We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Nolley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.

Jennifer, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I curate and design art boxes to inspire kids to create without the worry of stress or mess for parents. I originally thought of the idea for Tiny Easel while on maternity leave, 3 years ago, with my son, George, while home for the summer with all 3 kids. I was trying to put art in front of my other kids while nursing George. I couldn’t help my kids with painting and crafts to occupy them with creative, non-screen time activities and it was becoming stressful trying to balance it all. So, I quickly started testing out products and materials that allowed them to enjoy and have fun with art without me hovering. As a busy mom of 3 kids, I wanted to create an art kit that allowed kids to explore with paints and mixing colors, enjoy the FLOW of creating for longer than 15 minutes, without the worry of mess, with an easy set-up and clean-up. These are unique, one-of-a-kind, specialty art kits made by a mom for parents. These mom-approved, kid tested art kits are not a one-and-done art kit. They will occupy a little artist for at least 20-30 minutes and give parents a little break. They include a spill-proof water cup, watercolor-primed splat mat, a copy-written watercolor book designed by myself inspired by places that my kids and I visit and love, with all of the art supplies you need in one box. I also have other Tiny Easel products to expand my brand and mission.

Jennifer, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Art has always been a part of my life. Growing up with undiagnosed dyslexia, struggling with schoolwork, dealing with the academic challenges and high expectations, art was always a form of therapy and comfort. My journey from grade school up until now, has taken me through several industries but the constant has always been design and art. It’s no wonder that motherhood, raising three children, would lead to the conception of a kids painting business. Since I love art and my kids, this box really means the world to me. My kids also love painting so it’s a win win situation. I love getting their help both with creating content and assembling my boxes and ideas for holiday kits. I have enjoyed partnering with Baltimore’s children’s museum, port discovery, sharing my products in-person, meeting new and existing customers and hearing feedback.

I created an art boxes that have a spill proof water cup and a splat mat and all of the supplies are re-usable, washable and toxic-free, allowing kids to paint independently without any worry for parents. I have product tested to find the right balance of supplies, to leave kids engaged for a prolonged period of time. I currently have 3 ongoing art boxes in my collection, Tint Easel Traveler, for painting on the go, Tiny Easel Pro for the more advanced artist and Tiny Easel Painter for ages 3 to 10. I used a lot of my skills from illustration to painting to graphic design to create something special from the time a child receives the box, to the time the open it, to the discovery, the actual process, the activities and individual art products. Using bright, vibrant watercolors, a variety of tools and simple techniques, using crayon resist, watercolor crayons, watercolor pencils, masking tape and more, kids can enjoy the process, at any skill level. While my kits may increase your child’s chances of becoming the next Picasso, it is also helping them to develop mentally, socially and emotionally, while having fun.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

My biggest challenge has been starting a brand new business with a full-time job, during the pandemic in 2020 with 3 kids at home with some learning virtually, and some running loose. It has taken 2 years of late nights, juggling the little bit of time I could find, working through the weekend, and required me to stay focused and figure out how to involve my kids. Night after night, I would prepare my art boxes with an assembly line on my dining room table with bins of art products all over the place. I would create towers of art boxes night after night to fulfill orders, while trying to stay ahead. Last year, I moved into a local fulfillment center to help with the box assembly, kitting, and shipping, to give me more time to be creative, focus on expanded theme kits, more pop-ups, partnerships with children’s non-profits, create new products and grow the business. While this has been a HUGE help, the truth is, I was still overwhelmed with the balance of my full-time job and Tiny Easel. So, I finally just took the leap of faith to leave my job, October 1, 2022. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. I had worked in real estate development for 15 years for my father and had become very involved in lots of different projects. I am incredibly thankful of the 15 years of working in real estate and for the time I got to learn and grow from my father, who gave me the wings to design unique spaces, make creative decisions, supported me leaving real estate to go after my dream of turning Tiny Easel into a full-time business. Since I just began this new journey, I’m still in the process of figuring out how to authentically scale and grow Tiny Easel to a place where my art boxes find a home for any little artists who want to be inspired to create..

How did you build your audience on social media?

I currently sell exclusively on my website, www.tinyeasel.com. So, I have found an incredible benefit in sharing my journey, my process for creating, my upcoming products, examples of kids painting, and my own painting process on Instagram (@thetinyeasel), Facebook (@tinyeaselartist) and TikTok (@thetinyeasel). My followers have grown slowly but organically over the past two years through 1) friend shares 2) giveaways 3) influencer shares and 4) paid advertising . As a small business, I find such value in friends and families sharing my art kits on social media. It goes such a long way for their own friends and family members to see what they appreciate and enjoy about my art kits. There are so many little discoveries within each kit that bring joy to kids in different ways. With every share, I get a some followers. I also find value in doing giveaways for holidays, special events and joint collaborations. With every giveaway, I gain followers while also creating fun content. There is also great value in sending my art boxes to influencers. Each influencer or celebrity that has shared my art box, has gone above and beyond with videos, beautiful images and incredible messaging. I am so grateful for the photos and videos created by: Jade Tolbert, Julie Friedman, Emma Willis and Brittany from Loverly Grey. Lastly, I do some paid advertising during the holidays. This has helped, especially when I choose the right audiences to target, but this has been a little bit of trial and error. I mostly enjoy just being myself and exploring my brand and different art products on social media.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tinyeasel.com
• Instagram: @thetinyeasel
• Facebook: @tinyeaselartist
• Other: TikTok: @thetinyeasel Promo video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mRZUc-H_u0U