We recently connected with Nic Wheat and have shared our conversation below.

Nic, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Being a creative definitely entails a lot of flux. As an artist, we live a world where we’re constantly told to “get a real job,” or our businesses and passions get called that “little thing”, I think we end up putting a lot of pressure on ourselves, to ‘make it’ – whatever that means. In reality, its a bit more complicated than that. Just like creativity, opportunities come in waves and its so important to make space for that and take it as it comes. Some months my art pays my bills and covers my life, some months I have to take on side projects or do food deliveries to make a bit of extra cash. I find it so important to be transparent about these kinda things, as I feel a lot of us creatives get stuck in a cycle of thinking we should have it all figured out when in reality I don’t think any of us ever will and that is a completely normal part of life.

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 am an artist and fashion designer, and armourer. I first started my clothing line Crave Stvdios in January 2020. I was actually bartending at the time and found a jacket I decided to upcycle, embellish and paint on, and when I started wearing it around I always got asked about it. From there I decided to take the leap and teach myself to screen print, take art commissions and start making what I wanted to wear.
I saw a lack of the clothing I wished to have, and my clothing line, Crave, formed as an amalgamation of dark themes and delicate textures and evolved into a full online medieval bazaar featuring my own designs as well as curated vintage home goods and clothing. Inspired heavily by the Middle Ages, tattoo art, and subversive basics, I create designs that form what I like to refer to as “medieval torture femme-core” and pieces that can be best described as starting the post-apolocalypic Victorian bog core era.
I have always had a vested interest in the medieval period, so in 2022, I taught myself how to weave chainmaille and started releasing one of a kind necklaces and jewelry pieces through my jewelry line Ever After Metal. The pieces I make are a mix antique and vintage pendants, fresh water pearls, and gems, with my original chainmaille designs and take inspiration from the Middle ages, renaissance jewelry, and the victorian era to craft pieces that are remniscent of fantasy films.
My designs have been seen on performance artists such as Echos, Caroline Carr, Aurelia, and MOTHICA; along with this, I have designed couture pieces for music videos and cover arts and exclusive merch designed with clients such as Jägermeister, Echos, CRAY, Aurelia and more.
This year I took a huge leap and launched my new business, Maiden Wares, which is an online medieval bazaar. Here is an excerpt of the story of my latest endeavor:
Born out of lore on a foggy Beltane night in 2023, Maiden Wares started to take form as its creator, Nic, burned the midnight oil. Seeing a lack of curated wares in her community, she realized quickly that this age old plight must be solved, so she began the quest for wares befitting of a castle. She searched far and wide throughout the kingdom only to find no such specialty store in existence and decided it was time to craft one of her own.

​Out of the moss, Maiden Wares was born, and stands today as an online medieval bazaar where travelers can source wares, unique ren faire garbs, vintage medieval inspired home goods, bespoke clothing, chainmaille and much more year round.

Combining her love for thrifting, fashion design, medieval history, jewelry making, and chainmaille, Nic crafted a unique online experience that will only grow in time. Maiden Wares official website launched on the 15th of June 2025, with hand sourced and curated vintage home goods, clothing and accessories and features wares from Crave Stvdios and Ever After Metal, which are Nic’s two personal handmade brands. Through the coming years, Maiden Wares is looking to expand to partner with and carry exclusive items from other small craftsmen and artisans, and eventually open a brick and mortar shop in California.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My biggest piece of advice for social media, is to post what makes you happy. Post things you are interested in, things that inspire you, your process, little snippets of your day and your life. If you keep social media fun, your personality will shine through and thats really what captures an audience: your authenticity, your uniqueness. Your audience wants to know YOU, so at the end of the day, the best thing you can do is be yourself, unapologetically.

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

I would have to say that the most rewarding aspect of being a creative for me is the community. There is nothing like being able to share your art with other creatives and connect over this appreciation for craft in a way that truly means something. My art has brought me some of my closest friends and chosen family and I think thats the most beautiful part of the process. That and sharing these extremely raw and real parts of you. It feels like I’m serving my heart on a silver platter for the world to devour and it’s scary, exciting, satisfying and completely vulnerable all at once. But when someone see’s those deep parts of you and can resonate and relate, its the most connecting feeling in the world. There’s truly nothing like being seen through your art.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shopmaidenwares.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicwheat/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_rMQL9qKbD8CvhU9fsDog
• Other: tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nic.wheat
  maiden wares instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maidenwares/
  maiden wares tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maidenwares

Image Credits

Gabriella Bavaro, Aurelia