We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful GEORGE FOLD. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with GEORGE below.

GEORGE, appreciate you joining 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?

When I began creating my art, I had no idea that I could sell it. I started creating pieces and giving them to friends and family as gifts. When I see those pieces now, I was probably correct in thinking I couldn’t sell them. My early work was awful. It was only through the encouragement of friends and my family that I continued working at, and developing, my craft. Eventually, I got to the point where I felt comfortable and confident enough to put some pieces up for sale. When the first one sold, I was truly surprised, but it surely motivated me to keep going. While many milestones in this creative journey are memorable, none stand out quite like the feeling of earning that “first dollar” from doing something I love.

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?

I make bottle cap art. Now, when I say, “art,” I mean, more specifically, crabs. I make bottle cap crabs. I know it seems like a random, specific niche– and it is. I was born, and still live, in Maryland. Crabs & beer are practically a religion here. So, it was a natural union.

This whole venture began in 2016. I had seen these critters attempted by others, but I had not seen a single design or piece that, in my opinion, wasn’t lacking something. I believed that there were more design ideas and possibilities to explore. Yes, people have been making these bottle cap crabs for years. There’s not a craft show that I attend where at least 20 people don’t inform me that their cousin, daughter, neighbor, or mom, “makes these same things.” So, while I’m definitely not the first person to make these crabs, I like to think that I do them differently. I incorporate more designs, backgrounds, and above all, hard-to-find bottle caps into my work. I know that I’m truly making one-of-a-kind pieces that others simply cannot replicate. This is one of the things that sets me apart from the dozens and dozens of bottle cap crab artists. And I realize that setting myself apart is what needs to be done if I’m to be successful in this very specific field.

I do my best to constantly develop new ideas and themes for my work. I incorporate different brands and color schemes. Sometimes, I’ll create a design that’s state or geographically specific. In one case, I created a crab for a customer’s father who had recently beaten cancer. We designed the crab with caps from his favorite beers and a color scheme that represented survivors of the disease. It’s when I can give my work a personal touch that the customer appreciates it even more–and will cherish it for years to come. The kind feedback I receive from customers is one of the things that keeps me motivated.

As I close in on my one-thousandth crab made, I’m excited to have sold to 39 states and four countries. My art is carried in four retail stores, and I set-up annually at two large festivals. I would love to move into this business full time, and with each passing year, it seems I’m a bit closer to making that a reality.

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

My medium is bottle caps. Each crab takes 77 caps to create. If you do the math, you’ll realize that I go through a lot of bottle caps in a year. I need to be creative in the ways that I find my material. I am thankful for my friends, family, (and sometimes complete social media strangers) who save me bottle caps. Every year millions of metal caps are discarded in landfills. Upcycling certainly helps us all. I’d encourage everyone to save materials for their friends and family members who are creatives- and if you don’t know of any, we are easy to find on social media. I do my best to save wine corks, six pack holders and steel cans for my fellow creatives who work in those mediums. It’s a great way to support artists and our creative ecosystem in general, and we always appreciate it!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Designing and creating a piece of art from scratch and selling it to someone who is going to hang it in their house- or give it as a gift- is the most rewarding aspect of my business. I make my art for people to enjoy and it’s an honor when they do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hardshelldesigns.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hardshelldesigns/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HardshellDesigns
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/HardShellDesigns

Image Credits
Arden Haley