We were lucky to catch up with Dina Bechman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Dina , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I have always been a creative, maker of things. It took a long time to actually call myself an artist. In any creative’s life there comes a time that they feel the need, drive to sell their art. In 2014 I found myself unemployed and looking for direction. A friend told me about a small storefront, near her business, available for rent. Within a month I had opened Five Monkeys Inc (named because I have 5 children, they are my monkeys it is my circus). Five Monkeys Inc started as a small collective. I sold my art and consigned for other local artists. The storefront was literally 400 sq feet with 15 foot high walls. I filled that place with an eclectic mix of artists. In 2015 I moved the business to an larger store front, took on more artists, hosted regular gallery showings, often an artist’s first show – that makes my heart happy. When art shows seemed to be the way to get people in the door I expanded into the next storefront which created space for retail and event space. I hosted classes, themed art shows, plant swaps, clothing swaps ANYTHING to bring people in the door. In 2017 I realized maybe I’d bitten off more than I could chew and I sublet half of my space to my son’s new business selling vintage vinyl records. We cohabitated but I still wasn’t experiencing much success, although my artist cup was full, I was supporting the art scene and local artists but I was not supporting myself. I tried many different commission structures but I just wasn’t able to support myself. In 2018 opportunity didn’t even knock, it just walked through my door. I was approached with the idea of renting space in my back room to someone who needed space for their kilns as they were closing their ceramic studio but still wanted kiln access to do school and daycare events. When I went to look at the kilns at her studio I asked what she was going to do with all her ceramic inventory. She didn’t sound too excited at the prospect of trying to find a buyer, so I threw her the idea of taking it over. Amazingly she agreed. I took over her inventory and I paid her for the inventory as I sold it and she mentored me on glazing the ceramics and firing them. Very shortly into my ceramics journey I knew I had found where I needed to be. In January of 2019 after almost 5 years of being in business I wrote myself my first paycheck! In 2019 the gallery and the ceramic studio co-existed in the space. I was approached by another friend’s business and I sublet another quarter of the space to her vintage clothing business. The vintage vinyl and vintage clothes really vibed together! In December of 2019 I notified the artists that I was closing the gallery side of the business. It was hard to let that portion go but it was at the end of it’s life. 2020 was going to be my year!! We had a large event the beginning of March and it was on track to be the best month I’d ever experienced, Well, then, pandemic. In past years everytime I entered my ceramic inventory into my website I wondered if it was work worth doing, well it did prove to be a good choice. During the pandemic I did ceramics to go. People ordered and I delivered projects to them. They would then drop projects back to me curbside to be fired. Once the lockdown was over getting people back to the studio was a little slower than I had hoped. In 2021 during lease negotiations the landlord dropped a bomb that he didn’t want me to sign the lease he would prefer to rent to the other two businesses in the space. WOW, ok. It turned out to be the universe pushing me in the right direction. I moved the ceramic studio to a vibrant shopping district and we found our home! We found a more consistent customer base and we grew! I hired my first employee and paid myself consistently. Although not my original business model it absolutely has accomplished my base goal of supporting creatvity, just in a different way. In 2024 my dream space on the street opened up and I took a big financial leap of faith and moved Five Monkeys Inc once again. We’re now in a space large enough to launch a second line of business and 2025 is going to see us open our fused glass studio. Five Monkeys Inc has survived over 10 years and is thriving! We continue to grow our community. We provide a safe, inclusive, comfortable environment for people to create, converse and connect.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My art has a signature. RAINBOWS!! I have loved rainbows for as long as I can remember. There is something so satisfying about placing the last color in a color run and completing the rainbow. Any medium I work in will result in rainbows. I like textures and movement.
I have ADHD and creating keeps my brain busy, it’s meditation. I often have multiple projects on my table, in different mediums. My current favorites are ceramics, watercolors, alcohol ink and glass. I jump around a lot. I’m in the process of moving and I can’t wait to set up my new studio with ‘stations’ for each medium.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Bringing joy to yourself and others.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Be active. Be yourself. Give what you’d like to receive, meaning support other artists. There is room in the world for everyone!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.fivemonkeysinc.com
• Instagram: fivemonkeysinc
• Facebook: fivemonkeysinc
• Linkedin: fivemonkeysinc
• Twitter: fivemonkeysinc
• Youtube: fivemonkeysinc