We were lucky to catch up with Lisa Clow recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lisa, appreciate you joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?
Hindsight is 20/20, isn’t it?
On the one hand, I most definitely wish I had started my business much earlier in life, and on the other hand, I wish I had stayed in school longer to explore my interests or worked in a design firm, but all of that comes at many different costs. The years in between school and going full freelance were trying, but I can see how they were useful and formative.
After a few years of floundering from attempting to earn a degree in Marketing, to dropping out of college, to selling women’s perfume in the mall, to singing downtown on the street corner, to performing for Dolly Parton’s Playhouse to promote her Imagination Library, I finally settled on getting an Associate’s Degree in Graphic Design. For some reason, I was in the mindset that I wasn’t “good enough” or “smart enough” to try a four-year degree in anything but knew I needed to learn some sort of trade and my dad was an illustrator/designer, so why not me too? And a community college wouldn’t break the bank but I will be honest. I get self-conscious saying I never went to art school or got a four-year degree even though those things aren’t what make a person a good artist or a successful business owner.
What I wish I had known to do was to share and sell my work while in college or even growing up. I wish I had known to submit my writing or illustrations to magazines, and blogs, put my portfolio online or even seek out clients online. I wish I had known that the younger you are the more people want to help you succeed, they don’t care if you’re not great yet, you’re not supposed to be and no one expects you to be. They’re just looking for potential. But the refrain that ran through my head over and over in college was “you’re not talented enough to succeed, so why try.”
I wanted to work for myself doing graphic design, writing, and illustrating and I finally got to the point where I absolutely loathed going to my 9-5 every day and all I wanted to do was work for myself and make art. I was really struggling. (And then I got pregnant and it was a convenient way to transition into working from home for myself and test the waters). I will say, it was wise for me to have a full-time job while starting my business, to have a steady income while taking on design clients and building my business, but taking that initial leap with a bit of direction and work under my belt was freeing and exciting.
What I would tell my younger self is this: don’t be afraid to put your work out there. A favorite quote of mine is from JK Rowling, “For some to love it, others must loathe it.” That resonates with me. Over the years, I’ve had so many onlookers tell me how strange and weird my illustration and design style is, I could go on and on with examples of comments but that quote made me realize is for the amount of people who hate what I do there will most likely be that many who love it. Listen to criticism from those you respect and let the rest roll off your back.
Your art, writing, and/or business strategy don’t have to be perfect before sending them into the world because if you wait for perfection you’ll never do it- nothing is ever perfect no matter how prepared or worthy you think you are.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am Lisa Clow. I grew up in Hendersonville, Tennessee and settled in Knoxville. I’m married with three children. My business is called Lisa Clow Studio. The word “studio” allows me to be freelance in many different creative ways. I’ve cast my net pretty wide. Anyone in a creative business knows the clients, the money, and the interest can stop at any moment so as an artist I felt that my best bet with a lucrative career is to have as many streams of income going as possible.
So all that to say, I am an illustrator, graphic designer, surface designer, author, songwriter, performer, and poet. I make an income doing all of these things. Some days I’m sending poems into different journals, some days I’m working on vocals, but most days I’m in my art studio illustrating and working on designs for companies who will manufacture my artwork on their products. I create patterns and spot illustrations for surfaces, whether it be mugs, fabric, greeting cards, you name it. I’m new to it in the last couple of years and it’s exciting to stretch myself in that way.
Since the pandemic, I’ve taken a little time to slow down and write children’s books. I’ve been querying and am actively looking for the right literary and or illustration agent to represent me for the long haul.
What am I most proud of? I would have to say anything I’ve done for children. My prints, poems, and murals. I am always open for commissions for kids. My dream would be to have loads of children’s books in the library with my name on it and loads of murals around the city giving children a safe and imaginative spot to play and learn.
I would want potential clients to know that I’m hard working, I love a deadline, and I’m never at a loss for ideas. My imagination is my greatest strength and I love children. My latest mural at New Hopewell Elementary School won the Orchid Award for Best Public Art given by Keep Knoxville Beautiful and I’m pretty humbled by that.
If you are reading this and you need beautiful or whimsical art for an upcoming project, I’m up for a challenge if it’s the right fit for me! If you are unsure if I would be interested in working with you or your project, please do not hesitate to reach out, I would love to hear from you whether near or far!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
My journey as a freelance artist and business owner could be titled “A Series of Unfortunate Events” but because that is already taken I’ll call it “Really Odd Events Out of My Control That Made Life Super Difficult But Didn’t Keep Me Down.”
When I was first starting out I believed in paying for all of my business expenses in cash. I was frightened by the idea of credit cards and any sort of debt so I saved up every penny from my business to buy a brand new MacBook Pro. I was working from home and since I had a very fresh newborn I was working from my bed. I would nurse and then lay him down in the bassinet next to me and work until he woke up again then nurse again.
Well, when I nursed my son I always had my new laptop and a water bottle at the foot of my bed, (you can probably see where this is going) but one day, I was nursing him and had my laptop open at my feet then all the sudden I heard a sizzle and my computer screen went black. I remember gasping and trying to figure out what to do with the baby. I didn’t know it but I hadn’t screwed the top to my water bottle on all of the way and the water had slowly leaked onto my comforter and seeped up the comforter into my laptop like a ghost.
$3000+ gone and for someone who only charged $15-$30 for a piece of artwork that took me 2 or more hours there was no way I could pay in cash for another laptop anytime soon. Almost every bit of my income was brought in by using my computer and I couldn’t just go to the library to work, I had a newborn, and I couldn’t use just any computer, I needed one with all the Adobe software. I was in a pickle.
But what I did was ask for help. I had about three people who I knew did the same design program as me years before and they had Adobe on their laptops. So I rotated borrowing from them. I drove around town (people are incredibly generous, I couldn’t believe it). I tried to get my first credit card so I could buy another laptop but no one would give me one because I had “no credit.” It was a vicious cycle. Finally, I did jobs here and there little by little and saved up.
Eventually, someone asked me to do a painting for them and they asked for a quote so I felt desperate and said $500. (I had never charged that much for anything, I was certain they’d say no) but $500 was what I needed to buy an iPad and get a new illustration software called Procreate. The person gave me the project and the rest is history.
I was able to do artwork on my iPad and slowly save enough money to get the laptop later on and stop borrowing other people’s computers. It took at least a year or two. The ironic part is now I use my iPad for 85% of my digital illustration. Being forced into learning a new software and process on the iPad actually opened up so many new avenues of creating and illustrating that has only made me more valuable as a designer. I know it’s cliche but the whole ordeal was a blessing in disguise and I learned so much from it.
Also, I know you’re wondering. I do have credit to my name and will buy things without using cash everytime.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
This is going to sound old school but I would say the Public Library. I wish I could tell every writer, illustrator, artist, and maker to force themself to the public library at least once a week. Just walk around, pick up books, wander into nonfiction, the picture books, the coffee table book section, and the vintage diy/how-tos. The place is boundless for inspiration and information. I know you can go on Google or Pinterest and find what you need but honestly, at the library, you will stumble across things you never would have searched for online.
There was a season of my life when my scanner broke (and of course, I didn’t have money to buy a new one). I used it to scan my artwork made with traditional media and import into Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop for touch ups and vectorizing, so I what did I do you ask? I went to the public library! They have a fabulous high-res scanner that would send my files directly to my laptop. It was FREE to use. It’s insane. We have an awesome downtown library here in Knoxville.
People tend to think of the library as a place for parents to take their kids when they’re little for storytime but it is so much more. It is a place chock full of books, movies, music, and resources that will deepen and enrich your creative aspirations and imagination.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lisaclow.com
- Instagram: @lisaclowstudio
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/lisaclowstudio
- Twitter: @lisacclow
Image Credits
Select images by Jenn Japp Photography