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

Hi Carlee, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I design and manufacture cremation pieces.

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.

I spent many years in dentistry as a hygienist. Using my dental tools I carved a dragonfly medallion that I wanted after I could not find it out on the market. I then began making these after requests. Additionally, I had a friend who gave me a kiln and bucket of glass. It was then I began fusing glass and then moved on to soldering, welding and bigger projects. Nature is my inspiration. A piece of me became you. I began to fuse ashes into jewelry back in 2009. Since then the market has taken me from jewerly and expanded into wall art, dishes, lights, tables, walking sticks and more. We incorporate ashes into almost anything by custom order. My product line is not all cremation as any item can be made without. The cremation pieces create a special bond with me and the customer. They are mourning and my pieces can give them a little closure. A feeling of having your passed on loved one or pet with you all the time.
I want to decorate the world with as much as I can until I die… and then maybe I will be jewelry too.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I believe the most rewarding aspect of being the artist is knowing that what you put down as art is accepted by another. It is the most flattering compliment when a customer picks you to create what they want. As an artist it is the biggest challenge to “see” what it is in their mind and make it come to life. Keeping expectations and limitations in check is another hurdle to overcome when working with a customer. The project may start out amazing and go to awful in a blink of an eye but end up as something you never knew you could do or that it could be done. Constantly chanllenging your self and not comparing yourself is one of my goals. The other side of being an artist is having a customer come back at you for another piece. Making someone a collector or your art is one of the greatest honors. Having the customer say, ” You are the artist do what you want” are beautiful words.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

The dreaded thought of how does one price their work haunts artists. While we are very creative we all did not take business classes. Things that have significantly impacted my success are a few things. Surround yourself with people who know the business and are positive. Watch and follow people who know how to run a business. I have had some friends that turned into business consultants. One was number oriented and one was art oriented. The numbers guy taught me if you don’t know your numbers you can’t make money. It is simple but necessary. The other consultant helped in retail telling me what sells in a gallery and times of the year to pay attention to and schedule consistent events. No one told me in order to sell in a shop or gallery you have to find a way so that everyone makes money or they will not have a reason to carry your product. You must assign your self an hourly rate and calculate your costs for materials. Come up with your wholesale price and then decide how much profit margin you make from those figures. Some mark up 2 percent and some 3.5 percent. I divide my costs up with wholesale, retail , my gallery price and website price with each one increasing. Remember a shop does not want to carry a product they can get cheaper on line. So circumvent that with a coupon. Develop relationships with galleries if you don’t have your own. Remember who refers business to you and honor those relationships. Watch a business show that matches your goals for you. I like Bar Rescue and apply those same business rules to my art gallery. If you wanna have an investor maybe check out Shark Tank or another show because you can learn a lot about the business end.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.MossCreekArt.com
• Instagram: MossCreekArt
• Facebook: MossCreekArt
• Linkedin: MossCreekArt
• Twitter: @CarleeSeele

Image Credits
Carlee Seele