We recently connected with Samm Allen and have shared our conversation below.

Samm, appreciate you joining us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

377 followers on Instagram is really… not that much. But why is that important? A dream of fueling my pockets with my creative endeavors apparently depends on my social media following. This is something I’ve fought against for awhile now but have slowly come to realize is that if I want to be a successful small business owner in the world of today, I’ve also got to be a full time influencer. A consistent one, as well, which is a lot more difficult than it sounds, personally. I’ve got to bombard your feed with my wares to keep my name fresh in your mind. If I don’t, you will forget about that one piece of mine you wanted and go for that other small business item you keep seeing on your timeline.

Needing to not only create my pieces but also create content to advertise those pieces has always been something that stresses me out. Especially being a creative who also needs to work a 9 to 5 to pay the bills, baby. For awhile, I felt like I was working 2 full time jobs. My motivation was lacking & my passion for what I was doing was slipping. It wasn’t until I started only creating when I wanted to that I got my spark back. Once I stopped feeling like I had to be doing this stuff all the time and just started doing it when I could, or when I felt like it, I was creating so much better work & content. Not restricting myself to only what’s trending or what I thought other people wanted to see is SO freeing. Making what I like and what I think is fun makes such a better final product than what I make when I’m forcing it because I need something to post.

If you’re an artist like me who’s gotten stuck on the social media aspect of being a small creative, I’d just screw it honestly. Make what you want, when you want, & the right crowd will follow. I’m not saying don’t put work of course. The more you do, the less you wait, just don’t force it. The most important thing is that you HAVE FUN :)

Samm, 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?

Hello, reader! I’m Samm.

If you’ve heard of me, you’d most likely hear me being referred to as ARTbySAMM. Perhaps you might have even passed my booth at a First Friday or Art Garden KC. I love to vend in person as I am definitely a people person & enjoy meeting other local artists.

By day, I am a screen print proofer & separator as well as an in house graphic artist, though I do freelance as well. By night, I am a creative with a smorgasbord of work including jewelry, paintings, prints, drawings, found object pieces, or whatever else I feel like getting in to. I was once told that in order to be successful, I had to pick one thing & run with it. I did that for awhile but felt like my work got bottlenecked. I wasn’t into what I was making anymore and it showed in my craft. Finally I said, “Pshaw to that!” and started doing whatever I felt like. I changed my business name from ChumpyLump Jewelry to ARTbySAMM as it was more personal & gave me an umbrella to work under vs. being bound to jewelry. That’s when I truly found myself as an artist & business owner, I think. My work has only gotten better since.

I am always evolving, learning, & growing as an artist. I’m proud of my work & how far I’ve come with my brand. I can’t say I know where ARTbySAMM is taking me, but it’s a hell of a journey right now and I’m having a blast with whatever it is at the moment.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Money. Isn’t that the root of everything? I want to make money doing what I love. I am an incredibly hard worker & I’ve always put that work in for someone else. What happens if I put in all that work for myself? Growth is the answer, though it’s honestly slow growth. It’s not always steady, either. I still work a 9 to 5 because this world is expensive and ya girl has bills. A lot of bills. My dream of being a full time creative is still present, though I can’t say it’s not on the sidelines dressed as a cheerleader.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

More than likely, buying small is more pricey than buying something off of Amazon. But buying from a small business is not the only way to show your support. Sharing a small business or showing off a local artists work can do wonders for their career. It get’s their name out their to people who they’d otherwise never cross paths with. Social media is a big deal in a small business’s life & even something as little as liking a post affects the way their social media behaves. Everything matters! Comment if you like something, share a post if you think something is cool, take that free business card & pass it along. Any little thing you do that helps pass around a small business’s name or a creatives work is an immense help. On behalf of all small artists, it means the world to me when I see someone has shared my Instagram post or I’m being told, “I got a compliment on my earrings so I shared your website!” Small moves can create big waves and it all means so much.

Contact Info:

• Website: ARTbySAMM.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smyaln/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/_ARTbySAMM_