We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Caroline Chamberlain a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Caroline , appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

One of the most meaningful pieces that I have made is the first peacock artwork that I made. Back in 2019, I started to advertise my string art on my personal facebook and showcasing some of the small pieces that I made as gifts for friends.

One of my neighbors contacted me, and asked if he could commission me to make a peacock for his wife as a birthday gift. The piece had to be fairly large to get all the feathers and details, and this design was something I have never made before. I ended up making this piece on a board that was 2 feet by 2 feet large, and I was ready for this new and exciting challenge. This piece probably took me over two weeks to make because of all the details.

This piece of art turn out to be so beautiful, and one of my favorites. My neighbor and his wife absolutely loved it. I really enjoyed the process of making such a challenging and large piece. I loved string art even more after seeing how happy my art made my neighbor and his wife. After posting this piece, I was slowing getting ask by more people to make them custom pieces.

Shortly after I finished this piece, Covid-19 hit, and I was unfortunately furloughed from my recruiting job, and as we know, not much hiring was happening in 2020. During this time, I decided to try to do more with my artwork. My cousin helped design my logos and promotional items. I started an official Facebook and Instagram page for my art opposed to just promoting it on my personal pages. I signed up for outdoor shows in the fall and started building inventory. Because of all these steps I took and time spent on promoting my art, I feel like my art really took off.

The peacock piece deserves a lot of credit because I fell in love with creating string art even more after making this piece. It made me so happy to see others enjoy my art, and this happiness is what keeps pushing me to keep creating.

Caroline , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Caroline. I tell people that by day, I am a recruiter, and by night I am an artist. I discovered string art when I saw an artwork in the office of a faculty member at my alma mater, Oglethorpe University, during my undergrad years. The faculty member could not remember exactly where they had got the string art or who the artist was. The art was not signed, so there was no way for me to find the original artists. I always considered myself crafty, so I decided to start looking on how to create string art in order to create my own.

My very first piece was Oglethorpe’s logo, and I really enjoyed the process. From there, I decided to start creating string art as gifts for friends and family because I thought it was unique and personal. After I graduated college in May 2019, I wanted to have something that was my own, so I established Caroline’s Customs on the side. I started just sharing the pictures on my personal pages of gifts I made for friends and family, and slowly, people started asking to create pieces for them.

During quarantine in 2020, I decided to take my business to the next level. I started to create inventory in order to attend markets and craft shows when the timing was right. After attending a few shows, I gained a lot of exposure, and my small business took off!

I create unique and customizable string art which is made of wood, string and nails. I have created school logos, company logos, pets, and more in string art. I love to be involved in the community and enjoy collaborating with other small businesses.

String art is really unique and not a common form of art that I have seen in fairs and craft shows, soI think this really sets me apart, and seeing people so happy with the pieces I have made brings me joy.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

For me, friends and family have been the biggest supporters. Social media is a really great outlet to showcase your art, and every time I made a piece for someone I knew personally, I would kindly ask if they could also post it and tag me for their network to see. People I do not know are able to see my art and pages, and I started getting more request with this exposure.

The second thing that I have done that has really helped me is building a network of other artist. When I decided to attend a show as a vendor, I met many great artist and was able to connect with them online. One artist invited me to join her Instagram group of other local Atlanta artist, and this group helps support each other’s pages by liking/ commenting/ saving each other’s post for engagement. This really helped with exposure as well.

The biggest thing to remember is to give yourself grace and not focus on the follower count. I would consider my follower count relatively small, but I am constantly receiving order requests, which always keeps me creating.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

String art is pretty unique, and I love seeing the reaction of those purchasing and, or receiving my pieces. I think it is amazing to see people ordering my art for either themselves or to give as gifts. It makes my art feel really meaningful and appreciates.

Friends, family and even strangers have been really supportive of my creative journey, and I am so thankful for the people and other artist I have met along the way.

Contact Info:

• Website: Coming Soon!
• Instagram: carolinescustoms
• Other: email: [email protected] to contact me!