We were lucky to catch up with Justin Brown recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Justin , thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I’m a jewelry artist, with a background in digital branding and marketing and I’d been attending and hosting pop-up events for about a year and a half when a local art gallery fell on hard times and had to close. I knew this was going to leave a massive void in the artistic community, so I decided to step up and try to create something that we could all benefit from. During my time vending and hosting pop-ups, I was always looking for a specific kind of boutique or store to consign my jewelry because I didn’t want the overhead of a brick-and-mortar shop. I couldn’t find many places locally that met the standard I wanted for my bespoke, high-quality pieces of art, so I ended up creating it. I knew that if I was having trouble finding a place with high energy, beautiful aesthetics, and business-minded ownership, others were probably having the same problem. As an artist, I want to know that my work is going to be seen by people with the discretionary income to afford my prices because my work is important and shouldn’t be undervalued. It’s also important that any place I allow my work to be sold has a sophisticated aesthetic and people running it who understand the importance of consistent marketing and displaying my work in a way that helps it to sell.

The Edom Art House was born out of necessity, with a focus on building and supporting local artists. Not only do we offer art classes for people to dive deeper into their creativeness, but we also have courses, classes, and workshops for artist development. We host events that help artists learn how to market and brand themselves so they can sell more work and get better paying opportunities.

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.

I’ve always been pretty creative, but I’d never gotten paid for anything I’d made myself until I started making wire-wrapped jewelry that features crystals and semi-precious stones. Once I started noticing that other people saw value in my creations, I was inspired to do more and take the craft a little more seriously.

I think that my attention to detail and drive for customer satisfaction is what sets me apart from other people in my industry. I’m not okay with things being alright… I want things to be superb, magnificent, make people go “WOW”!!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to overcome and unlearn the belief that black people couldn’t take up space in the art world. I knew there were famous black artists but I hadn’t found many black gallery owners or people in the modern art world who looked like me and shared my ideas and views on a local level. I had to go on a journey that took me outside of immediate area to find other marginalized people who were navigating the art space in some prolific ways. I’m glad that I was able to go on this journey of discovery because it’s opened so many doors and provided me with a lot more opportunities to help a myriad of different people from all walks of life.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Fitness is my first love. I was a personal trainer for over a decade, and during that time I traveled the world and worked with celebrities, doctors, politicians, and other influential figures. I was passionate about helping people with their health and physical fitness, but I wasn’t in love with the industry overall, and I knew that it wasn’t going to be a lifelong endeavor. I was really good at my job, and although I’d built up a strong client base, I was experiencing burnout. The burnout ended up leading to depression, anxiety, and a whole host of other issues. I found my way out of the fitness industry when I created a branding and marketing program that taught personal trainers how to use Instagram and social media to create their own personal brands and create celebrity and notoriety for themselves.

I spent several years fine-tuning my speeches, perfecting my teaching and speaking skills, and developing a system that would teach fitness enthusiasts how to create their own digital brands in under 6 weeks and start making profits online almost immediately. The program caught the attention of a larger company, and I was able to make a transition out of the fitness world.

That pivot afforded me an opportunity to spend time figuring out what my next move was going to be, and that’s how I eventually landed on making wire wrapped jewelry full-time, which lead to the creation of what is now the Edom Art House.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.edomarthouse.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/edomarthouse
• Facebook: facebook.com/edomarthouse
• Youtube: youtube.com/edomarthouse
• Yelp: yelp.com/edomarthouse
• Other: We are listed as @edomarthouse across all social media platforms.

Image Credits
Craig Blackmon (FAIA) Wesley Jones (Thunderbridge Photography) Zach Heflin