Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jenifer Stover. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Jenifer thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Taking a significant risk often involves stepping out of a familiar and secure environment into the unknown. For me, this journey began when I decided to leave my 20-year full-time position as an emergency medicine physician assistant to pursue my dream of becoming a full-time artist.
From a young age, I aspired to be an artist, but my confidence was shattered during my first year of art school when I was advised to pursue a different path. This advice led me to abandon art for a decade. It wasn’t until after graduating from PA school that I started creating again, thanks to a thoughtful gift from my husband: an easel, a canvas, paint, and brushes. Initially, I painted only for myself, never taking it seriously, hindered by insecurity and the belief that I wasn’t good enough.
The decision to transition from medicine to art wasn’t premeditated; I took a leap of faith. I knew I didn’t want to limit myself to painting, as I had a longstanding love for patterns. So, I enrolled in a course to learn Adobe Illustrator and pattern making. Three months later, I completed my first pattern, and I haven’t stopped creating since. I continue to paint, but my passion for pattern design has flourished.
The biggest challenge I faced—and continue to face—is battling fear and imposter syndrome. At the beginning, I had no idea how to run a business. I imagined that to succeed, I needed to be aggressive and confident, traits I didn’t naturally possess regarding my art. This self-doubt made me feel like a fraud. Over time, I realized that failure is an inevitable part of doing something new and challenging. It’s not the failure itself but our reaction to it that matters. I’ve learned to see mistakes as opportunities for growth rather than setbacks.
Being an “artrepreneur” is more difficult than I anticipated, especially when it comes to putting my work out into the world. There’s a lot of trial and error involved, and it’s hard not to take criticism personally. However, I’ve learned to adjust my mindset: my art isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. I also had to confront my fear and perfectionism. Instead of trying to prevent all errors, I now allow mistakes to happen and focus on fixing them. I understand that taking risks is essential for progress, and if fear is present, there’s a reason for it. I try to find and address the cause of my fears instead of avoiding risks altogether.
For instance, I decided to invest in products featuring my designs to sell at a local market. I had to purchase 50 items to get a wholesale discount, but I didn’t sell a single one. I was devastated, but it was a valuable lesson in understanding that not every idea will succeed. However, taking such risks is crucial because it’s the only way to discover what works and what doesn’t.
Despite the challenges, the risk is gradually paying off. I’ve had some success selling my products online and at local markets. These markets have been instrumental in gathering feedback from customers and understanding what appeals to them. This engagement has also helped me identify my best sellers.
Interestingly, my background in emergency medicine has influenced my approach to art in some ways. In medicine, there are protocols and a systematic approach to diagnosis and treatment. In contrast, running an art business involves a lot of uncertainty and requires taking risks. Both fields require dedication, research, and the ability to adapt to the unexpected. In the ER, I thrived on the unpredictability of each day, and similarly, in my art business, I embrace the unknown and work hard to create beautiful designs and find the right opportunities to share them with the world.
Taking this risk has been a challenging yet rewarding journey. It has allowed me to pursue my passion, grow as an individual, and continually learn and adapt. The decision to leave a stable career for my dream has been one of the most significant and fulfilling risks I’ve ever taken.
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.
My Journey into Art
My journey into art and surface pattern design was shaped by a childhood passion that still burns brightly within me. As a young dreamer, I was captivated by the aisles of stationery and home goods stores, where shelves overflowed with beautiful artwork, enchanting patterns, and a treasure trove of art supplies. Wandering these aisles filled me with uncontainable giddiness and excitement. Those stores were my sanctuary and my source of inspiration.
I always thought I would pursue a career in art. However, during my first year of college in art school, an esteemed local artist and professor told me I wasn’t good enough to pursue a career in art. Devastated and insecure, I stopped creating any art for ten years. I felt lost for a long time and then I found my love for medicine.
It wasn’t until I graduated from PA school that my husband reignited my passion for art by gifting me an easel, canvas, paints, and brushes. I began creating artwork again, teaching myself by taking photos of local landscapes and wildlife and striving to replicate them in my paintings. My motto became: If I could make my paintings look like the photos, then I could paint. I continued to make works of art throughout the years, honing my skills, and even sold a few paintings, but I never took it seriously.
When I started painting again and went shopping for art supplies, I realized all of those beloved stores I loved as a child had closed their doors. It was then that the light bulb went off! Why can’t I create designs and patterns just like the ones that resonated with me in those store? This realization marked the beginning of Art is Life Studio. With each design, I strive to recreate the excitement of those childhood adventures in stationery aisles, bringing the magic of those wonderlands into the world through my art.
Transition to Full-Time Artist
After a successful 20-year career as an Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant, I experienced burnout, especially after COVID. I knew it was time for a change and decided to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a full-time artist. Three years ago, I made the leap and haven’t looked back since.
Products and Services
At Art is Life Studio, I create and sell a variety of products, including:
Paintings and Art Prints: Original artwork and high-quality prints.
Stationery: Greeting cards, notecards, journals, notebooks, journal prompt cards, and stickers featuring my unique designs.
Commissioned Pet Portraits: Custom digital designs of pets, which can be placed on various items like blankets, pillows, phone cases, tote bags, and more.
Solving Problems for Clients
Creative Blocks: My stationery products, featuring unique designs and some with inspirational phrases, help spark ideas and encourage self-expression.
Organizational Challenges: Specialized journals and notebooks offer effective tools for staying organized and managing tasks efficiently.
Functionality- My products provide practicality and versatility, helping customers to stay organized and productive in their personal and professional lives.
Emotional Connection: My note and greeting cards provide a means for personal and intimate connection, fostering meaningful relationships.
Quality & Durability: My products are made with high-quality materials, ensuring they stand the test of time and provide value for customers’ investments.
Environmental Impact: We are committed to reducing waste and environmental impact by choosing eco-friendly materials and sustainable production methods.
Gifting Solutions: My products offer originality offering items that stand out from the ordinary. They are unique and memorable gifts featuring unique designs and artwork that reflect the recipient’s individuality and style, making gift-giving more meaningful and appreciated.
What Sets Me Apart:
What sets us apart is that in a world dominated by screens and isolation, Art is Life Studio is on a mission to bring back personal connection. Our designs and products are an invitation to connect, to share, and to celebrate life’s moments – big and small. Whether it’s a handwritten notecard, an art-print framed on your wall, or the pages of your journal; Art is Life Studio turns spaces and moments into shared experiences. Our products are designed to be an extension of your unique story, for crafting memories, and creating meaningful connections with yourself, with others or both! We don’t just create art and products, we make it personal. We create stories, we create memories, we create individuality and uniqueness.
So, if you’re looking for designs that go beyond the surface, designs that resonate with your soul and connect you with others, I invite you to explore Art is Life Studio. Our products are practical and functional and yet express your personal style, your creativity, and your uniqueness through our artistry. We’re more than art; we’re a celebration of connection, individuality, and the joy of artistic creation.”
Accomplishments:
I am proud of several milestones in my journey:
Winning first place in an Art Show in Lake Worth Beach in 2022
Completing an online course learning Adobe Illustrator, which led to creating my first pattern in 2022
Organizing and creating a portfolio with sell sheets that I am proud of
Creating products with my designs and participating in bi-weekly markets
Selling one of each of my products at my first local market on Mother’s Day 2024
Receiving positive feedback about my artwork and designs at biweekly markets
Opening my Etsy store and making initial sales
Selling out of my Jellyfish and Sea Life journals, requiring a reorder!
Key Messages and Values:
At Art is Life Studio, we believe in:
Connecting with others through art
Functional, practical, yet elegant and playful designs
Nature is our greatest inspiration, and we’re dedicated to reducing waste and environmental impact. We are committed to using eco-friendly and sustainable products and production methods.
Inspiring creativity and providing effective tools for organization and focus
Creating a sense of connection and engagement with our audience
Building a strong reputation in the design community for future collaborations and exposure
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I had to unlearn is how to unpack my emotional baggage related to failure. And believe me, I had a lot of baggage!! Growing up, failure was often seen as a reflection of not trying hard enough, not being smart enough, or simply not being good enough. These early lessons instilled a deep-seated fear of failure, associating it with shame, incompetence, and embarrassment. This mindset followed me (as it does most people) into adulthood, making failure something to be avoided at all costs.
Despite reading countless books and articles about the value of failure, I still struggled with the emotional response ingrained from childhood. I realized failure is not hovering on the surface, it is deep rooted, it is visceral; failure really hurts…a lot. This visceral pain of failure made me resist, reject, and avoid it, reinforcing the notion that mistakes are shameful and bad. In today’s society, failure is so humiliating that when children play sports there is no losing team, everyone gets a trophy.
Running my own business taught me that this mindset is dangerous and detrimental. I realized that I needed to rethink failure, but understanding its value intellectually was not enough. I had to recognize both the pain of failure and the growth it can spur.
One specific example is when I initially decided to focus on licensing my artwork rather than selling products. I spent a year creating a portfolio and pitching to art directors, believing this would propel my business forward. After a few months, when I received no responses, I was devastated. I had delayed other aspects of my business, like selling products, creating an e-commerce website, and engaging in social media, in favor of a “safe” plan. This failure made me realize the importance of action over perfection.
I recently read “Creativity, Inc.” by Ed Catmull, which helped change my perspective. There is a whole chapter in the book addressing failure and a lot of the concepts here are a reflection of this chapter. In the book, Andrew Stanton from Pixar shared an analogy about learning to ride a bike; “it isn’t conceivable that you would learn to do this without making mistakes-without toppling over a few times. “Get a bike thats as low to the ground that you can find, put on elbow and knee pads and a helmet so your not afraid of falling, and go.” If you apply this mindset to everything new you attempt, you can begin to subvert the negative connotation associated with making mistakes.” I think we can all relate to this analogy as we all learned to ride a bike in childhood and we all fell off at least once. But most of us got back on that bike and tried again until we mastered it. This analogy resonated with me; just like falling off a bike, failure is part of learning and experimenting and emphasizes that mistakes are inevitable in the learning process.
If I am not failing, I am not growing. Playing it safe stunts progress and ultimately leads to stagnation. In business, decisions must be made and explored, even if they might lead to failure. Navigating wrong paths provides valuable insights and lessons that can be applied in the future.
Initially, I was a meticulous planner, trying to avoid failure by planning every step and outcome. This approach only delayed failure and made it more painful due to the emotional investment. I realized that I needed to take more risks and embrace failure as part of the learning process.
As an artist, experimentation is key to growth. I used to abandon projects that weren’t turning out as expected, telling myself I’d return to them later. In reality, I was avoiding failure. To be successful, I must start projects, experiment often, and expect to fail. I have learned that failure involves two aspects: the initial emotional impact and the ability to face and learn from it. Understanding the fear associated with failure and learning from it is crucial.
We often struggle to distinguish between what will work and what is holding us back. There is no growth without change, and change is inevitable. Fear of failure drives us towards stability and certainty, but creativity flourishes in the unpredictable. Embracing failure can lead to inspiration and originality.
Failure is hard, but we are built to handle hard things. Ultimately, no one cares about our failures as much as we do. We can either get stuck or use failure to our advantage. We must be humble enough to recognize that failure is not the end, but a part of life that strengthens us in the long run.
One strategy that has helped me is implementing a structured approach to tackling potential failures. For instance, when introducing a idea or potential risk in my business, I now follow a four-step process to manage risk and learn from the experience.
Step 1: Identify the Risk I start by identifying the potential risk. Let’s say I want to introduce a new design I created into my product line. I start by acknowledging the possibility of failure upfront but I still move forward with determination to step 2.
Step 2: Evaluate the Consequences Next, I evaluate the potential consequences of this risk. I list reasons why the design might fail, such as product compatibility, cost, and sales duration. I plan small action items, set deadlines, and outline financial considerations to minimize failure and maximize learning. This step can be lengthy but it is essential to moving forward.
Step 3: Commit to the Plan I call this the “Battle Ready” stage. Here, I commit to the plan. I order the minimum wholesale amount of notebooks with the new design, Upload it to my Etsy shop, sell it at local markets, engage with customers for feedback, and seek input on social media.
Step 4: Analyze the Outcome Finally, at a pre-set deadline, determined in stage 2, I analyze the outcome with a positive, problem-solving attitude. Even if the project does fail, I focus on learning rather than the failure itself. This helps me stay open to insights and improvements for future endeavors.
Through this structured approach, I’ve learned that failure is an integral part of growth. By embracing risk and learning from mistakes, I can navigate my business more effectively and continue to innovate.
We often struggle to distinguish between what will work and what is holding us back. There is no growth without change, and change is inevitable. Fear of failure drives us towards stability and certainty, but creativity flourishes in the unpredictable. Embracing failure can lead to inspiration and originality.
We all know that failure is hard, but we are built to handle hard things. Ultimately, no one cares about our failures as much as we do. We can either get stuck or use failure to our advantage. I truly believe life will not throw you anything you cannot handle. We just have to dig deep and find the tools to come out the other side. We must be humble enough to recognize that failure is not the end, but a part of life that strengthens us in the long run. Ultimately, unlearning the fear of failure has been a transformative lesson. It has taught me to view failure not as a setback, but as a stepping stone toward success and growth.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
A significant goal driving my creative journey is to grow my business to a level where it can support my family and allow my husband to retire. My husband has always been my number one fan, believing in me even when I doubted myself. His unwavering support allowed me to leave a stable, six-figure job to pursue my passion for art, and I am determined to prove to him that I can build a successful art business.
To achieve this, I have taken several key steps: I opened my Etsy store, got my artwork and designs out into the world by participating in local markets, and received valuable feedback from customers, even selling out of two journal designs. I continue to pitch to companies every month and I am currently working on a deal to sell in a local boutique. My husbands belief in me has kept me going, especially when I have a case of imposter syndrome or feel lost and unsure of my direction. He helps keep me in check when I start spiraling into procrastination due to fear, guiding me through it and helping me make decisions that will help my business grow. He lets me know if I am moving too fast or slow and helps keep me on track to meet my business goals.
Looking ahead, my vision for the future includes having multiple streams of income. I plan to continue participating in local markets, selling my products to wholesale buyers, and getting my products into local stores. Additionally, I aim to license my designs to companies. I also envision teaching/coaching/mentoring in some capacity, whether through one-on-one sessions, podcasting, or online courses. I want my brand to become a name that people know and trust for beautiful, quality products.
My success is measured by achieving the financial stability to retire my husband, fostering personal connections with customers and companies, maintaining a commitment to sustainability, contributing to the community through charitable donations, and empowering others to pursue their passions as I do every day.
By combining my artistic vision with a strong commitment to sustainability and community, I aim to build a thriving business that not only fulfills my creative dreams but also honors the incredible support and belief my husband has shown me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ArtisLifeStudioShop.Etsy.com
- Instagram: @ArtisLifeStudio
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtisLifeStudioShop/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenifer-stover-7b3b1342/
- Other: https://society6.com/artislifestudio
