We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stacy Wong a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Stacy , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had started sooner?
I think it was the perfect time to start my creative career. I had always dabbled in making art while working fulltime at a corporate job but 10 years ago, life circumstances and an opportunity to jump start my creative endeavors was calling me.
Working creatively gave me greater flexibility to support my family and their needs. It allowed me to work from home, be more present in the moment, and attend my boys’ high school extracurricular activities without feeling guilty.
Stacy , 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 Stacy Wong, a self-taught artist and maker. I have a line of modern lifestyle goods and uncommon plant decor. I also work from my home and backyard garden studio in Manhattan Beach, CA.
I choose to work in wood because its solid, substantial, and sustainable. It’s the right medium for creating long-lasting, modern decor and gifts. Wood can manipulated and modified with both hand and machine tools. But in the end, it’s still wood. I also like to think of the work I put into each of my products as beautifying and enhancing the initial unfinished piece of wood.
My love of color is reflected in each of the patterns and designs I create. I carefully contemplate every color palette and design I release. I focus on designs for new work that can’t be found anywhere else. My product offering is continually changing and evolving. Perhaps my design process is a little selfish, because I create what I would like to have in my own home or personally give as a gift.
My products are currently sold in shops across the United States and Canada and have been featured in the LA Times, HGTV and Uppercase Magazines.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Support, visit, and shop local, small businesses in your community. These small business owners are the backbone of any local community. They are real people working everyday and these are many of the people who directly support my business by purchasing my goods through wholesale channels.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
A few months ago, I fractured my left wrist while gardening. I had to have surgery and was not able to do my creative work for many weeks. During this time, I had to close my wholesale site and I realized I needed to focus on me and my healing. I went to occupational therapy twice a week and did a lot of exercises for my wrist and hand. I also continued to go to the gym and do what I could. Getting out and exercising made a huge difference in my mental and physical well being.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://stacywonghandmade.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stacywonghandmade/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stacywonghandmade/
Image Credits
Deborah Tracey Photography