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

Hi Jess, thanks for joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

Yes! I took many, many baby steps in the process of becoming a full time maker and each one lead me closer to where I wanted to be. I don’t believe any of those steps were accidents and I’m grateful for the ups and downs throughout the process, as they were all learning experiences that shaped this weird and cool path that I’m on!

When I was in school for graphic design at CCS, I wanted to learn how to stitch and sew so I could turn my father’s vintage rock tshirts into skirts and dresses that would fit me. I asked my grandmother for a sewing lesson. I watched her sew for a few hours while she gave me as many tips as she could think of. The machine was probably 20 years older than I was and very difficult to work on (compared to the newer models) but I was up all night experimenting. I loved it!

I started buying discounted fabric left and right and that included some faux fur that I turned into these lumpy-dumpy little creatures with button eyes and snaggletooths (snaggleteeth?) I gave a few away as gifts and tried my hand at a couple craft shows. My confidence and skills weren’t there yet but after a couple years of it, I was starting to see consistent sales and sewing quickly became my new favorite hobby.

By this time I had a full time design job but I daydreamed about creatures. I booked more and more shows to occupy my weekends and at one point was waking up at 5am most mornings because it was the only sewing time I had available. That wasn’t sustainable and I reluctantly quit the full time job that I really enjoyed for a part time gig with more flexibility. A couple years later I quit that job because I wan’t even able to give them one day a week – the critters were taking over and demanding my full attention.

Five years ago I moved to Cleveland from Detroit and told myself that I was just going to see how it went doing it full time and if I had to get an actual job, I would. Luckily that hasn’t happened yet.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I create one-of-a-kind stuffed animals called Cool Critters. They can be plush monsters, extraterrestrial softies, unsettling couch companions, pet toys or best friends. They are 100% hand made in the Midwest with materials sourced from the USA whenever possible.

One of the qualities that makes my critters so special is their unique eyes. Every single one of them is hand painted with an original design or pattern. After a few years of critter making, I got bored of buying the same 4 or 5 eye colors from the same 4 or 5 basic sites and stores so I dug deep on the internet and sourced clear eyeballs, which gave me the freedom to customize each one. My absolute favorite part of designing each critter is picking out which eyes it will have!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I want to make things that nobody else has ever made.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Being able to sleep in however late I want. Seriously! I have been wrestling with insomnia my entire life and just knowing that I don’t have to wake up to a 7:30 am alarm after a creative or sleepless night is priceless.

That said, I’m quite sure I work more than the average full timer, but it’s work that I can do whenever, and however I want. I love that freedom.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/coolcritters
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopcoolcritters/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopcoolcritters/

Image Credits
They’re all mine