We were lucky to catch up with Shawn Harris recently and have shared our conversation below.

Shawn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

I believe this is one of the most important topics to address because in the landscape we live in where social media is king, we tend to see that most people only show their wins and never the losses. I think the authenticity around the process and understanding there are so many downs before there are ups defines who we are as a person. I find it even more challenging as an entrepreneur because you have to determine how to drive results for your business on a daily basis leaving no margin of error when resolving unexpected issues. Timeliness is your best friend on executing and keeping momentum during good and bad moments so that you feel a sense of stability.

As a creative, you have so many unexpected problems around logistics when running a business. I spend a lot of my time focusing on designing, networking, having top to top discussions on product distribution, executing on projects, etc., the list goes on. Wearing so many different hats as a creative and being passionate about our work, we tend to forget that the same amount of energy used to facilitate our passions is the same amount if not more energy required to market yourself and push the logistical side of your business. There are times where you reach stagnant points with burnout that simultaneously effects your creative process making everything feel cumbersome. These moments showed me that having a balance and how to incorporate pre-logistical work prior to starting anything creatively so that my business flows as one instead of two conflicting pillars.

As my work (merchandise and commercial visuals) elevated, it was impossible for me to try to take on more quality and volume of work. Bandwidth as a creative business is typically one of the biggest issues you run into. I had to build out a team of individuals I could rely on that could execute my vision and trust that they could see it through. Creative work is hard to delineate between swim-lanes because you love the work that you do, but you’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with. The more you can lean on others and streamline your processes, the easier it is to mitigate unexpected issues for any business and in the case, most of mine stemmed from bandwidth and operational rigor.

Shawn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Shawn D. Harris Jr. I am the Co-Founder and Product Director of The Raritan Gallery. The Raritan Gallery / TRG Studios, is a multifaceted studio & production company and we’re based in Jersey City, NJ. As artists, we understand the barriers to entry into creative endeavors can be too high, difficult to navigate, or tough to have any impact upon entry. So we wanted to be a conduit and create a vehicle that we wished was available to us when we first started our artistic passions – a platform that aims to build the infrastructure around ourselves and other artists to continue to create. Thus, The Raritan Gallery was born to be the springboard for all artists like ourselves to give a better lens and access into the art world.

The Raritan Gallery is really just the intersection of art and culture that provides a path to unlock creativity by giving access to different perspectives of expression while simultaneously amplifying the voices of the artists within those boundaries. We aim to create a sense of understanding to inspire others and give people the opportunity to experience and interpret art in their own way.

We offer merchandise (men’s/women’s clothing, accessories, 3D printed items, publications, & more) and commercial video production to clients. We produce everything in house and work with a largely vast network or artists of different specialties from names like making 3D mocks for A$AP Rocky to producing shows at NYFW. We pride ourselves as artists to continue to bring other artists/businesses’ dreams to fruition and flex our creative muscles with the things we create during the process.

We also produce an in-house tv series called Look, Don’t Touch which bridges the gap between artist and audience to help people resonate with art conveniently. To be honest, none of it really feels like work even though we can feel all over the place. I love seeing ideas come to life and servicing people based on the trust they have for myself and teammates. When you’re passionate about it, everything else becomes second nature.

My gateway into the art industry really started with fashion. I’ve always wanted to be a designer but I needed an outlet that could be my canvas. I met my business partner Damani Adadevoh in college at Rutgers University and as we circumnavigated growing into adulthood, little did we know we would create something that has so much value – a brand/collective made by artists to help the everyday person unlock their inner creative. Starting The Raritan Gallery has opened so many more doors for myself, Damani, & people all around us that we’ve worked with. We want to eventually become one of the leading pioneers in the art space where we’re looked at as a credible source and platform to allow others to grow.

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.

Intuition is the most important thing after planning what you want to do when starting a creative process. I think non-creatives tend to want to know when do you know something is finished and the truth is, there is no universal right/wrong answer, you can always improve the things you’re working on. As a creative we fight some occasional battles around when we should put out our work or when we think it’s completed. The short and simple answer really is when you feel it’s ready should be the litmus test versus when you think the work is done. Otherwise, you’ll spend a lot more time obsessing over operational/creative rigor which wastes valuable time. I think that applies to all facets in life whether “creative” or not. Focus on a goal with milestones and you can always go back to improve it later but having a working proof of concept already takes your from having nothing to having something.

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

I think the first thing is really understanding that art/creativity is not a complex subject. I hear on countless occasions from people & peers “I wish I was creative or was passionate about something”. The real response to that is that you absolutely are creative. I wish more people can drill down on what they’re passionate about so that we can all understand it’s not just about art, it’s really about taking a topic or idea and adding your POV onto it or evolving it.

I think the second thing which is just as important as the first, is understanding the barriers of entry to the art world. I cannot emphasize enough on how challenging it is to become successful due to gatekeeping and lack of resources. Since art is an arbitrary industry, many artists have to sign to agents and studios to make their work stick on higher platforms where power should really lie within the number of artists. I find that artists are skeptical to start because they feel like it’s saturated or they don’t have the resources. Though now that might be true, that shouldn’t be the ideal scenario.

Refer more artists, buy more of your friends work, or support them in whatever capacity you can. Step out of your comfort zone and learn more about the art you digest, the things you interact with, and dabble in your passions. The more people that realize art and creativity can be common, the more resources will be available to us all.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Shop-theraritangallery.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thergallery/ / https://www.instagram.com/trg.studios/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/5024654
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/thergallery
• Other: TikTok @trg.studios

Image Credits

Jushin Gonzalez
Nathan Rosario