We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lily Quill a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Lily, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?

So, I make functional art (beaded jewelry and resin pieces) and do a lot of selling at vendor events. Customers are one of my favorite parts of this endeavor because they so often tell me stories about their lives while browsing my wares (who is with them, what a piece reminds them of, how someone in their life would LOVE that item, etc). When children come into my booth, I tend to keep an extra eye on them…not because I’m worried about items walking away in pockets, but because I’m a mother and know very well how quickly well-meaning young hands can create chaos.

Last summer, there was a little girl who came into my booth and was taking her time looking everything over. She would touch things occasionally, turning and flipping things over to get a look at all sides. I caught the occasional murmur of appreciation. Her adults gave her space to explore and would engage delightfully with her when she said “Mom, look at this!!” And I was keeping that aforementioned extra eye on her, because chaos. But chaos was not what I noticed most about her. Nope. What was shining off of her face was awe, pure awe.

After awhile, she came up to me in wide-eyed wonder and asked “Did you MAKE all of this?!”

“Yep, I sure did!”

Her eyes became saucers and she said “Woooooooooooow!!” while glancing around the booth again. I quickly followed up by telling her that I had been doing it for nearly 20 years, and so had lots of practice, and that she could absolutely do the same kinds of things if she wanted to when she gets a little older. Her eyes got even BIGGER! Bless her mother – that lady supported what I had just said. We all had an absolutely delightful conversation encouraging this little girl that she absolutely has the ability to learn something she wants to make and do pretty stuff just like mine. When she walked out of the booth, awe and wonder were still pouring off that little girl’s face and her mother had a knowing smile. It was like that girl had never even thought of the fact that she was absolutely capable of making pretty things too. I’m hopeful that some day they’ll be interviewing an up-and-coming jewelry designer and she’ll talk about this booth she went to at a fair…but for now it makes my heart glow to know that a little girl walked away from my booth with a bit more confidence. THAT makes the hard days more worth it.

Lily, 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?

Oh goodness, where to start. So, my name is Lily and I’m originally from Alaska. My brother and I grew up in a log cabin on a homestead near the foothills of Denali Mountain. We were very remote and often the only children for miles around, which meant we were in each other’s faces c.o.n.s.t.a.n.t.l.y. and were often fighting. Well, constant fighting and picking on my brother meant I was in trouble a lot…but there was nothing TO DO out there. I’d read all the books that I had access to, I’d explored the woods around our cabin time and time again, I was sooooooooo bored. Sitting still didn’t agree with me, so I needed something to do that didn’t get me in trouble.

Someone gave me a pattern for a little beaded amulet bag and a bunch of teeny tiny beads. Hours and hours of pattern decoding and chasing itty bitty beads around later, and I had a tiny little bag just perfect for holding a tiny treasure. I was overcome with an immense sense of pride and accomplishment over that little thing, and quickly realized that it’s creation had captivated all of my attention for a very long time. So on to the next one…until I got bored with the pattern and wanted to make something else…and then something else, which led to something else, and so on.

So what started as a “keep my hands busy so I stop getting in so much trouble bothering my brother” has become a side-hustle. I don’t make enough off my art to feed my kids and so have a day job, but money isn’t why I make art. Nope, I have continued making art ever since that first little amulet bag for a few reasons:

1) I’m allergic to sitting still. I break out in art (surprise surprise, I have ADHD).
2) I have experienced and witnessed the confidence boost that can happen from finding just the right piece of pretty jewelry. I love boosting folks’ confidence and so make pretty pretty things that help with that endeavor.
3) Making these pieces gives me an excuse to play with really pretty crystals, pearls, wood, shells, etc.
4) My business has become an example from me to my children of just exactly what they are capable of if they set their mind to something. I came from a difficult background – but that doesn’t define who and what I am now. My children get to see an example of someone who has been through a lot, but who refuses to let that defeat their ability to add beauty to the world. This is something that I’m the most proud of that has happened as a result of my business, and it’s a happy little unexpected side-effect.

Success for my business is not defined by how much I make at a vendor event, how many pieces sell, etc. It is defined by the …
–absolute joy in the eyes of the young lady who loved a my “hope” pendant necklace and didn’t even make it out of the booth before she was wearing it,
–nostalgic mist in the eyes of a woman telling me the story of a relative who would have loved the earrings she was buying,
–father who bought his son a bracelet because his son thought it was pretty,
–mother who heard her daughter oooing and ahing over a necklace, then snuck back an hour later to buy it for her daughter as a surprise,
–little ones I encourage to practice their interests and crafts if it brings them joy,
–stories and glimpses I get into folks’ lives as they share bits of themselves while checking out,
–smiles and delight on folks’ face when they find just the right item

I make art that reminds people of good moments, that boosts their confidence, that makes the world just a tiny bit more pretty, and in doing so encourages me on my own hard days. So I will keep crafting…and picking on my brother, but I’m a big sister – it’s my perogative.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Oh gosh, yes! Simon Sinek is a motivational speaker who talks a lot about the “power of why” and how folks tend to be far less interested in WHAT you’re selling than in WHY you’re selling that thing. Because of listening to him speak and reading some of his stuff, I’m very vocal with customers about WHY I make art. The pieces in front of them are not mass made things that came off a line somewhere, along with their millions of identical copies. Nope, they’re made by the young lady standing in front of them whose WHY is to help make the world sparkle a bit more while enhancing customer’s confidence, all with an undertone of constructively managing her ADHD (because bored hands can get into mischief real fast).

More than that, though, focusing on my WHY as stated above helps me show up in each moment more authentically, which frankly results in more sales (customer’s can sniff out inauthenticity and it doesn’t make them feel good…which is the exact opposite of what I want!). It means that I make items that I’m proud to sell, things that have stories and character. And it means that it’s easier to not get super discouraged on low-profit days. If I only sell one thing that day but it is to a little girl whose smile absolutely sparkled as a result? Then the day was a win because it is that sparkle that drives me, not profit. Oddly enough, though, I make more profit the less I focus on it as a goal. Customers are drawn to authenticity, story, and someone who genuinely cares if they’re happy with their purchase – less so to someone who is just focused on the almighty dollar.

So all that to say, get yourself a copy of Simon Sinek’s book “Start with Why”.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Oh sure – for awhile there I was using my business to represent a major clothing business. The problem was that while I loved the customers, I wasn’t really in love with the clothes. Some were cool, but some….weren’t. I wasn’t passionate about the clothing that was leaving my little shop, but I WAS passionate about making sure my customers were well tended, and it showed. I gained customers in a time when many little shops who sold the same clothes were struggling, because my focus was on the CUSTOMER, not the clothing.

Eventually, I realized that representing this brand just didn’t fit anymore. There were some things happening in the background that made me not want to be associated with them anymore, I no longer had creative freedom over my own company because everything had to be within their own branding, it overwhelmed my family life/space (clothes take up a LOT of room!!)….it just didn’t work.

So I pivoted to drop representing the clothing line. Of course, I announced this on my business’ social media and immediately lost some customers who were just there for the brand. That was expected. What was unexpected were the connections I maintained simply because my customers had seen that they were my priority, not the potential profit. I finally had full freedom to run my business as needed to fit what was going on in my personal and professional life without worrying about having to meet some kind of sales quota. It was rejuvenating!!

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Image Credits
I took all the photos.