We were lucky to catch up with CeCe Restyled recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, CeCe thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

My first dollars earned as an artist would have to rewind back 4th grade when I would grab my pencil, pad of paper, and my eye for art and start selling personal portraits on the playground. From that point on the entrepreneurial bug stuck and to this day I continue to turn my creativity into my lively hood.

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.

She’s an experienced Furniture Artist and Creative. A Designer-Influencer for ReDesign with Prima, and a ‘maker of things’ in general… CeCe, from CeCe ReStyled. But once she was an expecting mama, trying to save some costs and enjoy a new hobby. You know that story…”things took off and what a success, hobby turned full time gig yada yada yada”. For that I am grateful, BUT…there is more to the story. I paint furniture yes, I also teach and share the craft with anyone who wants to learn via video and in person classes. Since I was a little girl, for as long as I can remember, I wanted to be an Art Teacher. And that is exactly what I am today.

My whole adult life (and most of my younger life) has been dedicated to the study and practice of art and design. Pulling knowledge and inspiration from every little place, intertwining ideas and the fundamentals across varying visual arts & creative industries, then building upon a fine arts background (since birth, thanks dad) and then college and art school educations in Interior Design and Graphic Design and subsequent workplace experiences, each of those has led me exactly HERE. This is exactly where I am supposed to be. Teaching, doing, making mistakes then learning from them, sharing with others …and repeat!

My style is inspired from all directions and tends to run on the side of unexpected, a bit off from the typical. It is somehow surprisingly fun yet artistic. Highly detailed, yet works in pleasing harmony despite the unlikely pairings in theme, color, pattern, (and a few doubtful eyes until the reveal).

It is sometimes over the top, but intentional.
Busy, yet nicely composed. Highly unique in design. Whatever you call it, it is for sure authentic and created straight from her soul.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When a person begins to be of the age to start thinking about their career path, it’s often said that “the customer is always right”. The biggest lesson I had to unlearn is that the customer is not, always right.

Most folks who choose the path of a creative professional do not do so with a monetary driving factor. Rather, it’s because we felt a calling to do so. It was instinctual. Preserving our desire to create, be inspired, and remain motivated can be a challenge when the driving force is not measurable for the most part, as it’s more of a feeling of gratification. So when a client is demanding results that don’t feel authentic to your artistry, or you cannot derive inspiration or a vision to fulfill their requests (or any number of reasons the project becomes mentally exhausting) it’s ok to end the working relationship. There is a way to do so cordially that will leave you with your professionalism and dignity in tact. For example, if being asked to produce a carbon copy of another persons artwork is not something you are willing to do for whatever the reason, it’s ok to decline by simply stating that you “aren’t the best suited artist to make their requests come to life, but thank you for the consideration…” I’ve learned that there is no price tag worth my mental well being. Maybe the saying should be: “The customer is always right, maybe they’re just right for a different artist.” Ha! But

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I believe that in most cases, with few exceptions, to think one’s artwork is truly ‘unique’ is presumptuous and a potential insult to any prior individual who has explored the same concept(s). There’s no real way to know this which is why IP is such a grey area anyhow. If there’s a truly inventive idea, process or technique, there are trademark and patent laws in place for such instances. I had an art school instructor who always said ‘there is nothing new under the sun” because every idea is, in some capacity, inspired by an existing idea

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.cecerestyled.com
• Instagram: Cece_restyled
• Facebook: https://cecerestyled.com/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CeCeReStyled