Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Haley Peretic. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Haley, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

[Wasn’t sure how long to make this. I hope this is what you’re looking for!]

A recent realization of mine has been that – yes, I am allowed to pursue what makes me happy, even if only for that one reason; especially if only for that reason. Because what is life worth living for, if not pursuing happiness? And I think I lost focus of that for a while.

My path to accepting my own creativity has been a windy one, complete with dropping out of community college, joining the military, and working an IT desk job. And it’s funny because as a kid, I seemed to already know what my path would be. It was very straightforward to me back then. Regarding my future career, I would answer every inquisitive adult with one word: Artist. I wanted to be an artist.

As I grew up, I didn’t want to accept this about myself. I would not allow myself to go to art school and fall into the stereotypical starving artist role. I chose a new career goal after highschool based on the potential income I could earn in this field: Radiation Technology. It didn’t last long… I knew nothing about gamma rays, and X-ray tubes and I had no drive to learn it. I spontaneously quit, and, realizing my love for creativity would not leave me alone, signed up for graphic design classes in the fall.

You’d think this is where I completely accepted my creativity and felt like I found what it is I was looking to do with my artistic skills… but with the pandemic happening, and all my classes being virtual, I didn’t learn much or try very hard. And when I finally earned my associate degree in graphic design, I felt completely unready for a “real” career. So I joined the Army! HOOAH. Anyway… My military “job” I chose was/is IT Specialist, and so I was thrown into the world of diagnosing printers, terminating ethernet cables, and working help desks. I knew I hated it. Even after it all though, when I got back home, I still worked IT on the civilian side just because I now had the credentials. And then almost locked in a more long term, full-time IT intelligence position with my nearby army reserve unit. My only motivation for taking that job: The money.

I’m glad I didn’t continue down any one of these paths. You know, I do still think about what it would be like working IT at my national guard unit, or administering X-rays to hospital patients… I let those scenes play out in my head as alternate realities, but I know that I simply wouldn’t be fulfilled. There was always the calling for me to put my creativity into the world, and I knew it from when I was young.

And that’s exactly what I’m doing now. Working hard, designing, drawing, dreaming, creating, marketing my skills, brainstorming bigger ideas, and yes even making an income doing it. But I still have so much left to do in this calling. And that excites me. I’m so happy, and that’s what this is all about. So yes, I do sometimes think about what it would be like to have a “regular job”; But I am infinitely more happy as an artist.

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

My name is Haley! My colorful, kitsch goods & accessories brand, DoctorScribble, has evolved into something my artsy 14 year old self would be so proud of! Handmade vinyl stickers, girly military themed embroidered velcro patches, patterned laptop skins, meme-derived bumper stickers, and so much more to come! I design everything on my ipad and Macbook in my cozy home office. When ten years ago I started up an Instagram page to share my drawings, and my younger sister and I came up with the Instagram handle DoctorScribble (Named after nothing in particular; just the brain-child of two actual children…), I never considered that this might be the start of a whole small business! I decided to run with the name, and give it a meaning, attempting to honor my childhood self. I now have over 7,000 sales on Etsy and plan to only grow from here! I’m so thankful there are people out there that enjoy and admire my work enough to support me. Eventually I see myself selling on Shopify, sending out my own newsletter, setting up a booth at summer markets, and entering into the wholesale game. I have to say, I’m infinitely excited to see where this journey takes me!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

This is an easy one! The best and most direct way for society to support creatives is to adorn one’s home, fashion, lifestyle, etc, in things locally, lovingly, and carefully made! At some point, the realization kind of strikes that literally everything that is man-made can be considered an art form; from cars, to instruments, to jewelry, to stationary, to toys… generally, most commercially manufactured commodities will also have rich histories of how they used to have been precisely and stubbornly handcrafted in a special way before modern technology. Not that modern ways of creating with lasers, cutting machines, and 3d printers don’t count, because they no doubt do! I personally believe that keeping all of these art forms alive is beautiful, culturally and aesthetically. It’s completely understandable that not everything should be sourced from a local artisan, but I love to think that if everyone who is able mindfully opted to, say, purchase soap locally made, or buy a screen printed T-shirt from an aspiring artist, the creative ecosystem and those depending on it would thrive that much more.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Just thinking about the amount of time it takes, and is still taking, to build a small business, yet continuing to pursue it, is a strong example of my resilience. Many people simply never go after their career dreams; it can be unthinkably scary to take that leap. The worst part about it for me is the wondering if I’m just plain delusional for thinking that selling little trinkets and silly stickers could be my legitimate career. I feel rather confident most days now, but it took time. There’s still always moments when the creativity just isn’t sparking, and the sales aren’t there, and I lose a little hope in my growing business. I do like to think I’m a logical person, but until what I was going after actually began to show some signs of success, I had to wonder if I was naive, or simply just wrong in my decision that my artwork was good enough to sell. What keeps me going though is my ‘Why’. My reason behind the decision to drop out of college, turn down a well paying job, start a small business from scratch, and chase my dreams. Happiness. Creating makes my soul happy. And this pursuit of happiness is what drives my resiliency. I’m strong enough to deal with the anxiety and worry of my business not thriving, and maybe never getting to where I envision it, because I know that even if I don’t meet my expectations, I am truly happy on this journey anyway.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DoctorScribble?ref=seller-platform-mcnav
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctor.scribble/