We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stephanie Lailine a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie, thanks for joining us today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Having a “niche” – or rather, not having one at all. Every article I read about growing my small business mentions one thing: find what you’re good at, and stick to it. All of the advice I’ve received has been about appeasing my target audience or consumer group, and to do that you need be consistent in both style & brand. This has always been something I’ve struggled with, because it feels so limiting as a creative!

I’ve never liked to cage myself in by being doing the same thing repeatedly. It gets tiring, and I’ve always felt as though one of the best ways to grow as an artist is to experiment, push outside comfort zones, and trying something new! My interests fluctuate wildly, and I always find myself jumping from one medium to the next. It’s a lot of fun to discover a new outlet to express myself, so I would never want to have a “niche” that would box in my imagination. Sure, my general style would shine through the different pieces I make, but rarely will I do the same thing twice. I’m not a machine, I’m an artist who makes each individual piece by hand. I think it also helps keep my work unique!

Stephanie, 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 am an artist & designer based in Roswell, Georgia. A passionate self-taught creator, I’ve been crafting works of art for as long as I can remember. I enjoy using a variety of media, from drawing & painting to digital & sculpture. Through this exploration, I’m always eager to see how my style continues to develop and am excited for future projects.

Visually, I am drawn to soft colors or muted tones. I love finding the balance between abstract & reality, and often mimic Impressionist paintings in my brush strokes. Discovering, combining, and experimenting with different media allows me to push the boundaries of what I can do while shaping my artistic sensibilities. I am most frequently inspired by nature, folklore, magic & whimsy, vintage curiosities, wunderkammer oddities, tattoo culture, and nostalgia with a hint of spookiness. My primary interests include illustration, printmaking, woodcutting, and pyrography. Recently, I have been focusing on character portraits, plein air paintings, botanical & animal drawings, fantasy themes, and integrating the elegant macabre into my work.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

My favorite part of being an artist is getting to hold something you made with your own two hands! While I find the process of creating meditative, and I love exploring different forms of artwork, there’s something so satisfying with looking at a finished piece & being proud of your own work.

A close second is being able to share your art with others! I am incredibly grateful for the community, both in life & online, of creatives that I’ve found myself a part of. My friends, family, and even people I’ve never met before have been so encouraging to me, and always inspire me to continue my passion for making. There’s something special about having art in other people’s homes, knowing that it brings them joy. I’m endlessly thankful.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My audience grew from an abundance of hard work with a dash of luck. By pure chance, one of my videos went viral on TikTok, and I gained a huge number of followers across my social media. It was a bit overwhelming, but the hype quickly died down. Having a viral video is both a blessing & a curse: your work is shown to a large amount of people, but they also soon forget about it afterwards. It’s easy to feel “irrelevant” in the aftermath. Over the next few months, it took a while for people to engage with my content (and I just hate that I called my work “content”, but that’s what it is nowadays). Since I don’t really have a “niche”, my focus leans more heavily on my personal style to market my work.

I believe growing slowly & steadily is much more beneficial than a large amount at once. Being genuine, earning loyalty, and showing up allows you to truly foster a relationship between your audience, and I’ve made so many new friends as a result. Creating a community is so important, because it allows you to build each other up – and I think that’s the whole point of art.

Contact Info:

• Website: stephanieartdesign.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/stephanie.artdesign
• Facebook: facebook.com/stephanieartdesigns
• Other: tiktok.com/@stephanieartdesign