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

Artist Rico, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Risk taking can be applied to not only business, but truthfully anything someone wants out of life. I truly believe there no is great reward without taking a risk, taking a leap of faith towards a sense of achievement. There is a certain beauty in the struggle, a certain type of passion and dedication before one is ready to take any risk. There is a certain mentally that one must possess before trying to achieve anything, it’s honestly a “risk it all” mentally.

Growing up there weren’t too many “success” artists that looked like me, so when I became aware of what my purpose was I started to tap in mentally into what I had to do to get to where I wanted to go. I worked for years to manifest this certain drive I have towards my business / brand, this level of passion cannot be faked; either you have it or you don’t.

There is no story to tell in regards to “taking a risk”, taking a risk means betting on yourself with everything you have to achieve something. From a business standpoint you have to completely double down and invest everything you have into what it is you’re going for. In other words and to put it in terms anyone can understand, how would you know if you’ll be successful if you don’t take the risk? You have to believe in yourself 1000% before you take a chance, if you’re gonna roll the dice then you better be ready to go all in….because once you jump off that cliff, it’s time to fly.

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?

My name is Artist Rico Edwards, I’m an Artist / Entrepreneur; native to Louisiana but operate out of Houston, Tx. I would label myself a graphic painter in acrylics, but my studio practice consists of other branches such as graphic design, product and clothing design, sculpture work, framing and much more.

Before having the idea of creating an “art business” which would be called a “brand”, I started hand painting t shirts in high school as a way to wear my own work than later became a way to make money. Before I became an entrepreneur, I was an artist first and forever will be an artist first; before there was a price tag there was passion in my work.

As stated earlier, I started hand painting t shirts towards the end of my freshman year in high school as a way to wear my own work because I was not a fan of the graphic shirts sold in stores. Over time throughout high school I got into the practice of producing more clothing for students and even teachers, to the point where in my senior year I deigned the graduating class of 2010 class shirt. At that point I knew art was my calling, I knew it was my purpose to pursue art in any form or fashion.

Shortly after graduating high school, I begin to develop my what I once called an “Art Business” into a “Brand”, with complete support from my parents I was successfully able to pursue an art career over the years.

Currently still running my brand, “Enigma Project” as a full time Artist / Designer / Entrepreneur, with a long list of ongoing and repeated clients domestically and a few internationally. Since the early days of high school my studio practices have expanded into many different mediums such as print making, sculpting with wood, tattooing, architecture, furniture design; just to name a few.

As time goes on, universe willing; I plan to take my brand more mainstream to become a global recognized brand.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

As an artist all of my products are hand made from start to finish, I completely and purposely create everything from scratch to promote creativity, control and ownership over everything. In addition to having a hand in producing all of my projects I have a home studio so all of my products are built in house, I don’t have to outsource anything.

With my paintings I build my own stretcher bars and stretch my own canvases from start to finish, that way I have complete control over how the project looks based on what it is I’m painting.

My wooden sculptures are also built from start to finish, from the cutting of the wood, painting the design and finishing with varnishing is all done in house; in the comfort of my home studio.

The list goes on with project production, but a key lesson I would recommend is simple….everything comes down to experience, that is honestly the best teacher. Another tip I would leave is doing the proper research and investing in the right tools / materials for whichever product is being produced.

By doing all of this, you’ll have a hand / complete control over all production and any form of profit.

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

As mentioned earlier there isn’t a story to tell in regards to my resilience, it’s simply going after what it is you’re trying to manifest. I see myself as a global recognized artist / brand owner so there’s certain things I have to do in order to get to that level. There’s a certain work ethic I must have in order to get to that level, there’s a certain mindset I have to carry with me. There’s a certain belief I must have in myself and in my craft in order for me to manifest those things, that’s resilience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.enigmaprojectbrand.com
• Instagram: @Artist_Rico_Edwards / @EnigmaProjectBrand

Image Credits
On the snap : Gabi Glover.