We were lucky to catch up with Victoria Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.

Victoria, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I planned to launch my online store in March of 2020. Two days before I planned to go to City Hall to sign my DBA it was indefinitely closed, and I had no idea what was coming or what I should do to move forward. I left my last retail job in December the year before because on top of it being a terrible work environment my physical disability had continued worstening to the point where I spent almost all of my time outside of work in bed. I had to make this work, and with only a few business classes under my belt I decided to postpone my launch plans and spend the extra time working on making my products better, designing packaging, getting a backstock ready. Everything I didn’t originally have the time to do, and was only able to do because of the support of my partner at the time and what felt like the universal pause we all experienced in the early days of Covid. In March of 2021 I was overly ready and eager to throw myself full time into a new lifestyle. Since then I have attended dozens of markets, been featured in a magazine, had my pieces sell at auction to support charity, and have my products stocked in retail shops throughout the country. I’m happier and healthier than I’ve been in a long time and feel incredibly lucky to have had the time to build a foundation for a business that makes me feel so fulfilled.

Victoria, 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?

Getting into creative work always felt like an unreachable goal for me growing up. I’m from a very small Massachusetts town where almost everyone is a blue collar worker and it isn’t unusual to have the same job from the time you’re 16 until retirement. It wasn’t until moving away for college and getting diagnosed with Fibromyalgia that I made art a huge part of my life. In needing something to cope with my new reality, and also a way to keep myself busy when stuck on the couch, I finally gave myself the freedom to be an artist. I found myself infatuated with natural materials like butterfly wings, anything fragile and generally untouchable to the human hand. I had already taught myself how to pin and mount bugs out of scientific interest, so I had a skillset in my back pocket that eventually became one of my favorite outlets for artistic expression. I create wall displays with real insects and dried flowers, sometimes bones, often mounted into vintage frames that have been converted to shadow boxes in studio. I also make jewelry, often featuring butterfly wings and real preserved spiderwebs, taking those magical bits of nature and turning them into lasting momentos.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

There is a satisfaction in constantly completing new projects. Knowing that these pieces being created out of love are going to make their way to the homes of others and mean something to them. I’ve never felt as connected to other people as I have since I allowed my insides to spill out into artwork that I then get to see others react to, take in, and sit with.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Like many others who spend an embarrassing about of time taking photos of mushrooms and icicles hanging from the trees I just want to be a part of reminding people how beautiful the world is. The more we revere nature the more we care for it and respect it’s needs. Every little thing is special, even a tiny piece of a spider’s web.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.daughterofdemeter.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/daughter0fdemeter
• Other: Tiktok: @daughter0fdemeter (0 in 0f is a zero here and on the Instagram link.) Faire (Wholesale): daughterofdemeter.faire.com

Image Credits
Victoria Smith / Daughter of Demeter