Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Darcy Weiss. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Darcy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you manage your own social media?
Thank you so much for having me! Yes, I do! I handle just about every nook and cranny it takes to run my little business, including and not limited to my numerous Social Media accounts. making sure my finances are in check, drawing, painting, printing, cutting, packaging, shipping, & promotion of all products.
The start up costs were somewhat substantial and I have been blessed with an ever-supportive husband. He is someone who believes in me and I would not have been able to be where I am now without his love and support of my art. My first business goal was to save for a Cricut machine as the first 200+ stickers were hand-cut. I was able to reach that goal with my first show, Art in the Barn, and that has pushed me to keep moving forward ever since. I have done my best to grow “organically” and not spend more than I have budgeted for, despite the fact I am ever evolving my display and offerings.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am an Only Child who grew up on the East side of the state and moved to West Michigan for college. I fell in love with the culture and people of West Michigan and have lived here ever since. We moved into our Rockford home in 2020, closing on our house 8 days before the entire world shut down. I have always been considered “crafty” and loved doodling. I learned of the Zentangle-style in High School. The repetition I found relaxing and helped with my anxiety. In 2020, like everyone else, I had a hard time processing what was going on in the world. My middle child and I tried a number of different hobbies including learning a bit of American Sign Language via youtube, making chalk art, and crafting everyday. I found that art of any form would boost my mood so I started sketching again and would draw chalk fanart of Pokemon, Dogs, or Video Game characters on my driveway. The Amazon driver (who visited too many times) told me I should make an Instagram for my art. It was at that point I heard myself called an artist for the first time. That was the turning point, we bought an ipad so I could use Procreate and my business started.
I have watched my art evolve so much since my first pieces and I am in so much better of a mental place at this point. Recently, I have been focusing on Mixed Media as I feel confident in my procreate skills but also have been taking Watercolor Classes from my friend/mentor, Audrey Shantz, who owns a gallery in downtown Rockford. I do linework via my ipad, print on my watercolor paper, paint, and then use found objects / jewelry to accent the pieces. I really love Fairies and Fairy Gardens so that is often the perspective or the feel of my piece. My long term art goal is to turn my Nana’s house into a fairy style and accent it with pieces of jewelry she bought me over the years. She is the reason I love Jewelry and rock collecting.
I finally feel confident in my process that I am starting to offer Mixed Media Classes starting in April, on Earth Day! Classes will be held at Aptitude Fitness & Yoga. It will be a mixture of watercolor, alcohol markers, gel pens, acrylic paint pens, jewelry, found objects, sparkles, & an open mind!
How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.
I started by posting my art on Redbubble as it is free to post on and I do not need to keep any inventory on hand. They handled everything once I uploaded my designs. Since I do a number of fan art designs (unable to be posted on Redbubble), I looked at expanding to an artist website. When researching platforms, I looked into a well-known and well-established site but did not like all of the hidden fees. As a digital artist, I needed a website that would allow me to add as many products and variations without a fee per posted item. I talked to a number of different small business owners and did my own research on a variety of different platforms. My friend suggested Shopify and I loved the ease of editing but after 3 re-designs I pivoted to Squarespace. Squarespace was incredibly easy to use, so user friendly and sleek. The free plan allowed a Gallery-style view that I loved. Unfortunately, for my needs it would have been too expensive as I would have needed to get the most expensive plan to do everything I intended. After a short time, about 3 months, I switched back from Squarespace to Shopify. I found a reasonably priced add-on for a gallery view, so now I have the best of both worlds! For me, Shopify is the answer to my business needs. but I always suggest Redbubble for an artist who is just starting out as it is free!
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
In 2021, I was focused on in-person events. I wanted to try every kind of event, two-day / annual / conservative / local / pop up, everything. My first event of 2021, Tulip Time in Holland, Michigan, almost ended my business. I had about 4 meltdowns and two days before setup I was ready to throw in the towel. There were too many unknowns and it scared me! What if I sell out? What if I sell nothing? What if people do not like me? What if my display blows away? (it was VERY windy and our tent moved 3 feet so this was a valid fear!) The vendor fee was very high for a new business and a lot was riding on my first event. It did not go as expected but being there with my friend and co-artist, Brandi Lancaster, was so helpful. Unfortunately, we did not make any profit from this show but we did another event together a month later, Hippie Fest, and that was life changing. Not only did we exceed expectations but we met amazing people, the community was so welcoming and loving. It helped shape me as a person. I loved every second of being at Hippie Fest and realized “this is my crowd”. I stopped making art I thought people would want to buy and pivoted to making art that I liked and bought ME joy. Brandi and I will be at Hippie Fest June 10-11 in Trufant, Michigan. It is so much fun for all ages. My littles, 3 and 6, loved it.
Once I found what I wanted to do, my in person events became more exciting. I wanted to share my art. I just love watching people smile at my weird sense of humor. I have met some of the most amazing people at shows. But also remember, always be talking about your business! Everywhere you go!
Contact Info:
- Website: doodlemittens.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doodle_mittens/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoodleMittensDarcy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@doodle_mittens/videos
- Other: Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/doodle-mittens/shop?asc=u Linktree with links for all of my Marketing, Socials & Events: https://linktr.ee/Doodle_mittens
Image Credits
All photos are of my art and I own the rights, though there is a picture of my Redbubble link.