We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shelsea Vazquez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Shelsea , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, let’s take a stroll on memory lane, back to when you were an apprentice or intern. What’s a memorable story from that time that you can share with us?
So for my last semester of college, I interned at an elementary school. I designed their yearbook for the 2017-2018 year. It was honestly a lot of fun! The teacher gave me free reign and barely asked for any changes (a dream client, LOL). Now the story takes a turn AFTER I finished my internship. Imagine being done with all your college classes and just counting down the days until you walk down the stage to get your diploma. But then you get a text a month after you finished your internship stating that all the files were gone plus there are changes to be made. Now, understandably, I know some may not help out unless there is pay involved but me being me, I went back and gave her all the files she needed and all the revisions she wanted. That was the longest week that I felt like I ever lived but seeing the results right after felt worth it. When she handed me a copy of the yearbook, I’ve never felt as much pride as I did that day. I would honestly do it again if I had to choose.
Shelsea , 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?
I’ve been drawing all my life. It’s always been a passion in my life. But i didn’t start seriously drawing until I took art classes my sophomore year of high school. It reignited my love for art. I learned that drawing portraits of people was my favorite because of the attention to detail I needed to focus on. Going to college for graphic design further ignited my passion for portrait drawing after learning i can draw people digitally. I thought that was the coolest thing ever! A month before I graduated, I was hired at a gas station called Sheetz. I was promoted twice and am now an Assistant Manager! I learned so many things like time management, task management, and discipline which have aided in managing my small business and social media marketing accounts alongside a full-time job. I created my small business not only because I was passionate about art but because I felt like people connected with my art. I am most proud of being able to do what I love which is create art. Growing my social media and getting sales feels like an incredible bonus to me! I’m happy to announce that commissions for digital portrait drawings are now available on the site and eventually I will provide graphic design services, such as logo and business card designs, very soon! I am slowly moving towards eco friendly packaging and am looking for ways to donate to charities that I feel passionate about. I’ve always wanted Hunderican Art to be a part of something good and I feel like we are slowly growing enough to get there.
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
At first, I did not manufacture my own products. All I had was a dream and some drawings. I honestly didn’t know where to start so I just went to google. Eventually, I found the perfect website for me which was stickerapp.com. It’s pretty simple to use which is why i kept coming back. I definitely struggled at first with sizing but after a couple orders, it was smooth sailing. I recently bought a cricut maker though so once I figure out how exactly to make the stickers I need, I won’t need to order as much stickers as I used to which I’m pretty excited about!
Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?
I use both a personal site and Etsy! I’m not going to lie, the only reason why I created an Etsy was because I heard having multiple forms of streams of income was the way to go. But now that I’ve had an Etsy for about a year now, it has really helped grow my business! I definitely recommend it for people who are first starting out. Pros of Etsy are product advertisements to users and easy to use. Cons are fee prices are high. If you’re ready for a personal site, pros are there are no high fees and you’re able to accomplish whatever you want with your site. Cons would be you would need a large social media following in order to advertise effectively and you would have to maintain your own website.
Contact Info:
- Website: hundericanart.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/hundericanart
- Facebook: facebook.com/hundericanart
- Other: https://msha.ke/hundericanart