Our 2016 and reveal of “Lorenzo – Dreams & Messages”

Happy pre-holiday Tuesday everyone!

This is my LAST post of 2016 and I’d like to share some insight into just how small this little business is.

If you want to skip my 2016 summary for VeruDesigns, and would like to dive directly into today’s art piece: Lorenzo – Dreams & Messages, please scroll down until you reach our first picture.

I’m the sole owner of this venture. I can only hope I make it look easy, but I’m not gonna lie, it’s hard sometimes. And stressful. Especially because VeruDesigns is my passion business. It competes constantly for my time with my other fulltime job (I’m the CMO of our other company as well).

What keeps me going is that I truly love what i do – every creative expression seriously fills me with happiness. And i’m so thankful for that. Every single order directly affects this little business and the growth of this creative brand.

 

This year was great in unexpected ways: I say unexpected because initially, I had intended for 2016 to be a family year. My husband and I scheduled several trips to fly to my home-country to stay there for longer periods of time than usual. I also invited one of my sisters to stay with us for over a month! This implied that VeruDesigns would have to take a bit of a backseat in my priorities this year. And I was absolutely ok with it.

But what happened was the total opposite: The number of “custom” orders (versus finished inventory orders) tripled this year. Our subscriber lists (and new clients!) grew even more as a result of the wonderful exposure we got in Marie Claire Turkey and Mary Claire France Magazines during the summer! Two full-page coverages, next to big-name designers!

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Also, I officially expanded our line to include ART (wall art, sculpture, installations, shadow boxes, etc).

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This all sounds (and was!) good, but it came with unexpected challenges and low points that few would suspect.

 

You see, since 2013 I worked hard to build slowly but surely a solid base of returning online clients, customers and business partners, which have made all the difference in my business.

But with the wonderful exposure we received in Marie Claire during the summer, I experienced a very sudden growth in the number of custom orders. The kind of growth I was simply not prepared for. Remember, it’s only me running this thing!

A big mistake was that my online shop was not setup to limit the orders coming in. It had such a stable record of “gradual” growth in our sales, that I never thought it’d be necessary to configure something for a big surge of orders. As a result, I ended up having to decline more business than I dare to remember. From individual custom orders, to offerings for partnering with fashion designers and retail stores, to having to issue many refunds (something I had NEVER done before!). I wasn’t ready nor able to handle that amount of business.

The lesson? Be careful what you wish for!!

Being featured in prestigious publications sounds wonderful (and it is!), but you better be ready for what may come from it!

 

I learned a lot from those months. It forced me to get even more clear about what I really want for VeruDesigns and what not. This is why “contrast” (so called “bad situations”) are always a blessing as well. They help you get crystal clear about things that in normal circumstances are more fuzzy.

In my case, the clarity was centered around having to choose quickly between two focuses/priorities in my business:

  • Is growing my brand awareness and my profit what I want most?
  • Or, is the FREE creative process, expression and joy what matters most to me as an Artist?

 

The truth is that before this happened, I wanted both equally, and worked to make BOTH happen.

But when I had to make hard decisions about accepting or turning down business (that I had been dreaming about just 2 years ago), things got suddenly very clear very quickly.

 

I must clarify that, if VeruDesigns were my only source of income, there wouldn’t be choice. But I’m lucky to work on another company that I love very much as well. So, I had the freedom to choose what my heart really wanted.

 

So, here I am. And it feels really great and peaceful.

I chose creative freedom, I chose to focus on the art making, which is why I started this thing in the first place. As a result, a lot of (silly) fears went away. Case in point -> I (FINALLY!) made the jump into creating Art as well.

I had been wanting to expand my creative expression beyond jewelry, but I was afraid that my jewelry followers would feel betrayed. So silly!

 

So here I am. My first art piece was sold immediately, and I received several commissions shortly after. And it feels great 🙂

 

Which brings me to my last reveal of this 2016: My newest sculpture/art-piece called:

“Lorenzo, Dreams and Messages”

 

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Let me give you a little back story on this piece:

I made the decision to make VeruDesigns a business a full year after my youngest brother passed away, after battling cancer. The first year of grieving him was profound for me and my family. Profound in the literal sense and in many many ways.

Among the many beautiful things that happened during the first year after his passing, was the experience of incredible lucid dreams. Lucid dreams with him, about him, through him.

These dreams were so beautiful and incredible. They took place in a world that looks not too different from ours, but where everything was more outrageously abundant and colorful. It was in this setting that my brother visited me at night to share many messages and words of wisdom that, I could possibly not come up with myself.

 

The closest I’ve seen that resembles these dreams in terms of look and feel is the world known as “Pandora” in the movie called “Avatar” (which came out in 2010).

 

Anyway. I had been looking for ways to express that beautiful place in my jewelry. And I did, to a certain extend. But ART is allowing me to go fully in, without limitations.

 

Lorenzo is the hummingbird that always came in my dreams just before Chris (my brother) would show up. Lorenzo came in flying beautifully and peacefully, resting upon this gorgeous plant-like creature. And as it began feeding itself, Chris would emerge from right behind him with a HUGE smile.

 

This sculpture piece is only a close recollection of Lorenzo. I haven’t had a dream with him in more than a year. But I hope you enjoy it nevertheless 🙂

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Thank you so much for being part of my little world. Your time is more precious to me than you will ever know.

 

Ah! I almost forgot! Even though my online shop is currently closed (until my return back to the States), VeruDesigns will be exhibiting our pieces in a beautiful Philadelphia retail and gallery space very soon. Unfortunately it won’t happen in time for the holidays, but I’ll make sure to share all the details as soon as I have them!

So, what do you think?! I’d LOVE to read your thoughts/comments/questions in the section below. Does it resonate with you? Do you have any questions?!

Stay well, stay happy and stay healthy. And let us all wish for a beautiful 2017 filled with expansion and growth for us all!!

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