We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sara Burgos. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sara below.

Sara, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us a story about a time you failed?

Before I officially opened my business I was doing a lot of “favor” jobs for friends and family. This specific situation was someone who was in need of commissioned artwork for a very specific project. I was new and excited to collaborate with someone outside of my own mind. Despite many meetings and adjustments, at the end of the day the client said to my face “you are not getting my vision. What you’ve made is not what I wanted.” After weeks of work it all came down to “thank you but no thank you.” That was extremely frustrating and humbling and could have been enough for me to believe the little voices in my head that were getting louder chanting, ” See! You’re not made for this. Your ideas suck and you should stop while you’re ahead.”Thankfully I had safe people around me who continued to encourage and nudge me onwards. Three years later I am still creating. In fact, the times I get to be a creative director on a project or create a commission piece for a client have become the favorite part of what I do. My biggest take away that I still remind myself of today is: not everyone is your perfect client and not everyone needs to be your client. Ask questions. Be honest, stay open. But if it doesn’t work out, move forward quickly.

Sara, 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 Sara Marie, the creator behind Marie Collect.

Born in Chicago, IL, living mainly in Phoenix, Arizona. I love to garden, share a coffee with a friend and thrift.

I have always loved to create. From finger paints to baking. Digital or physical. Fabric, chalk, oil. You name it.

‘Marie Collect’ has become my tangible place for those parts of me to come to life!

As you explore Marie Collect you’ll discover that we have a revolving set of greeting cards to choose from, multiple art collections that are designed to be personalized to capture your life’s biggest moments, ever changing merch, and the opportunity to partner together for creative direction on your next idea!

The part that keeps me doing what I love is connecting with other artist. To meet a stranger pursing that dream in their heart keeps the joy in what I do. Wether we get to work together or you’re here for the content, I’d love to connect.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson I had to unlearn quickly and am always remembering is that my creativity cannot only rely on my emotions. As a creative it’s very easy to fall into the tendency of waiting on the next idea to come or waiting to FEEL creative. A reason I probably didn’t start my company sooner was that belief. I do my best work when I FEEL like it. Let’s be real, owning a business is not cute. It’s hard work everyday and most of what I do to grow my business is unseen, unsexy work that mostly doesn’t feel creative. I had to learn QUICK that not everyday was going to be my perfect creative moment with time and space to ponder one idea and wait for the next idea to arise. I noticed that I need to pivot throughout my days often. So the greatest thing I do for myself now to not fall back into old ways is PLAN. I plan time in my week for thinking and pondering creative concepts, I protect the activities I’ve put in place to cultivate those moments. This way when the mundane works feels like it’s piling up I can always look forward to that time.

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

For me, the reward always comes back to hearing the satisfaction from a client. I truly cherish that people welcome me into really sacred moments of life, sometimes the hardest moments and ask me to create art that represents that time. It is a great honor each and every time. If I can add one other rewarding aspect of being a creator it is seeing an idea finished. The belief in yourself that is needed to get to the finish line is A LOT. and every time I learn more about myself and feel refreshed in a new way. These 2 reasons are why I keep creating today.

Contact Info:

• Website: mariecollect.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marie.collect/
• Facebook: facebook.com/hellomariecollect
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marie.collect

Image Credits
Chloe Huls