We recently connected with Chelsa Darling and have shared our conversation below.

Chelsa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Turning your art into your income is not all the sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll I was led to believe. It’s actually a lot of taxes mixed with near-constant anxiety, met by endless decisions. There’s ever-evolving technology to adapt to and we live in the dawn of “Everything is content”, so you also need to film everything you do as a creator in hopes your audience will see you and hesitate just long enough on your art mid doom scroll.

It can be exhausting and lonely trying to keep up with the constant demand to produce, produce, produce. It can start to drain your creativity when you’re being pulled in so many different directions as a business owner. The burnout is real.

I suspect all independent artists realize at some point; “OH SHIT-I monetized ‘my thing’ that brought me such joy, and now it’s work”. Work that you can’t ever even begin to emotionally separate from, so you have to stop and ask yourself “Do I even want this anymore?”

In November of last year I asked myself and it was a “No”.

I was feeling very discontent. I felt like a revolving sprinkler trying to water every garden of my life and trying to keep up with the demands I had imposed upon myself. This machine was of my own design! I went from artist to ‘order taker’. So when I asked myself if I wanted this anymore it was an easy “nope”. ‘Not like this’.

From there I had to identify what wasn’t working and what I needed to do to in order to fix it. I’m a “dust yourself off and try again” girlie. I decided to swerve away from how I was doing business as an artist, and lean back into being an artist before the business. Amongst the changes I made, the best things I did were:

-I teamed up with a business partner, a creative collaborator and dear friend of mine, Kevin Klausman, who could take on a lot of the day to day operations that I’m frankly just not very good at. We are a new team and ironing out our rhythm but it’s been such an unburdening to have help.
-I started doing new projects. I deviated from what I was selling well and was comfortable with, to shake things up! So, I got a part time gig, so I could and spend some time flexing my creative muscles without panicking about loss of income (Just in case no one else was receptive to me deviating from what I traditionally produce as an artist). I’m known for magical bongs, but this year I’ve created a bath line, done some very cool props, videos, spooky dollhouse miniatures and started a horror fiction podcast! Writing is my favorite thing right now…but it doesn’t pay my bills. Art needs the freedom to fail. Changing up my routine and experimenting got my head back in the game.

I almost immediately felt reinvigorated! I jumped into new creative projects, I gave myself room to experiment and get weird. I’ve made some of the coolest bongs ever since! So I don’t know a lot about maintaining the status quo, or “forever” commitments. But I am committed to evolving and honoring my creative direction… Even if right now that means blasting off into a good horror story.

Chelsa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Chelsa Darling, a creative director originally from Colorado Springs, CO. I can never stay put for too long and currently reside in Austin, Texas. I was still working here as an event designer when I was inspired to create my first crystal bong. I say “inspired” but truly it was my obsessive compulsion at that time for everything in my home to “spark joy”. I would not allow myself to have a bong if it wasn’t a statement piece.

Once it was complete I immediately realized:
A) I would have purchased this from someone had it been an option at the time
B) There were people like me, who would also purchase this too- if they could find it.

So I started Little Ghost Bootique in 2019, as a side hustle- very unaware and unassuming that it would soon replace my career in event design. Since then I have filled over 2300 orders and my art has traveled all over the world to spark joy. I’ve had fellow artists, moms, musicians, brands, celebs, brides, gamers, horror fans and everything in between come to me for the most fantastical smoke sesh they’ve ever had.

This year I’ve really shaken up my online menu and returned to my roots of ‘magic made to order’ with small batch and limited run designs that make your eyes light up when you see them. On April 20th 2023, I launched ‘The Dungeon of Delirium Podcast’ original music and tales of frightening fiction, together with my business partner and co-producer, Kevin Klausman. After launching our season 0 teaser episodes, we’re currently writing our first full season; airing October 6th, 2023!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

To counter my cautionary tale of creative burnout, there are indescribable benefits to following a creative path. Unlimited mental health days over here, and my personal freedom is up to me- I’ve moved cross country a number of times while running my business, because I’ve setup a business model according to what priorities and goals I have for my lifestyle. I can’t imagine it any other way now.

However, the most rewarding aspect to me is the finished product! Breathing life into something you’ve only dreamed of, and then materializing it. The ability to create or alchemize a figurative concept when these projects can be grueling, time consuming, experimental, expensive, or fail (sometimes on repeat), so not many will see it though. But that’s why it feels so fucking good (can I say ‘so fucking good?’ there are no other words that feel right) when you’ve put in the labor and the love and then one day it’s complete. Concept to creation. Theres a sense of accomplishment or pride or whatever it is, that just feels like a sigh of relief, before inevitably sharing it with the world and hoping it resonates with a stranger as it did yourself.

But in that moment; whether it be a finished piece of art, a musical composition, a book, a film, or a horror podcast, you look at this thing you created and it is a piece of you. It’s incredibly vulnerable and your ability to share that love with the world is a gift.

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

Buy from creators directly! Get off Etsy and into their shops (did you know Etsy can take up to 30% of the sticker price you’re paying? You can often find art directly from the artist for cheaper!) Go find your creatives on social media and support them directly. Share their work with credit and big bonus points for backlinks on your blogs. Tell your friends about creators you enjoy. Share their posts. Recommend artists you love and often! Humans really need more weird art in their feeds. Remember we can not compete with Amazon, we often can’t afford to cover free shipping and we certainly can’t ship handmade products next day. Be patient with us. Remember the artist when you see their work cheaper (and stolen) on Amazon. If you love something from an artist or podcaster or creator let us know by sending a good review our way- These make it all worth while.

Just remember to humanize your interactions with others. I think everyone can feel so disconnected from the human experience dealing with so many online conveniences and chat bots. But remember we are just people doing our best. We are good at art and we are doing our best at every other role we play in our business.

Contact Info:

• Website: LittleGhostBootique.com
• Instagram: Instagram.com/LittleGhostBootique
• Facebook: Facebook.com/LittleGhostBootique
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DungeonOfDelirium
• Other: https://dungeonofdelirium.com https://podcast.dungeonofdelirium.com https://linktr.ee/dungeonofdelirium