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

Jamie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. 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?

My creative business didn’t start out as full time or something that I expected to earn a living from. Being home with my children, I started a Wyoming inspired blog in 2017. I drew my Floral Bison Logo for the blog. Little did I know the logo would grow into an apparel business. Something that started as a creative outlet and just for fun turned into a business that supports my family. A friend requested I print my bison logo on a t-shirt. I printed a small batch of t-shirts and they sold out right away. I realized my customers had a connection to the design and it could turn in to more than just a logo for my blog. I let the blog go, and I put my extra time in to designing and printing outdoor inspired clothing. I originally named my business Wyoming Love as it is a reflection of my love for our beautiful state. Since I have changed the name to Made I the West Co., but I have kept Wyoming Love as a tag line. I felt Made in the West Co. was more broad and could reach customers outside of Wyoming. There are western women all over, not just in Wyoming, who share my love for the outdoors. As my business grew it started to bring in extra money, but I still viewed it as a hobby. When my personal life took a turn, I found myself as a single mom. I had a choice to continue to run my small business as a side gig and hobby, or I could jump in and grow it in to a full time job. Owning my own business gave me the freedom with my schedule and the flexibility I needed to care for my young children. So I decided to put all my time and resources in to growing my creative business. This was a huge shift in growth for my business. When I realized I could take the business I loved, and grow it in to a full time job, I jumped all in.
A change in my mindset was one of the major steps I took that changed and grew my business. I had to let go of the idea that everything had to be perfect before I could start or move forward. I started to take bigger steady steps forward regardless if I completely knew what I was doing or not. I think striving for perfection can stunt our growth especially in art and business. I started out incredibly insecure in my abilities, but with time I’ve become more confident. Every step taken no matter how small adds to growth. Looking back, I think my business would have grown faster if I would have come to understand this earlier.
A big part of making a full time creative business successful for me has been how I schedule my time. With three kids, a house, and a business I’m pulled in multiple directions. Something that has worked for me is to have set times I work. This is fluid and has to be flexible at times, but it helps to have a set time I dedicate to work. I understand what I need to get done in a short amount of time. I try to not work in the evening and when the kids are home for Summer break I schedule a few fun outings where I can just concentrate on them and not be distracted by work. I aim to work and steward my resources and time well, and then surrender the remainder to God and see what he does. There are seasons in business especially in the beginning when it’s necessary to put extra time in to growing it. An occasional all nighter and long hours are going to happen, but I don’t think we need to run ourselves in to the ground to be succesful. Trusting the process and understanding growth takes time is something that is still evolving and I’m learning to navigate better with time.

Jamie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Growing up in Wyoming is something I’ve always cherished. The beautiful land, my love for the outdoors, and western way of life has always been a huge inspiration to me and my art. There is so much beauty around us if we take the time to pause and notice it. I love the juxtaposition of the wildness and the fragility of the outdoors. I feel an incredible connection to the land and I strive to relay that in my art and my designs. I’ve taken my paintings and designs and started an outdoor inspired apparel company. All my designs are original and hand illustrated. I have a large range of products from custom bandanas and hoodies to home good items like flour sack towels. Although I do have a few designs men can wear, my branding tends to lean towards women. I love that western women are often a mix of feminine and roughness; we aren’t afraid to get our hands dirty, but we like to look cute while doing it. I want my customers to feel a connection to the outdoors when they look at my designs and wear my apparel. In addition to clothing I sell original and print watercolor paintings and other hand painted items that reflect my times spent outdoors.
I started selling my products on social media, at local boutiques, and local markets. The markets gave me a good opportunity to meet customers face to face and to build lasting relationships with them. Markets have also been a great way to foster relationships with other artists and makers as we support one another .I also have an online shop that has helped to expand my reach and has made the shopping experience for customers more convenient. My designs and product have snow balled and has continued to evolve with time. I’m excited to see where my business takes me.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I started off as an art major in college. I learned and incredible amount from some amazing teachers at Casper College. When it came time to move to the University of Wyoming, I started to second guess pursuing art as a career, and I changed my major to English Literature. Although I enjoyed English Literature and my studies helped me to get a job in insurance right out of college, I regret my decision to stop pursuing art. Listening to others who said it would be hard to make a living in a creative business was a mistake. If one is passionate about something they shouldn’t ignore it; it’s part of their purpose in life. We are drawn to certain things for reason. I find it amusing that art has come full circle, and I’m back to my passion and earning a living at what I originally started out to pursue.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience is weaved in to pursuing a creative business and art. There are times when I feel discouraged and insecure about my pursuits. At these times, I’ve learned it’s important to keep moving forward and move through my doubts. Our feelings can be an indication of where we are, but we can’t let them hold us captive. Different seasons are a part of a creative journey, and hard seasons are inevitable. Working through these tough seasons builds resilience.

Contact Info:

• Website: wyominglove307.c0m
• Instagram: instagram.com/wyoming.love.
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wyominglove.

Image Credits
Ashley Hansen: Ashley Brook Photography, Teren Prater: Elsica Photography, Cece Foltz