Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarah Mccabe. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sarah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?
Being misunderstood and mischaracterized is a big part of my life as someone who was diagnosed late with autism and ADHD. I’ve always felt on the outside, even with the same group of friends I’ve had since kindergarten. So while it’s really nice to finally have answers and start putting the pieces together, it still doesn’t change the fact that I’ve spent 97% of my life desperately trying to be “normal” enough for everyone else.
Having a neurodivergent view of the world means that I don’t hold value over the same
things that other people do and I personally think that’s why I’ve spent so long being misunderstood. The past year or so I’ve made a very hard effort to figure out who I was as a person, an artist, and even a business owner. I’ve found that I’ve misunderstood myself and it wasn’t until I fully embraced the neurospicy side of myself that I really found my vision / purpose / goal for creating and working so hard at my craft. I feel like art should create a reaction – good, bad, big or small. And once I realized that, I was able to focus my vision into a brand that I feel like represents me – completely unfiltered, obnoxious and ridiculous (or at least those are the words people tend to use when I’m too much for them)
All that being said, I think I still run into these problems of being misunderstood or mischaracterized every single day – especially when it comes to me selling my art at local craft shows. I’ve learned a ton from people while I’m out vending and I love the experience of talking to people and getting feedback face to face. But I think social norms / society in general has put value into things that I never will. That was part of the reason why I got behind my best selling rug design – swear words. At first, it was kind of funny to have an obnoxious colored rug that just says “fuck” sitting on my desk, but then I really started to think about it. People put so much value on words and it’s society that determines what words have what meaning. So while my Aussie friends are cackling at my mini rugs that say “cunt,” I have an older gentleman confronting me at my booth demanding to know why I think it’s appropriate to have such things on display and that it’s a real shame to have a sticker that says “dead children can’t read books.”
Even though I have such a wide range of reactions, I’m not going to change. I’ve spent my whole life making myself small enough to fit into spaces that I don’t belong in and spending the past year or so doing what I want to do and making things for me has been the best learning experience for me.
At the end of the day, people are going to say what they want and think what they want, it’s your job to look past all of that and stay focused on yourself and your vision. I’d rather be the misunderstood person that carries pride related art all year long because the queer teenager who walked into my tent finally has a sticker that represents them. I’d much rather talk to a client for 45 mins about the difference between dye and pigment based printer ink and why I’m charging the prices that I am because I make everything by hand vs the person who walks in, makes a comment about my sticker prices “lining my pocket” and walks out before I get the chance to tell them that I donate a portion of all my sales to local LGBTQIA+ organizations. I’m always going to try to be the safe space for everyone and I’m always going to be inspired by the people like me that were told that they’re “not appropriate” or “too much.” So if there’s anything I can take away from being misunderstood is that those who think I’m too much, need to go find less.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’ve always been a creative kid and I started drawing with my dad when I was really young. Even though he passed when I was 9, I still have the best memories of sitting around and drawing comics out of the paper with him and I thought he was the coolest when I could just hand him anything and he would draw it, no questions asked. As I got older, I’ve always had art classes throughout school and then eventually went to college for cinema and digital arts and concentrated in cinematography. So art has always been a constant in my life, I just never thought about it as a full time career.
It wasn’t until I started selling ornaments on Etsy with an old coworker that I realized the possibilities of building your own brand and business from the ground up. We worked solely online until ‘23 when we started working the local craft show scene. At the end of last year, my partner decided that they didn’t want to continue so it came down to me to either flying solo or work on something else…thus EvilToaster Art was born.
Starting in 2024, I took all of my art experience from school, my online selling experience with Etsy, and all the contacts and hard work from selling in person to start my own brand. I know I want to work full time in a creative role and I love collaborating with others, so that’s a big part of what I do now.
Currently, I specialize in pet portraits but I also sell stickers, art prints, punch needle and now decorative rugs. My ADHD makes me want to try new projects and autism makes me want to master them, so I fully embrace my neurodivergence when it comes to my work. You’ll always find a great variety of my stickers, prints, rugs etc but I’ll also bring a handful of randos to my in person shows like glasses, tote bags, keychains etc. So one thing I like about my business is you always have constants, but there’s also a fun rotating mix of new things that I’m experimenting with. I also make everything by hand, which means I can customize anything. It’s so nice to talk about a product or process that I’m passionate about, but I can also speak to the quality in which it was made. I’ve found that a lot of people accept mediocracy (aka let’s go buy this thing for $2 off temu), so my standards tend to be much higher than some of my competitors working in the same mediums as myself. I’m also my worst critic, which means I’m going to be up at 3 am staring at your pet portrait on my wall determining if I’ve captured the essence of your goodest baby until my husband eventually tells me that it does in fact “look like that dog.”
EvilToaster Art was established with the idea that I want to make art inclusive. Inclusive can mean different things to different people, but in my mind inclusive means accessible. So I try to offer my products in a variety of price ranges, I offer payment plans or options to pay in chunks as I’m working, and since I make everything I can also customize any of my designs to fit into a certain budget. I also try to represent all types of voices and minorities in my work. I carry a pride line of stickers that I keep year round to educate people on pride flags / LGBTIA+ issues. I also donate a part of that to local organizations – specifically SistersPGH, but I will alter it depending on what show I’m vending at (ie – working a pride event in Millvale means my donations go to Millvale pride to support them). I love making art that deals with current events or represents a marginalized group, so I have tons of stickers and designs based around mental health, neurodivergence, and some of my favorite hobbies like reading. I love it when people walk in to look at my stuff and realize they have a sticker that represents them or when they suggest something else that I can look into creating.
Spending so much time working corporate jobs and in retail has my brain trained in selling, but if people don’t see the value in what you’re offering then they’re not going to buy. I’m not here to pressure people or make anyone come into my booth at a show and feel forced to buy something. I want to connect with my clients and have a conversation about how they’re responding to what I’m making, and that’s the one thing I personally find that sets me apart from others. My biggest goal is to have a connection and a conversation more than me pushing my products into your hands and forcing you to buy. Working in a creative field can be lonely, competitive and challenging and I never want people to associate those words with my brand (unless I’m playing you at Mario Party…because then I will crush you with the competitive might of a thousand suns). Eviltoaster Art is for the voices that aren’t always heard and for the people that were told they were “too much” and that’s what I’m most proud of.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I think education and access to resources is probably the biggest thing that can support creatives. And I say that in the sense that not many people realize how you can make a living in a creative space. For example, licensing your art is a great way to make passive income but where do you even start with a process like that? People want to tell you that you can’t be an artist as they go pluck some random canvas off the wall at target for $100 and hang it in their house. I don’t think people realize how important creatives are, especially now when we’re competing with AI and the general accessibility to tools and materials like laser cutters or print on demand.
Then you think about places like Etsy that used to drive people to the site specifically for handcrafted items. Now it’s filled with drop shippers and digital courses to teach you how to make money. It takes too much work to find the real hand crafted items, so people aren’t going to put in the extra work to find it. Creatives need the resources to get others connected with them and see the value that they bring.
A common phrase an AC used to say to me on set is that you can do it fast, do it cheap, or do it right but you can only pick 2. I personally think that mentality has gotten into society’s mind. Like why would I go pay $600 for a hand crafted leather backpack that takes 3 months to make when I can get something similar off Amazon for $60 in two days? People are forced into this cheap way of thinking just to survive and it’s always the creatives that get the shaft first because a bunch of rich white men have us believing that we’re all replaceable.
Maybe for the holiday season, you can stop waiting in front of your computer for 9 hours for your bath and body works candle sale and instead spend that $15 on a local, handmade candle that not only smells better but will keep the lights on for someone in your community. My friends know to ask me first because chances are, I know someone who has a business that can do what they need. Talk to your local creatives, go to local craft / vendor shows, and shop from a human in front of your face knowing that your money is going to them and not some bald, white man who isn’t going to help you when the world eventually catches on fire. We all can win when we all make an effort to support each other. And support doesn’t always mean buy this good / service – a comment, a like, a repost, a share, a great review can do more for a business than just spending your money with them.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
I think my biggest struggle when it comes to dealing with non-creatives is how seriously they take me. My family always makes comments like “oh I hope your side hustle is going good” or “how’s your little craft thing going?” Nothing that I do falls under the description of “little craft thing.” I have years and years of hard work, time, and money invested into myself and my skillset. There’s a certain level of vulnerability you have when working in a creative field and I don’t think everyone understands that. I’ve grown up with a huge fear of being perceived and thinking that my art was stupid or just something that I’m doing as a hobby or to pass the time, so I never tried to explore it further. Sometimes showing up, being encouraging while you see someone learning a new creative process or giving an enthusiastic response is all that a creative person needs to keep going. I know for a fact that my creative journey would’ve been a lot different 5, 10, 15 years ago if I was surrounded by the support system that I have built for myself now.
Contact Info:
- Other: Just to make it easy, all the info is on the linktree: https://linktr.ee/eviltoasterart
Image Credits
Chris Gonzalez