Holiday Launch and Giveaway w/ tiny by design!

In 2008, my daughter was born.  My life changed completely when I quit my job (unemployed for the first time in more than 20 years) to be home with my tiny baby.  Always having a knack for art, I painted a tree in her “gender neutral” room and thought…”one day, I would love to do this for a living”.  Less than a year later, I sat at my kitchen counter dabbling in acrylic paint…and then it hit me.  This is one day.  I decided to focus on canvas paintings that could be done at home while my kids were small, then sky is the limit.  I started googling potential business names and within a few weeks registered the domain www.tinybydesign.com.  Perhaps the best $10 I have ever spent…and it really did start that simply.

Tracie’s Paisley prints have spread like wildfire on Pinterest, in the last few months…check out tiny by design on Pinterest.

So much has changed in a few short years.  My first year was spent doing almost 100% name paintings and taking care of my 1 year old little girl.  The second year was spent mostly pregnant with my son, still doing name paintings and taking baby-steps into the world of prints and reproductions.  When 2011 came around, I was still knee deep in diapers and looking forward to getting my art out of the house and into the world.  A few print sales boosted my confidence and I started contemplating my next steps.  I began focusing more of my time on work that could be reproduced and started researching the world of art shows.

So here we are, in 2012, and I can’t believe how things have exploded!  My kiddos are a little older, very involved in my business and I am in a place to expand “tiny by design“.  I finally had the inventory and courage to dive head first into the world of print sales.  This includes learning proper photography, digitally preparing images, offering matting and learning all there is to know about framing.  I also applied for and completed my first two art shows…a huge step in getting the tiny by design name out there!  This year, I successfully launched a line of pet portraits and am preparing my first “made to order” line…just on time for the holidays (spoiler alert…there is a give-away for an original canvas holiday painting somewhere in this post!! Please read on!)

The process varies quite a bit from project to project.  Custom work, whether it is a mural or a canvas painting, includes a lot of interaction with my customer.  I always start with an interview and then retreat to my sketchbook.  It can take several days to let ideas simmer and reach their potential, so I try to give it the time it needs.  I send sketches to the family and get approval prior to painting, make changes if I need to.  I am typically booked 6-8 weeks out for custom work, so I file the sketches and notes from conversations away until the time is right, but they are always on my mind.  By the time I start the painting, it is very much alive in my head.  It generally takes about a week to finish a project (occasionally two weeks if it is very detailed).  I send photos of the painting to the buyer for approval prior to shipping.

For a project that is my own brain child, I tend to go with the flow a bit more.  I still sketch the concept but I usually jump to painting a lot sooner.  I let my own projects evolve through paint rather than sketch.  Sometimes this has great outcomes…and sometimes not so much.  But each time I touch a brush to a surface, I learn.

My kids are the obvious answer here!  I paint mostly for children so, of course, my own children are a huge source of inspiration…but it goes deeper than that.   You know how children have a knack for finding wonder in places adults take for granted?  My kids have taught me to look at the world as a potential art project. Like the time I watched my daughter trying to get her friend the ladybug to walk over to his “naybahood” (her word for neighbor) the moth.  She literally invented characters and a story right before my eyes.  I almost feel obligated to make this one come to life on a canvas.  My kids also travel with a bag so they can pick up “things to paint”.  Everything from rocks to acorns to pine cones to sticks…they see the characters in everything…and therefore, so do I.  How lucky am I???

I also have to send  gratitude to the kind folks who have visited the “tiny by design” booth at this year’s art shows.  Every time someone asks a question starting with ”Do you have any…” my wheels start turning.   Thanks to my art show visitors, I have visions for all of the following (and more),…penguins, monkeys, pink tractors, lacrosse, additional dragon ideas, rainbows, planets, robots…and the list goes on!

What is your long term “hope” for Tiny By Design”?

My hope for “tiny by design ” is big and has several branches to it.  At the most basic level, I want “tiny by design” to provide for my family.  When my kids are school age, I would like “tiny by design” to be big enough to provide a good life for my family.  My husband and I made the decision to leave half of our income behind so I could stay home with our babies.  A big part of my dream is to make work an option for my husband.  Truth is, my husband will probably always choose to work, that’s the kind of guy he is.  However, I would like it to be his choice…or maybe he could work with me.  I could use a sales rep!

A bigger part of my dream is to be a nationally recognized brand.  Whether this means my artwork is available in every Target store across the country or I am the next “Land of Nod”…I am open to letting that dream evolve.

The most important part of my dream, is how I can use my art to make the world a better place…and I don’t just mean decorating the world for our children.   I want my artwork to make a difference and to mean something.  

Right now, on my tiny little level, I am trying to create a culture of giving back.  I have made several donations to charities that include original paintings and gift certificates.  “tiny by design” paintings and gift certificates make great silent auction items and have helped earn hundreds of dollars for our charities (please contact me if you know a child in need with an upcoming fundraiser).  This is a small contribution but one that I am happy to make.  I am also proud to say that all future painting donations will be reproducible. This means that I will be able to donate a portion of proceeds of print sales back to the original charities or to an organization of choice.

This all ties into part of my dream for “tiny by design“, and how I can make a difference. One idea (coming from my brother and sister in law) is to create custom made books for parents of autistic children to use for their individual needs.  The repetition of images that are familiar to the child (instead of what happens to be available) could really help parent find ways to communicate more effectively with their children.  A second idea (coming from a gentleman who visited my booth at my first show) is to create a line of dragon paintings to help victims of sex offenders.  He was admiring my dragon painting and had a couple suggestions.  One was to have a girl dragon holding a rock that says “it’s OK to say no” and another boy dragon with a rock that says “it’s OK to cry”.  Further discussion revealed that he works with victims of sexual abuse.  I was completely blown away.  

A final idea comes from the wonderful author of this blog, Kim Salter!!  She had the brilliant idea of creating a line of awareness targeted toward children.  We all know the awareness ribbons.  Including them in children’s paintings…I don’t think awareness can start too early!!

My perfect day would start about 2 hours before anyone gets up.  I am a habitual morning person and can be at my most productive just minutes after getting out of bed.  I would go for a long run in perfect weather (cool temps and no wind) and come home with enough time to accomplish a few things (checking my stats, writing a blog post, making a plan).  I would greet my kiddos feeling like they are my only priority in that moment.  My husband and I would surprise them with a family outing (trip to their favorite cider mill, a walk in the woods or a visit to their favorite park).  We would come home, put my son down for a nap and my husband would take my daughter out for some daddy daughter bonding…and I would paint in complete silence.  We would all reunite a few hours later to make and eat dinner together, followed by popcorn and cuddles over a movie.  The kiddos safely tucked into bed, my husband and I would share a bottle of wine and talk about life, watch our favorite concerts from our DVR or perhaps catch a playoff game (preferably hockey…but any Detroit team would due – go Tigers!!)

I am pretty sure anyone could answer this question for me.  It can be so hard to find the right balance between it all.  Most days, it is impossible to find enough hours to make it all happen.  I have had to become much better at accepting that small baby steps every day, can lead to giant leaps and bounds by the end of a week.  I have to remember that, while most days I feel like I am making little progress, when I look back I have actually accomplished a lot…all the while keeping my kids a priority…and that is something to be proud of.   I have also had to become much better at prioritizing (something I am still working on).  I love and embrace the quote “if everything is important, then nothing is important”.  I now keep a three month plan.  If a good idea comes my way and doesn’t fit into the current three months it goes onto the next three month plan.  Three months goes by in the blink of an eye, and time gives good perspective…many times, what seemed like an urgent matter in the moment becomes a non-priority when left with time.  On the contrary, a good idea becomes great when given time to grow.
 Taking time is not the enemy or the end of the world.

Thank you Tracie!! Its so inspiring to read about how another mama is balancing it all, while following her dreams!! So inspired!! and because Tracie is just plain AWESOME!! she is offering one lucky reader a 12″x12″ original holiday canvas painting of her sweet little snowman!! Enter below!! 

Contact Tracie to place an order:
 W: http://www.tinybydesign.com
E: traciedavis@tinybydesign.com 
T: @tinybydesignart