We recently connected with Elizabeth Hargraves and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Elizabeth thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I was raised by 2 optimists. They always approached life with the attitude : if you’ve got lemons, make lemonade. They weren’t Pollyannas- they acknowledged difficulties and took the attitude that it would all turn out ok. And they never tried to force me to be anything other than who I am, supporting and celebrating my creativity. For instance, I showed an early desire to make my own clothing choices and came up with some pretty hilarious combinations. Other mothers would sometimes comment derisively on my approach and my mother would answer with “ well I don’t want to stifle her creativity”. This is in the days before it was cool for kids to wear mismatched outfits.
This has had a profound effect on me – in my career, I welcome challenges, as I know it will turn out ok! And it also helps me see the bigger picture and take a long term point of view.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always been creative and a practicing artist. My first job out of college was for a great English furniture dealer in New York City. I realized I wanted to go in a different direction and went to a 2 year restoration program. I started out working for a few different restorers while starting my own business and the dealer I’d worked for asked me to be their in house restorer a couple of days a week.
My work has always revolved around color and surface. I have a good eye for color and color matching. I love working on a variety of surfaces – restoring antique furniture and objects ( lacquer, painted surfaces, French polishing, gilding etc) as well as painting anything that can be painted! Whether it’s custom painting a piece of furniture based on the fabric in the room, painting a mural, a floor, a leather bag or jacket, a set of cocktail glasses, etc.
I love to paint something special for each client and some of my favorite projects have been collaborations – the client gives me a direction and I run with it.
People often don’t realize the breadth of what I’m able to do – I let them know that if they have a project, please talk with me. Chances are good I can work with you and if not, I can often find someone who can.
I’m proud of my ability to work with and delight clients.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Being trustworthy, skilful, knowing my craft and speaking the same language ( literally and figuratively) as my clients have all contributed to building my reputation. My business is mainly word of mouth so people usually find out about me from a trusted source. Having a good eye and understanding aesthetics are important too.
Another thing that has helped to build my reputation is the ability to take on a variety of creative endeavours and embrace new challenges. An example of this is when a long time client who is an amazing interior designer asked me if I could paint a grisaille. ‘Grisaille’ is a monochromatic style, typically in shades of grey. Having never done a grisaille I said yes I’d love to! It ended up being an incredibly satisfying project, resulting in a 5’x7.5’ panel that was installed at a special property in the Dominican Republic.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I started out mainly as an antique surface restorer of furniture and objects, doing decorative painting as well.
When the antiques market slowly got quieter and quieter, I built up the decorative painting side of the business much more, until it became the backbone. It was a case of serendipity – a client asked if I would paint some fabric for pillows. After that, I started diving in more and more to decorative painting – of bags, shoes, leather jackets, cocktail glasses, etc. I’ve always painted furniture and murals and have been doing more of these big projects as well.
Ironically, the antiques are popping up more and more these days. I love doing both, so feel fortunate.

Contact Info:

• Website: Firecrackerbags.com Elizabethhargraves.com
• Instagram: @firecrackerbags