another. Drinking was always a slippery slope for me and I could never just have one. Going through a pandemic as a stay at home mom with two young kids was definitely the worst my drinking ever got and I didn’t want to continue on that path. My family deserved better and I deserved better. The day after my son’s 2nd birthday I said no more. This time the energy around it felt different, I knew this wasn’t just a break, it was for good and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made for myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: Abasicwitchscrafts.etsy.com
• Instagram: @a.basic.witchs.crafts
• Facebook: Facebook.com/abasicwitchscrafts