Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jenn Barton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Jenn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Simply put, Nickel City Wax and Wane is a studio that asks you to create bravely, authentically, and without judgement. We support you to just be you; to bravely step outside of your comfort zone and say yes to exploring different materials, classes, styles, to stop overthinking and judging and just enjoy the process. I created this space out of my passion for inspiring others to finally believe they could be creative. In my profession, I hear phrases all the time like, “I can’t, I am not an artist” or “I have never been creative” or “I will just embarrass myself.” I have made it my mission to challenge these kinds of mindsets to at least try. I bring in teaching artists to provide a variety of creative classes and workshops that speak to many different people’s interests. I create classes and workshops to help foster exploration and pride, like the kids entrepreneurial art camp. This art camp teaches kids not only to make fun and creative items they can sell, but teaches them what goes into creating a brand, a business, different creative career paths they can take, touching on the financial pieces of being a business owner, and more. I try to build up their confidence and show them that what they create has purpose and value to others. I strive to create an environment that fosters following their gut instincts and we as the teachers are there as supporting roles in their creative journey. We take our lens away from their creativity and only seek to teach and guide based on helping them find the solutions to their problems, to present questions that will get them thinking about their work, and to ensure they feel confident in their WHY. We try to take this approach not only with the kids that come through our doors, but everyone. We help adults find the passion for exploring and creating they had as children and to follow their gut instincts as well without self-doubt and judgement looming overhead.
Jenn, 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?
In the spirit of keeping the longest story, short; I’ll try my best to give y’all the cliff notes version of how I went from a single mom of two, working in a career that was consuming my entire life to starting not just one side hustle but a brick-and-mortar community arts studio on top of it.
I have been in the human services field for 15yrs. I love it and don’t think I will ever leave it fully. Right before the pandemic hit, I was working in a career that consumed my life. I was on-call 24/7 overseeing multiple group homes and all the staffing teams that went along with that. I was working about 50-60hrs a week doing that, all hours of every day; as the people’s lives we supported in these homes didn’t just happen Monday through Friday, 9-5. There were nights I was pulling my kids out of bed in the middle of the night and dragging them to a crisis at one of the homes because I had no one to watch them as we lived alone. I was also working at a restaurant 20-25hrs a week on top of that and bringing my kids with me. They would hang out in the office with the owner’s son, doing homework, eating delicious food, and playing video games. They also learned how to run a dishwasher in a professional kitchen, do some basic food prep, and how to make gelato from scratch. Needless to say, I was tired.
The week before the world imploded, I was in Sydney, Australia as I was a gifted a trip of a lifetime with my new boyfriend. I will never forget how my body felt knowing I didn’t have to answer a second phone all day every day. That I could sleep but with no interruptions. I was able to release every bit of tension in my body that I had been holding forever. One day we were on Bondi Beach, and I started sobbing. I was so burnt out. I felt trapped, lost, and hopeless. I couldn’t live like that anymore but didn’t know how to change it. My partner asked me when was the last time I was super happy at work, what was it that I was doing? I stated it was simply when I was doing art with people with disabilities. He said, “well you have a new goal then, work towards getting back to that.” I left Australia with a tiny spark of excitement and hope.
A week later the world stopped for most people when the pandemic hit. I was an essential worker so I was working more than ever and still at the restaurant as they could remain open as take out. I felt even more trapped and lost. How was it that the world came to a standstill, and I was working more?? Well, the universe had other plans for me, two months later I was offered that job I was desperately asking for on the beach, with the stipulation that they needed to get the board of directors’ approval first as they were creating this position for me. I handed in my months’ notice as soon as I hung up the phone. If this job didn’t pan out, it was still a sign that I was ready to move into something that was more aligned with my actual purpose and joy, and I had to stop making excuses and stop being so scared to make moves.
This new job was creating a creative arts program for adults with disabilities. It was exactly what I had released into the world sobbing on that beach. It was incredible and I loved every minute of it. A couple months later COVID cases spiked up again in our area and we went back into a mini lock down. I was put down to part time hours at this new job. I was in shock. I hadn’t worked this little since high school, what was I going to do, how was I going to pay my bills? What I’ve failed to mention in all of this is that I was buying a house when the pandemic hit and when I started this new job, I quit the restaurant job. So now what? I allowed myself to panic for about an hour. I called my boyfriend freaking out but ultimately calmed myself down and said I will figure it out, I always do. I was driving home later that night and stopped by the restaurant for a glass of wine after they closed and to see about maybe picking up some hours. They said of course, great, I felt relief. I got home and told my boyfriend and he looked at me like I had four heads. He said this was the other part of what I had asked for on the beach that day. I had asked for more time for myself and to be with my kids. That my hours being cut was temporary, why wouldn’t I just give myself the time I desperately needed? So, I declined to go back to the restaurant and started just having fun in my home art studio.
A friend of mine showed me how to make polymer clay coasters and said I should sell them on Etsy. So, I did and then I made earrings. I sold those too. I started making decent money and kept exploring different things I could make and sell. I started an Etsy shop called The Charcoal Annex. I found sublimation and my love of all things sweary were a perfect combination for mugs I was making! I was creating these really pretty, but inappropriate graphics and the mugs were selling like crazy on Etsy, so I started selling at local creators’ markets and meeting other creators. I couldn’t believe the response I was getting at these markets. I had to make more and more inventory each time. It was weird though; I still didn’t really consider it a small business. I just saw it as a hobby and there was no way I could make real money and quit my day job. But I was happy with where I was. It was great supplemental income, if I was going to have to work a second job, I’d rather it be at home making hilarious mugs!
A few months into doing this, an opportunity arose to open a brick-and-mortar space. It all happened so quickly that I didn’t really have time to come up with a business plan or any kind of plan for that matter. I went into it with a partner at first and we had a retail and community art space. That’s when Nickel City Wax and Wane was born! We consigned local creators who we did markets with, inventory and I brought in local artists to teach all kinds of creative classes. Within a couple months I was then on my own and made the decision to make it strictly a community arts studio. That’s when I was able to really soar, just me trial and erroring classes and workshops, building a place for everyone to find their creativity! I have to say the community response has been so amazing and the sense of purpose I get from this, it’s everything. I can’t wait to keep pushing myself and this studio to see where I can take it!
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
When I started my first venture, The Charcoal Annex, I started everything with $110 worth of polymer clay I paid for out of my own pocket. With each sale I put everything back into more supplies for more products like earrings, canvas tote bags, mugs, etc. Once I found sublimation, I used one of my stimulus checks to buy heat presses, a printer, and first round of mugs! A few months later when the studio space was thrown into my lap, my boyfriend and I decided to take out a tiny personal loan of $5,000 and put all of that into whatever expenses we could to get the small space looking incredible and up and running. I did a Gofund Me for art supplies and the councilman in our area saw what I was trying to do and matched what I was asking to be raised through Gofund Me! I have a couple QR codes up in the studio main door window. This way people walking by will see my sign that says “Hi, what is Wax and Wane you ask? Scan me and find out” and it takes them to my website. There are QR codes for Instagram and for Venmo for art supply donations in the window as well! Surprisingly, I get donations quite a bit, nothing crazy but the $5 here and there adds up quickly and can get me a pack of watercolor paper or a couple half gallons of paint when needed. We held a fundraising event as well to showcase the space where we had local vendors selling their wares, a nude figure drawing session in our back studio room, music, cocktails, and tarot card readers. It was a sex and body positive event, and I was overwhelmed with the attendance from the community. I still can’t thank the community and my councilman for all the support they have given Nickel City Wax and Wane over this last year!
Have you ever had to pivot?
Being a single mom of 2 boys, who was stuck in a career that was so far from my purpose and why I started in the field in the first place, I was on-call 24/7 working 50hrs a week all hours of everyday, working a 2nd job where I had to bring my kids to because I couldn’t afford a babysitter; I needed a change. I never felt like I could stop moving, that if I did, everything would fall apart. My kids needed me to be the best mother I could be to them, provide for them, pay my bills, give them a nice place to live, be there for them when I wasn’t working. If I felt sad or overwhelmed, too bad, there wasn’t time to worry about any of that. Well, one day when I was on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world in Australia, I just started crying and I couldn’t stop. I wasn’t burnt out; I was in a pile of ashes on the ground. I was so exhausted. I missed my kids. I missed sleeping, eating, and a sense of security. I had always felt like I was meant for so much more than what I was doing, and I just wanted to be happy. So, in talking with my boyfriend in one of the most vulnerable moments of my life, I put it out into the universe that I needed a change, and this is what I thought would make me happiest. The pandemic hit a week later. I was in even more than before. Staff were quitting left and right at the group homes I was overseeing; the restaurant job staff all quit and they needed me extra hours; and then one phone call changed everything. Almost two months to the day I was sobbing on the beach, the CCO of a local nonprofit in my area called me and asked if I would be interested in starting a creative arts program for them. The job I asked the universe to give me, was landing in my lap. So, I took it, and it afforded me time to build both my businesses and still to this day supports my love of my businesses and we find ways to collaborate between my day job with them and my community arts studio.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nickelcitywaxandwane.com
- Instagram: @nickelcity_waxandwane @the_charcoal_annex
- Facebook: nickelcitywaxandwane thecharcoalannex908
Image Credits
Megan McKee Photography
Daniel Collins