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

Bryana, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I actually have what’s considered a regular part-time job as a communications assistant at my local library! The coincidental irony is that I’ve had people from both professions ask me “so what’s your real job?” unaware of the amount of effort that goes into either.

As some may already know, being a creative small business goes beyond simply making a product and then posting a picture online like “ta-da! Here it is!” The reality is, it is actually doing multiple jobs at once. There is a joke online that says “I didn’t want to work a 9 to 5 , so now I work 24/7.” You start with brainstorming, and then move on to buying supplies, followed by actually creating your ideas. For me, because needlepoint is not by any means a fast activity, that part alone can take hours. Then you move on to the more marketing side of owning a small business which includes taking stock of inventory, product photography, product pricing (and being your own hype man to make sure your price what you’re worth), web design and maintenance, and posting on social media to promote your work.

Although I view other creatives as a community that I admire and not competition, social media and pesky, constantly changing algorithms make online visibility difficult. This requires a lot of planning and analytics in order to get your posts and products views by your desired audience. For example, the best time for posting, the perfect hashtags to use, and current popular “trends” and topics. An additional hurdle in this experience is racial bias created by these social media algorithms that do not boost (and sometimes even bury) the work of BIPOC creators.

Regardless, there is a undeniable happiness I feel when all that hard work pays off, and someone buys something I created! Me! With my own hands! I guess it’s like the adult equivalent of having your parent put you little scribble drawing on the fridge. I’m just so grateful that I get to be part of something that will live in people’s homes and be a part of their lives.

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?

Hello readers! I’m Bryana, and I do pop culture based needlepoint and digital art items! That means I do cross stitch and embroidery (I don’t mind when people interchange the names) and digitally designed items (stickers, keychains, tote bags) based on musicians, television shows, and movies!

I actually started cross stitching so long ago that I truly do not remember what made me pick up the hobby in the first place. Back then I mostly made gifts for friends and family for holidays. In hindsight, most of them were not great, but everyone has to start somewhere, and you have to be bad before you’re good. Around 2018, my friend Bailey asked if I could make a custom piece for her that said,”In this house, we understand vine references.” And it was such an niche internet request (shout out if you remember vine!) that it made me laugh. After a lot of research and taking notes from my personal favorite creators, I finally opened up my own website in February 2021!

The beauty and fun of making pop culture things so that 1. It’s not your typical embroidery subject like flowers or animals or nature scenes and 2. It’s a topic that interests everyone! Everyone has a favorite song, movie, TV show, or book. Even though most of what I make is related to what I like, I also make products outside just my interests as well. My last collection in October includes a Coraline design, because even though claymations give me the heebie jeebies, I know plenty of people adore that movie, and I like to give people what they want. I also always have commissions open, so if an idea pops into your head, no matter how ridiculous, I can always help you bring it to life. And yes, I do curse words (there’s always one person who asks me if I do curse words).

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Since my work is pop culture based, I actually have the privilege of being ridiculous as much as I am professional. Aside from just sharing my work, I also talk about concerts I’ve been to and shows I’m currently loving and things of that matter. That, in turn, creates a space for others to share that same information with me. People will tell me about their favorite songs or how excited they are for their upcoming concert, and it makes me so happy to build relationships with them beyond just being a customer. So my advice, as cliche as it sounds, is just be yourself! You are not just a brand. You’re a person, and people deserve to know the wonderful person you are behind the business.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I feel the best way to support artists is to understand that there’s a lot of behind the scenes work that the public doesn’t get to see and to understand that there’s a method to their madness(and by madness, I mean their pricing). While you may see a $30 dollar ceramic bowl, what you don’t see is: 1. The time it took to design this item 2. The cost of the supplies like clay, the etching tools, and paint. 3. The cost of renting studio time and the kiln 4. The failed attempts or kiln mess ups 5. Market application and other business fees and 6. The cost of shipping and shipping fees! Small businesses put a lot of heart and time into what they create, and yes you could buy something cheaper at the store, but you won’t find that heart and uniqueness from some regular machine made item on a Walmart shelf.

On the topic of shipping, please also understand that most businesses are just one or a few people doing the work on their own. They are not Amazon! They are doing their best have no control over shipping speeds once your purchase is in the hands of the USPS (who are also doing their best). So please be patient and kind.

Contact Info:

• Website: sweetbusybeshop.com
• Instagram: @sweetbusybeshop
• Twitter: @sweetbusybeshop
• Other: TikTok: @sweetbusybeshop

Image Credits
Bryana Ezell, Anna Stout