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

Hi Jamie, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I took a risk quitting my full time job and opening an art studio store. I had no idea if the business would do well, or if I could support myself on the business income. It was definitely intimidating at first, but I had a lot of help from my husband and support from family as we navigated the unknown!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started in the creative business after pursuing a degree in fine arts, and discovered a small private painting studio in Colorado that offered classes. I got a job teaching art there and loved it! After that business closed down, I moved to Utah and worked on starting my own painting business, named Easely Art Studio. This was alongside my daytime job as a Graphic Designer. I built my business from the ground up, creating paintings, designing my logo and website, doing my own marketing and hosting events whenever I could in people’s homes and other businesses.

This business has been so much fun to work in, and provides a creative outlet for people to learn painting in a simple way. With instruction from an artist, people can feel confident in exploring the art of painting, and discover just how fun it can be! I love seeing children paint especially, because they are so creative!

It has been a joy to watch the business grow over the years and I am most proud of the achievements I have made with the help of my husband, as we built a thriving retail store in the Jordan Landing!

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

Because the creative field is so broad, sometimes it can be challenging for artists to find stable employment or even consistent creative work. In addition, there is a lot of competition with artists now against artificial intelligence and other digital shortcuts. The best thing Society can do to support the creative industry is to engage with artists and their businesses as often as they can, employ artists over computers and avoid cheap AI generated content. A human individual will always produce something more meaningful than a computer. It’s important to support small businesses like mine, that provide experiences over product, and valuable family time activities. The more consumers purchase from small businesses and creatives, the more likely these business will survive in our inflated economy.

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

We opened our studio at the beginning of 2020, having no clue what we were about to face in the year(s) to come. When we signed our lease for our studio space, nobody knew we wouldn’t even be able to open for a couple of months. This was extremely difficult for a grand opening, and we weren’t sure if we would survive the pandemic. But we set up our store, kept our employees hired, and pushed forward anyway. Business was slow at first, but as time went by, more people found out about our studio and the business not only survived, but it grew too! Even though other painting studios closed down at that time, we were incredibly grateful that our business continued to operate even 4 years later, through a pandemic, rising inflation, and constant uncertainty.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.easelyartstudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/easelyartstudio
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/easelyartstudio