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

Jennifer , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

As a hairstylist, I was chatting with my client while doing her hair. In the process, I showed her pictures of some watercolor Christmas gift tags I was creating for my family. She turned to me and asked if I could make a snowman tag. If so, she said that she would purchase a set of tags. I never thought of selling these tags; they were simply a gesture of love for the special people in my life. I was so excited that I went home and immediately made a snowman tag and sent her a photo of it. After she approved the design, I talked to my husband about this new adventure of starting a business out of something I love to do. I then figured out how many tags to put in a set, created sets for sale, and that Christmas season I sold 250 sets of tags. I have been making Christmas art ever since!

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 first love in terms of artistic expression was photography. When I was growing up, my dad loved to take photos. I was lucky that when he would get a new camera, I would get his old one. In high school, I took photography on a film camera and loved it, but I still thought something was missing. After exploring photography, I took ceramics for a few years. When I registered to take ceramics my senior year of high school, my ceramics teacher suggested that I take painting instead. She was right – I instantly fell in love with painting! After high school, I had to figure out how to make a living. Everyone told me that you can’t make a living painting. My friend suggested that I go to cosmetology school to be a hairstylist, and I have now been doing hair for over 25 years. I still love the profession, but I was also missing something again. About 4 years ago, I decided to start painting again, this time in watercolor. Painting is my meditation. I absolutely love it and try to do it every day. I work in a salon suite with my husband and I also sell my paintings there. The salon suite is the perfect place for me to have everything I love in one space. My passion in life is to help people, and with my paintings, I hope to help spread love and joy.

Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like a ATM machine at a barbershop, etc)?

I have been a hairstylist for over 25 years and I still continue to do hair part-time. During the pandemic, my husband (who also does hair) and I decided to make a salon move. We went from a big salon with over 25 people to a salon suite. We had always worked at big salons and I never thought I would make a move to a small or suite salon, but this was the best move we ever made. Now, I can also sell art out of my salon! It is wonderful to have everything I love surrounding me while I work. I sell greeting cards out of a vintage box and have printed mini blocks on the cabinets all around the salon. I also have a vintage magazine rack that holds prints and the back wall is a gallery wall with original artwork that we rotate regularly. During the holidays, I sell gift tags, handmade ornaments, and mini paintings in glass frames. The clients love the one-on-one attention they get in a suite salon, and it’s a one stop shop if you need a greeting card or unique gift for someone special.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Being an artist has been a huge dream of mine. I am so passionate about creating art that you cannot help but feel that passion when I talk about my art. I use that passion when I show up on social media and in person. I post on social media at least 3 to 4 times a week and I talk to my audience about what is going on with the business and share a little bit about my personal life. My clientele wants to follow my art journey including how I paint a painting and how I create my ornaments. I share tips with other artists and I love to help and inspire others. I love participating in in-person shows and events. I was thrilled to be juried into the Laguna Art-A-Fair and participate in this summer-long art festival for the first time in 2023. I love talking to people about my art and the process I use to create it, and I love to learn new things and take classes. I have taken several courses from artists on social media about growing your clientele and how to have a successful art business and these have also helped me grow my customer base.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jradartdesign.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jradartdesign