We recently connected with Booth Sartain McGee and have shared our conversation below.

Booth, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

From a very early age I was always creating. My mom was always sewing when I was a kid. I would watch her work and taught myself to make clothes for my dolls. I remember during the summer before seventh grade, I worked on an outfit to wear for the first day of school, I was really proud of that. It was a jacket, a pair of pants and a skirt, so I could switch things around for multiple styles.. I was always drawing, painting, sewing, and making all kinds of projects; when high school art classes rolled around, I explored more disciplined methods of making art. I ended up being President of the Art Club, which I think solidified my path into art. working on the drama club set and being able to create from scratch really struck a note. Then, after a few tries at a few different colleges (none of them fit right), I ended up at Memphis College of Art. I actually have a degree in printmaking with an emphasis in paper making, letter press, and book arts. When I graduated, I got a job at a local stationery store as one of their designers. I still do stationery design work for a small store based in Nashville. I’ve been working remotely for that job for 9 years while building my company, b.Sartain.

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?

People are always surprised at the number of things that I do. But honestly, I don’t think I ever had a choice but to be a creative. I tell people I am a Jill-of-all-trades because there’s not much that I can’t tackle. With b.Sartain, I do graphic design, calligraphy, and polymer clay work focusing mostly on earrings, but occasionally I make other items. I also love to design and paint murals. I’ve done a few murals in homes over the years, but since 2021, when I had the opportunity to paint a custom bedroom mural on Carmeon Hamilton’s show Reno my Rental on Discovery + and HGTV, the mural world has opened up. I’ve painted murals for a number different business, as well as for a few more homes, and have some bigger projects on the horizon.

I think what sets me apart is that I don’t just have one artistic focus; I actually think it helps keep my problem-solving skills sharp. When it comes to earrings, I first get inspired by color. To me color plays such an important part. Sometimes before I even know what a design is going to be, whether it’s a physical thing, like a pair of earrings, or the design for a wedding invite, or even the designs for murals, I think about color first. It sets the tone for what the work, no matter what it is, will end up being and feeling like.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

One of the most important things, and this may get a little soap boxy, is this: pay creatives what they’re worth.

I have always been a creative person, but I also went to college to fine-tune my skills, to learn new ones, and to better understand art in general. Art is who I am and what I do.

But you would not believe the number of times that clients have wanted to bargain with me over my handmade earrings, or the number of times I’ve had to hunt down payments. I always look at my husband, friend, or whomever I happen to be talking to about this topic and say, ‘You don’t argue with your plumber over their prices. You don’t argue with your lawyer or doctor. You trust them as professionals and that they’re worth the money that they have billed you for.’

Creatives deserve that same respect. I know that I price myself what I am worth, but I also know that I charge fairly. I do research to make sure I am competitively priced for the service I’m providing. It may sound silly, but it really bothers me that creatives aren’t always given credit where credit is due or payment for their expertise. I think that is starting to change, more recently people have either accepted quotes for jobs as is, or politely said ‘I love your work, but that is out of my budget at this time’. I respect that, and that shows that they, in turn, respect me. It shows me that the pendulum is starting to swing towards change, but it definitely has been a slow change.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I think that in the age of Tiktok and Instagram, while they are a help to businesses, they can also be a hindrance. I used to be a part of a clay community on a website where I would see people who had been making earrings for a month, (one month!), totally devastated that their first release wasn’t a major success, they didn’t sell out, and they didn’t become an overnight viral sensation.

I’ve been a working artist for over 12 years! When my business really started to take off, it wasn’t because I hadn’t been working my butt off. In 2019, I finally found a foothold in a creative community here in Memphis. I was no longer working a full time design job, my daughter was 2, and my husband had a great job that allowed me to really dive into being a small business owner. In the latter half of 2019, things were rocking and rolling for me, then the pandemic happened. Now, I really do have to rely more on social media to continue to push my business and not lose that ground that I’d been working so hard to build. Social media is great at getting your face out there, but truly it is the one on one connections you make with people. Then those people recommend you to someone else, whether it is for a pair of earrings, a calligraphy job, or even a mural. Making those personal connections goes a long way to pushing your business forward.

I want to support new artists, hold their hands, and let them know that running a small creative business takes work! You may not ever be a viral sensation, you may never have a total sell out. But hard work does pay off in ways you might not have expected; you will build a following of loyal customers who may become friends! I think that is more important than having one sensational sell out moment.

Contact Info:

• Website: bsartain.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b.sartain/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bsartainsart/

Image Credits
Emily Holmes Weddings and “make art work” studio shot