Learning to Become a Productive Artist

Hi! I’m Diana Garcia, a witty Colombian who recently followed her heart and immigrated to Canada, but that’s another story! 

I’ll just say I’m happy to have done it. I live in Montreal with my lovely husband and my adorable dog. Always follow your heart people say, well I did and I’m living proof that this actually works! 

I have always been a creative kind of person, since I was very little I showed interest in colors, shapes, and arts in general. I remember I started my creative career when was a kid making cute cards full of color for my parents on special occasions (I still do when I have the time). I grew up in a colorful land surrounded by mountains and beautiful weather and I think that influences my art and my way of seeing and expressing things through my work.

When I look back three years it seems so impossible that I could open a path in the creativity field. Somehow I found my voice in this huge world of design even though it felt out of reach. Today, several stores sell my products, I sell on Etsy and on my own website, and I made part of the Simons (department stores here in Canada) project that supports local businesses called Fabrique 1840. That was the most amazing accomplishment I had last year. The products you find there are amazing with a high aesthetic value and I’m just so honored to be part of the project. It was a boost of confidence when I got accepted and a huge stepping stone to continue to grow as a designer.

Starting the Business

Before I started with Collage Crafting I made a career working at web agencies as a project manager even though I’m an industrial designer. After working several years for different agencies I knew I was missing something in my life. At one point I got a hard kick in the butt (unfortunately or should I say fortunately?). My last experience working for an agency was terrible and it was a difficult chapter in my life, but something great came out of the experience. It made me realize that what I needed was to create, I saw with clarity that I wanted to be on the creative side. I was hungry for it, so I decided to start Collage Studio, a product design company where I develop utility and decorative objects using technology and different hand made techniques. My style is inspired by different subjects, more notably architecture, as well as different design movements and eras.

When I began with the project of building a business my ideas were all mixed up, I had the knowledge that going to a university gave about product design, I had the experience life gave me managing projects, budgets, and clients, I had the love for art and the fire to fight hard to build a business, and all I needed to do was to find the perfect recipe to mix everything together. That may sound as if it was easy, but it wasn’t. It’s actually a very scary and hard process but it’s worth it.

I was lucky to have the support and love of the most important people in my life: my parents and my husband. When I announced I wanted to build a business from scratch doing what I love most of my beloved ones were thrilled. My parents are entrepreneurs and my husband as well, so they all knew that the path wasn’t going to be easy but they all gave me the confidence and the boost I needed to jump and go for it. They are my safety net and I am lucky enough to have them there for me to guide me and advise me. 

It turned out that I was also fortunate to live in a country where you have tons of opportunities and programs that help new entrepreneurs get started. I took a chance and applied for one of those programs and had the pleasant surprise of being selected by a jury. Through the program I developed a business plan with the help of several experts to ground my idea which gave me the basis to build Collage Crafting.

Moving Out of Procrastination and Into Productivity

Subscribe to Handmade Seller Magazine to read the rest.