I woke up this morning at 5 a.m. to someone calling my work "trendy." For a maker, that's about as sharp a criticism as you can throw. The timing was impeccable because I've been wrestling with the whole "what am I even doing?" question for the last six months.
Gut punch.
It felt like my inner critic had hired the guy. That's the fear I've been wrestling with for months. I started this business 15 years ago, but I've been trying to make a living with my hands for nearly 30. Just yesterday I was telling Lisa that I don't know how to create anymore without thinking about how to monetize it. If I get the urge to draw again, my first thought isn't "that sounds fun." It's "I bet I could eventually sell those." When you've spent decades wondering how you're going to pay the bills, that survival mindset doesn't just disappear because things finally got better. I literally can't make anything just for the sake of making it anymore, and it's driving me crazy. I'm so grateful for all of you that support what I do, but it took decades to get here and I made a ton of sacrifices to do it.
I wouldn't change anything.
I couldn't change anything.
Making shit is the thing that I do. Some of it is amazing...some of it sucks. Some of it sells. Most of it never will.
I don't chase trends. I chase curiosity. Sometimes my curiosity intersects with what's popular. Sometimes it doesn't. The only thing I know how to do is follow the next idea that won't leave me alone.
image circa 30 yearsish ago.
