Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sabbie Narwal. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sabbie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Leave no stone unturned…that’s an idiom that’s always stuck by me. A long time ago, when I was very young, being an artist and small business owner felt like the most natural thing in the world. It wasn’t long, of course, before those dreams were quashed by a world that believed that to be an artist is to suffer and be destitute. I eventually put the artist career out of my mind and replaced it with what I thought was the perfect compromise: interior design. It was creative but came with a salary and clear-cut career path.
However, I had left a stone unturned. No matter how hard I tried to drown it out, I couldn’t ignore the inner voice that told me that I just had to keep creating art. I started slowly, with sketches in class notebooks and dollarstore notepads. Eventually, my practice grew to larger illustrations, with me sneaking in time to work on them wherever I could find it—parking lots, work lunchrooms, park benches…And then came the catalyst and I took my biggest risk ever. I quit my dismal Big Girl Job in interior design, packed my bags and moved to South Korea to turn over a few more stones: teaching and living abroad.
The years I spent abroad became transformative as I derailed the classic life path I had been subscribing to, and focused on exploring and learning instead. When I moved back to Canada in 2021, it was with a new love for teaching and honed skills in illustration. And, as I had nothing left to lose, I dove head first into turning over one more stone: I started my art business. Since then, my life has involved exploring and diligently working on my dream life as a creative entrepreneur.
As for that idiom, it would probably be terribly overwhelming to turn over absolutely every stone in one’s life, but when something is particularly loud about being explored, I say go for it.
Sabbie, 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?
I’m a visual artist and small business owner from Ontario, Canada. I founded The Paper Narwhal, an art goods & lifestyle brand that features my original art. Over the years, this business (and the art practice behind it) has evolved a lot, but the mission has always been the same: to create art that uplifts, inspires & comforts others. Currently, that looks like creating heartfelt paper goods that help my customers express themselves to the world, painting murals that engage my community, participating in programming that helps build up local artists and taking on freelance projects that spark joy.
As a South Asian woman, my cultural heritage and experiences are also a big part of what I do as a creative. I believe existence is resistance, and by existing in spheres of business and art that I grew up feeling excluded from, I hope to help continue opening up these spaces for others. As an artist, I feel incredibly grateful that my business allows me to sustain my practice and explore new avenues. And finally owning my own business feels like a long-lost puzzle piece has snapped into place. My discontent at all my previous jobs makes so much sense now that I am working harder than ever for myself but feeling much, much happier.
Also, the moments where a customer shares a heartfelt, personal connection to one of my works or shares how something I make helps them feel seen and heard? Those moments are priceless and keep me going more than anything.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Looking back on my life thus far, all the twists and turns make so much sense in relation to where I am today. But if I were to pick one thing to have learned earlier, it would be this…if you’re searching for something (a precedent, some art, some invention, some kindness) but don’t see it anywhere, take that as a screaming sign to create what you wish to see most. Show up as the person you want to meet, paint the paintings you want to see, sing the songs the you want to hear. You don’t have to spend your life searching outside yourself for answers or waiting around to find someone else to do it for you. If I’d learned this earlier, I would probably have started my journey as an illustrator years earlier, putting pen to paper myself, instead of scouring Instagram, looking for artists creating what I was craving.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Being a creative entrepreneur comes with a lot of unlearning. Unless you were raised in an alternative world where creating for a living, charting your own course and being completely in charge of your day are the norm, of course. It’s actually an ongoing process to unlearn the mindset that is drilled into us from childhood, especially in the beginning stages of transitioning from life as an employee to life as a business owner. You have to put in serious work on your mindset for so many things. You have to let go of the idea of conventional work hours, environments and steady paycheques in order to design your own set of dynamics and learn how to work with fluctuating revenue. You have to let go of goals and objectives laid down by an employer and learn to chart your own course—being in charge of driving your own income and growth is exhilarating but also beyond terrifying. There’s honestly so much unlearning and learning involved in each individual’s journey and I think the best thing to do is to go in with an open mind, willing to try anything.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thepapernarwhal.com
- Instagram: @thepapernarwhal