We recently connected with Sam Coombs and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Sam, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
As someone who has overcome an earring disorder as well as been diagnosed with a chronic illness, body image has always been something I have struggled with. All of my work, especially my drawings & ceramic carvings are based on real bodies with the intention that it will help others be soft with themselves. My hope is that by pouring into & healing myself through art that I am able to spark some of that emotion in those who come in contact with it.
Sam, 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?
Hi! My name is Sam & it has been a bit of a wild ride to opening my own business, an art business at that. I grew up with a love for the water, nature, & you could always find me with pretty rocks stuffed in my pockets. Art has always been a core part of how I express myself throughout my life, with the medium to which that was achieved changing as I got to know myself. I’m 2020 I was working a job that didn’t align with my values, which I ended up parting ways from when the pandemic hit. This gave me the time to sit with my artist thoughts and just simply create. I began painting womens bodies with tropical flora heads on reclaimed wood that I wood burned patterns into. I posted one on my personal Instagram story & to my shock people were asking if they could purchase the pieces – I truly couldn’t believe it! One thing led to another & within the month Fiercen Designs was born. I did a pop up art show at a local gallery & sold out of all my pieces. In order to stay creatively stimulated I began drawing on my ipad & creating digital art. I added this to my new website I designed & off my business went into the world of online commerce. That summer I took a pottery class & fell in love. It came so naturally to me & felt incredibly therapeutic. So of course I invested the business money back into myself & set up a home studio – complete with an old but mighty kiln. At this point YouTube was my best friend, so I decided to teach myself to metalsmith. I had a huge collection of stones, & initially I wanted to make a few pieces for myself from meaniful stones I had collected over the years… but that also snowballed & before I knew it I was selling ceramics, prints, & jewelry. Just recently I also tapped into a passion project, where I reclaim flannels & tees into a new piece. Sustainability has always been important to me in my work, & this was my way of creating merchandise for my brand that is earth friendly. I can’t say that FD was planned, but it was absolutely meant to be. I have never happily worked harder in my life & I couldn’t imagine myself not creating. Nowadays you can find me teaching a variety of yoga classes, paddling around on a surfboard, eatting yummy food, traveling, or of course playing with clay & rocks in my studio.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
About a year into starting Fiercen Designs I became incredibly sick. I am so thankful that I had my art & the people who follow my work during that time, because it truly is what got me through it. Having an outlet & something to pour my energy into was massive in my recovery. I will say it was wildly difficult at the same time, to maintain the business side of things & find the energy to get to art markets when some days I could barely get out of bed. I thank my partner & family for that, they really had my back in making sure what needed to get completed did indeed, get completed.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Honestly… I think social platforms are so underestimated in how much you can learn about a craft. I say that I went to tik tok university when it comes to metalsmithing, but I’m only half joking. People have so many amazing tips & tricks you would never think of, I feel like watching other artists keeps me constantly learning. That being said it’s important to give credit & support the artists you’re learning from, because often they are sharing these tools without pay! Always pay it forward.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.Fiercendesigns.com
- Instagram: @fiercendesigns
Image Credits
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