We caught up with the brilliant and insightful April Hawkins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
April, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?
My brand, Sanford it’s not bad came up after drinking a few one night with my friends. Almost like we had to apologize for Sanford by saying it’s not that bad. Someone said you should put that on a T-shirt, so I did. And to this day people still laugh at it when they see it! We even poked fun at our neighbors in Deltona by saying Sanford it’s not Deltona!
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. As a child, I had crayons and paints, that kept me busy. Mostly paint on metal and found wood but I do like weird stuff that’s not typically painted on like nails, lunchroom, trays, and making night lights out of spam cans.
I was a bartender for a while, and a Bail bondsman. I’ve seen humanity at its best and worst. That helps me with the irony I see in things.
I’ve always loved tattoos. I’ve picked up a lot of inspiration from them. I also love Mexico and my favorite place in the world is New Orleans. You can see that reflected in my work.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
As mentioned before, I was a bail bondsman for years. When that job ended suddenly I had to think on my toes . I didn’t know what to do so I started selling art on the street. I had a table in front of my favorite bar and I sat outside under the stars having fun and making friends. Some nights all I made was gas money. But I knew That’s what I wanted to do.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
I’m a shy fire sign but I would describe myself as an extrovert. Sitting behind a table with artwork that you’ve painted takes guts. I met a lot of great people that gave me beautiful compliments, and then there were those who had critiques. Which is cool too. One night I had set everything up and I was trying to get myself together and this guy came up. He picked up two of the metal hands i make. He asked me, “Did you paint these? I said yes and he quickly jammed them down his pants! I wasn’t really sure what to do and then he started laughing! He said oh OK I guess I have to buy these. How much are they? And I’m still friends with that guy today!
Contact Info:
- Website: Sanforditsnotthatbad.com
- Instagram: @Lovleee
Image Credits
I took those pics