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Art + Audience
Ep. 32: Why Diversification Is the Key to Surviving as a Creative Entrepreneur with Sophie Timms
00:28:57
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A
Back to school is better.
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With family freedom from T Mobile, we'll pay off four phones up to $3200 and give you four free phones all on America's largest 5G network. Visit your local T Mobile location or learn more@t mobile.com familyfreedom up to $800 per line via virtual prepaid card typically takes 15 days. Free phones via 24 monthly bill credits with finance agreement eg Apple iPhone 16128 gigabyte 820099 eligible trade in eg iPhone 11 Pro for well qualified credits end and balance due. If you pay off earlier, cancel contact T Mobile I don't have the capacity to be working every hour under the sun. I knew that if I wanted to be successful, I needed to find a way to make it simple and I have really tried to do that as much as possible and I kind of thrive on that. I actually find it exciting. An email funnel. I'm there. I love the concept of working smarter, not harder. That's what we all want. At the end of the day, wouldn't.
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A
It be nice if your art business was Loved you back. Hi, I'm Stacy Bloomfield. After years of trial and error and late night doodling, I went from being a coffee shop manager to running a vibrant seven figure art business that I love. And now I'm on a mission to help more artists create an art business that they love too. So I invite you to find a cozy spot, pull out your favorite sketchbook and listen in. It's never too late to chase your creative dreams. Welcome to the Art of plus audience podcast. Hello. Hello everybody. I'm so excited because I'm here with a very special friend and creative entrepreneur, Sophie Timms. Hi Sophie.
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B
Hi Stacy. Thank you for having me.
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A
I'm stoked to have you here. Now Sophie, I don't know if you know this, but you have an accent. Where are you from?
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B
I am from the uk, the southwest of the uk.
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A
So Sophie, I'm so excited you're here today because something that you do incredibly well is like run your creative business that has multiple income streams. But like gosh, just a few years ago you weren't working as a full time creative, were you?
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B
No, not at all. I was juggling many hats.
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A
Do you mind sharing with everybody a little bit about like what you do right now and what you did before that?
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B
Yeah, for sure. So right now I run a embroidery business. So I teach people how to do hand embroidery. The modern kind, not necessarily the old kind that people would consider when they think of embroidery. I teach people how to embroider through digital patterns and embroidery kits, and also a membership where I actually teach tutorials and things as well. It wasn't always that way. I basically started out my business by accident. It was very much a hobby that turned into a side hustle that turned into a business all on its own. And before that all came about, I was actually studying law. I got my degree in law and then I went on to do my masters, was working as a paralegal, fully set to become a solicitor in the uk. And then that just didn't really go to plan when Covid came along and I picked up embroidery for the first time, fell in love with it, and just went with the wind. And here we are.
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A
It's incredible. Every time you tell that story to people, they're just like, what? You just started embroidering and then it happened. And I know a little bit that you were embroidering during that time and you just decided to start your own Instagram account. Right, Just to share that part of your life, right?
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B
Yes. So I wanted to share about it because it was in the middle of lockdown. I was living alone at the time because my boyfriend was working away, and I kind of was just craving that connection and that creativity to kind of keep me going. I was furloughed, so I was working remotely and I was doing my studies remotely, and I just needed something that was a distraction away from all of that. So I learned embroidery for the first time and I wanted to share that with people. But the people that followed me personally on my own Instagram account just weren't interested in embroidery as a hobby. Probably thought, what on earth is she doing? So I wanted to create a space for that. So I don't know if you know this st, but I used to blog.
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A
Way back when you were a blogger?
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B
I was a bit of a blogger, yeah. And the name of that blog was Mindful Mantra. And I just blogged about mindfulness and just slowing down, self care, that kind of topic. And I had stopped that at this point, but when I needed a name for an account that I didn't think anyone would see, I thought that was the perfect name. So that is how Mindful Mantra embroidery was born. And yeah, that Instagram account, turns out a lot of people needed that community and that creativity at that time. And one thing led to another and it. And it grew.
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A
And I mean, that's how I found you. I remember maybe two years ago, you showed up on my for you page, maybe Longer than that. And I was, I don't know if you know this, but I used to sell embroidery kits too and I was self taught and I went straight from self taught embroidery to writing an embroidery book and selling it, which is hilarious because I, you know, I go all the way through. And so for a while it was like kind of a thing of mine. So I, I never was at the level you are. I really focus on the like the most beginner friendly things possible. But your work is gorgeous, so I remember saving it and I just kept following you on social media and you were just so personable and your personality. Now that I've gotten to know you in real life and over the past year, Sophie's been a member of the mastermind I run called the Creative Hive Mastermind. And she flew in for both retreats we had within the last year. Nothing stopped her. It was so fantastic to get to see you in person, but like, you have just this peaceful presence. You are quiet and methodical and you're so brilliant, Sophie. And so like your designs are gorgeous. The way you teach is so approachable and I just, I fell in love with what you were doing. And so last year I think I sent you a direct message.
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B
I'm like, hey, I'm a fan.
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A
And one thing led to another and then we ended up working together for the past year. And that I gotta tell you, like watching you and your business has been like one of my greatest joys over the last year. Angie and I talk about it and so probably we should tell everyone a little bit more about your business then. So. You know, Sophie, I'm a huge believer in not putting all your eggs in one basket when it comes to a creative business. There may be other industries where it's really like different. But I think if you're creative, you can't only count on Etsy sales or only count on wholesale or only count on, you know, your membership. Because what I've experienced time and time again is like things can change quickly. So you have a couple of income streams. Can you talk a little bit about those?
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B
Yeah, for sure. So I began with digital products, mostly PDF patterns, and I started with that on Etsy right back in the early days. Over time, I've gradually increased my product line and diversified that income as much as possible because I noticed the same thing, that I was very reliant on one form of income. And at the time I had a job, I was working full time, so it wasn't a huge stress. But then when I decided that I was going to go all in and I was going to make this business become something amazing. I knew that I needed to find another way of bringing in income so that regardless of what happened in life, because you know, this business was born in Covid, something we never predicted, it was really important to kind of branch out a little bit there. So I have digital products on my e commerce shop. I also have embroidery kits and embroidery supplies. I have a membership where I teach people how to embroider. More importantly, teach them how to improve their embroidery skills. And that's kind of the core focus of the membership, is helping them to elevate past beginner stage. I also have a couple of courses and different workshops that I ran inside the membership and pulled out so that people who don't want to subscribe can also take part in the workshops as like a one off kind of thing. I've dabbled in wholesale before, but not so much now. There's been other things that have kind of taken my interest more and that my audience have preferred. So I've kind of rolled with those a little bit. But I probably have four or five different ways that income comes in, including the Etsy shop that I started with back in 2020 as well.
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A
Our little Etsy shop is still trucking along. She doesn't get the sales that she used to because I don't give it nearly as much focus. But you know, I'm glad it's still there, still kicking. So Sophie, you have this membership and how many members are in your embroidery membership?
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B
Just under 200 at the moment.
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A
Just under 200. And it's been growing steadily over the past year.
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B
It has, yeah.
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So, you know, not a lot of people who start out like doing the creative work ever see themselves as going into the teaching part. So you started out making your embroidery just to share with people. Did you go next into classes or then did you go straight into selling kits? Which one was your decision making?
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B
So it was kits first because to be honest, I very much followed my audience and what they needed. So it was digital to begin with. And then a lot of people were asking where to get supplies from, what were the best quality embroidery hoops and thread and. And people really liked my color palette, so they wanted the kits that came with the threads that I used. So that kind of evolved into the kits and supplies and that's how the shop side of my business grew. And then the more that that continued and the more I posted on Instagram and kind of showed up, people were asking me how to do Certain things like how to do a certain stitch or how to put the fabric in the hoop properly. You know, like beginner level things that I thought everyone knew how to do, but turns out they don't. So the more I started sharing about that, I think the more people kind of saw me as someone that could educate them around that kind of thing as well. Not just a product to buy, but could actually help them to use that product. So that kind of then naturally infused into. I did have a Patreon first. That was my first dip into the toes of memberships, which was interesting. And it was after that that I then went all in with Bloom Bloom.
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A
A beautiful membership. You know, I love that you said you kind of have listened to your audience the entire time. And I think that's really important because so often we fall in love with these ideas that we have. But if you don't necessarily have the audience support behind it, sometimes you can create the wrong thing. I've definitely been guilty of that. And whenever you're just paying attention to like the direct messages or the comments that come in, I, I've been telling my kids this. The things that come really easily to us are the things that we forget are actually valuable and other people don't have that knowledge that we have or that time experience. So I love that little nugget of listening to your audience. And you know, a lot of people that I work with, they're really firmly in the art licensing or product based part of their businesses. And I'm constantly, you know, encouraging people to like add in education of some sort, teach a workshop, maybe have an online class. Like, what do you think the biggest benefit is of adding education in as an income stream?
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B
I mean, it completely just diversifies what you offer. I think it also allows people to see you in a completely different light. When you show up as an artist, that's one thing and that's amazing, but being able to educate on that topic as well, I think it just brings in like a whole other level of expertise and authority. And I think people really look up to that.
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A
Absolutely. And then if we're looking like financially, the profit margins definitely are really nice. With an online program, a membership, obviously you've got people, people you're nurturing and you want to keep them in your membership so that, you know, you keep your subscription numbers high enough so you can count on that income. Right. And that's like my favorite part of online education is the recurring revenue that can come from it, for sure.
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B
And that's kind of why I chose a membership rather than a course to be kind of my signature product because I think especially, and I don't know if you notice this in your business, but with embroidery, it's very seasonal in the summer months, people don't tend to embroider as much. I don't either. You know, I'm out enjoying the sun and the weather and spending more time with family, and I think that's a thing generally. So my shop side of my business definitely has busier seasons and slower seasons. And in the beginning, that just felt so unpredictable because I didn't know whether I was going to kind of COVID those bills in the middle part of the year. Whereas a membership, you get that income throughout the year. It doesn't dip off. When people dip off, it continues. And that's a kind of stability that I had no idea I needed until I really, truly dove into a membership.
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A
And, you know, the thing about you that I know is you have a very high, like, retention rate, like the amount of people who stay with your membership. Do you happen to have that number? Offhand?
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B
I do, actually. It's 93% retention.
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A
For those of you who don't know this, that's incredibly high. That means that you're not just creating an income stream. You have literally developed and nurtured this entire project that has brought growth to your fellow, you know, embroidery enthusiasts. And they like it. If they like it, they'll stick around. I have a membership. My. My retention rate is not quite that high. But I will say I love knowing how you have built it. And can you tell me a little bit about the structure of what happens inside of Bloom?
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B
Yeah, of course. So the whole concept of Bloom is that you start out as a beginner and you end up advanced. And we have a bunch of different roadmaps that people can kind of self identify where they are, and they can work through those roadmaps just to slowly improve their skills. We're not about diving in right at the deep end and, you know, picking a really complex pattern and getting stuck and then putting it in a draw to gather dust. So we start at the beginning. We make slow progress, we learn a few stitches and practice them, implement them before we move on to the next thing. So that is kind of the basis of. Of the membership. But they also get a lot of content as well each month. So we have something I call Flourish Friday. So every Friday, they get something new, whether it's a new embroidery pattern, a new tutorial, a new stitch to learn, or a nice roundup. Of the community and shouting about the members because I think a lot of people join for the patterns and because they want to learn embroidery, they want to improve their skills but the majority of them stay for the community because there's such a close knit group of women in there that just support each other through everything and it's just so lovely to see and to be honest, that's the best part of it for me.
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A
I love that. You know, I have a friend I need to introduce you to. Her name is Amy Small and she's a does knitting but she also has a product based business and then the membership and she says that her membership is really a personal development company disguised as a yarn company because really that's what happens is people come in and it comes connect in this community and they stay. And it's, it's not just the skill with your hands, it's like who you can become with that confidence and that empowerment.
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B
Right, Absolutely.
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I absolutely want to introduce you to her because her model is so similar where she creates the product and she actually creates the yarn, like unique yarn that you can't get anywhere else. She works with some women in India to create it and then she designs her own patterns and, and then she does the drops and then her members buy them and it just kind of self supports which actually if you're going to have two opposing businesses like a product and education, if they can feed into each other like yours does and like hers does, like that's ideal. In fact, I have done it the harder way. I can take what I do at Gingerbread and teach other people but it's not inherent that the people who are in my education are going to then go buy products from Gingerbread because it's not like balancing, right. It's mine's more one directional and yours is like always works together, which is lovely.
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B
It does, yeah. Because a lot of them, I don't necessarily sell the exact kits for the patterns that are inside the membership, but a lot of them like a lot of my other patterns that aren't in the membership and all the supplies and we'll use the supplies to stitch the project. So yeah, it definitely feeds in to one another.
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A
What do you think is the secret to your success? I'm going to go back to that retention because like, honestly, you know, that's a great number. I know you know it. I think you're proud of yourself and I know you've worked, worked really hard to get there. Like you make it look really effortless. But I, I've seen you working diligently to, you know, constantly improve and think about what your customers need. What do you think the number one reason is your retention is so high?
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B
I think it's the community and the things that we do for the community. There are a few little things I do with the community on a regular basis that I think just helps them feel supported and feel welcome in. In the group. So. So we run a monthly challenge. They all get involved, they all share their progress. I've created something I call an outline challenge, where I give them a black and white pattern with no instructions at all. And I encourage them to use the tutorials in the library and make it their own, with their own colours, their own stitches. And I know that's a really favourite part of a lot of the members because they love seeing how everyone has interpreted an outline and turned it into something their own. And the giveaway is always a free month of the membership, so they're always keen to enter because there's always an incentive for them in it as well. And they also get rewarded the more that they engage in the community. I've got little rewards that go out for them and there's gifts when they reach certain levels in the community through the roadmaps. So they're very much supported, encouraged and inspired by being part of that community. And I think that's what helps keep them there.
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A
I love that, you know, that's a lot of work on your part to make it feel, like, so wonderful. So have you learned how to automate some of these things so that you're not just every day having to check your checklist and be like, who do I send a gift to today? Like, tell me about that process.
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B
Yeah, so I've automated all of it. I still check in on a frequent basis. At least four times a week I'm in there kind of making sure everyone's all good and replying to comments and things like that. But as for the actual rewards, that is all automated. So in the system that my membership is set up, there's something called a workflow, and it basically means that whenever anybody meets certain criteria, they get an automatic direct message from me, and that includes their link to go and get their free gift. The same goes for when they surpass a level in the roadmaps. They take a little quiz just to confirm that they've completed the steps to pass the roadmap and then they get instructed from there how to go ahead and get their gift. So all of that is automated. I don't have to do anything manually for that process. The monthly challenge is different because obviously I'm creating a new challenge for them every month and I'm manually picking a winner every month. But that's worth it for me. That doesn't take that much time. And for the results that it gets them, it's a no brainer.
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A
Ah, you get them great results and you keep them feeling seen, which I think is really important. The bigger my membership got, not my memberships like at about 1200 people, which is not nothing. The bigger it got, the harder it was for me to be able to make sure that everyone felt like they were getting support. So now I have like team members who help me make sure that everyone's getting what they need. But you've been able to manage it beautifully on your own doing all of this. So you mentioned all your income streams. You didn't also mention that you have a child, a little boy, Luca, right?
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B
Yeah, I do.
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A
And you primarily do work alone, right, Sophie?
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B
I do, yes. I've had a bit of support from a virtual assistant until this point, but in the grand scheme of the hours that I work, it's not a great amount. A lot of. Well, the vast majority has been me. Yeah. Which has been hard to juggle around a little one.
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A
Absolutely. And I want to just mention that because, like one of your many strengths and you have many because you're amazing designer and you're an amazing teacher. But the ability to find a way to even automate what you just discussed is really, really hard for some people. Like to be able to see like the solution if you're tired and you've got a kid and you've started this thing and it's actually working and you want to maintain it, like finding those little pockets where you can kind of automate here, streamline there, It's a lifesaver. I mean, that's how you get it done. Right, Sophie, is you've just learned how to be as efficient as possible.
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B
Exactly that. I don't have the capacity to be working every hour under the sun. I knew that if I wanted to be successful, I needed to find a way to make it simple. And I have really tried to do that as much as possible and I kind of thrive on that. I actually find it exciting. An email funnel. I'm there. Oh, yeah. I love the concept of working smarter, not harder. That's what we all want. At the end of the day, we want it.
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A
But sometimes there's people like me who get a little over. Like, I love a funnel But I'm not like just going to make one funnel. I'm like, and let's make 10 funnels. And that's where I have to work on always simplifying and so seeing like a really well executed idea that is stable and growing and the way you show up so beautifully online, no matter what's happening, like I would say if I think of you, it's consistency and you're incredibly consistent. And you know, I think that's actually what makes it a little bit challenging is whenever that consistency gets a little bit up rooted. So you and I have talked about this ever since the US tariffs have been kind of rolled out. And full disclosure, I couldn't tell you today what the tariff rate is to the UK and so forth right now. And that's not the point here. But you know, ever since that has happened, you told me that your sales from the US have really, you know, not been where they used to be. Right. Do you feel like sharing about that?
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B
Yeah, that's completely true. My business, despite being from the uk, my biggest customers has always been the us. That's where the majority of my sales have always come from, whether it's digital products, physical products, or education. And yeah, the tariffs seem to have put a stunt in that a little bit. But since the tariffs came in, and I don't know the specifics of it either, but my order rate from the last six months has dropped 65% from the U.S. oh my gosh. Considering that was the bulk of my physical product orders, it has been a considerable drop. And it makes me very thankful that in the early stages of my business I did diversify as much as I have because it's meant that that hasn't shut me down. Of course it's been a hit. I'm not going to sit here and say that it's been absolutely fine and I've not noticed an impact because I have, but because I have other things in motion, it's not been as dramatic as it could have been. You know, you do hear of companies that are doing well and then all of a sudden they go under because something like that can happen. So I'm just really grateful for my past self that I figured out a way to put more eggs in more baskets because it could have been a very different story.
- [22:41]
A
Absolutely. And you know, I bring this up for two reasons. One, just to, as we've, you know, talked about having more than one income stream, especially as a creative where you're like the solo power and voice and heart behind your business. Like, it feels hard to get it going, like, to the, the desire to have just one thing. I totally get it. I would love it sometimes if I could have fewer things to focus on. But pragmatically, like, you have to have some other way to create income. And fortunately for you, you're not having to create it as you go because it already existed. So that's number one. But number two, the truth is there's so much misinformation or fear. Misinformation isn't even the right phrase here. When it comes to tariffs, things have changed so rapidly. New announcement, new announcement, New announcement. Whether you are behind tariffs or not, that's not the point of this. And whenever you are like, oh no, what's happening? The. The inclination is to just like, hold on. I just won't purchase that order from Sophie this month. Like I used to, like, I'll just wait for things to settle down and I'll wait and I'll wait. And in the meantime, an incredible business like Sophie's is, you know, being impacted. So I want our listeners to know that if you feel like supporting Sophie and her amazing business, like, please go check out her website. What's your website, Sophie?
- [24:00]
B
It's Mindful Mantra embroidery dot com.
- [24:03]
A
You'll be able to see the most gorgeous embroidery kits you've ever seen. Now, I think that there's ways that we could work to get your sales back up. You have a lot to offer. And if right now your physical business is the thing that's kind of on the slowing down a little bit, like you're just gonna pivot like you always have. And that's why the Bloom membership is so amazing. If you could, like, dream into the future, Sophie, five years from now, where would your business be?
- [24:31]
B
I would love for both sides of my business to grow equally. If you'd have asked me this six months ago, I probably would have said to have more focus on my membership. But I think in the last couple of months, I've really seen the impact of how they work together when economic things aren't impacting that flow. But I think in five years, I would love to have more members and back to how my US sales used to be, because, yeah, it all worked together really seamlessly at that point. And in truth, I actually don't want a membership that is enormous. I know a lot of people throw around like six or seven figure product and I don't know if I want that because the biggest part of my membership is community and I want to be able to continue showing up for them. And, you know, it would be great to have more members. I'm not saying I want to cap it in any way, but I just. I love how much this business has become about the community that we have created, and I never want to lose that. And I think that more people in the membership would actually just foster that creativity and that community even more and allowing them all to feed into each other. I think that's just the best part of having a creative business.
- [25:41]
A
I think so, too. And you have the most generous, kind heart, and your members are so lucky to get to learn from you. But sometimes, like, the people who are doing a lot of the cultivating and nurturing behind the scenes, like, people don't realize, like, it takes a lot of, like, work and intention, and you have just done it so beautifully. In fact, I think the things that look the most effortless usually is the result of someone on the back end, like, methodically thinking through every jot and tittle.
- [26:08]
B
Right, Absolutely. Yeah, for sure.
- [26:11]
A
So, Sophie, do you still embroider as a hobby or, like, what do you do now that your hobby has become your full income?
- [26:17]
B
Yeah, it's a tricky one because I don't really embroider, like, for myself anymore. Like, I don't make anything for myself, but I still love every aspect of what I do. And I've always got more things I need to stitch. I've got seven things on my to stitch pile right now, but none of it's a mix. But I'm not. Like, I don't look at that as work, you know, I don't look at that pile and think, oh, God, I've got to sit down and stitch tonight. I really don't want to do that. Like, that's still my me time. That's still how I de stress. Like, the last couple of weeks have been kind of hectic for me, and all I want to do at night is get out my embroidery and stitch. So that part has actually never been lost. And I know for some people, it can be because once you start working to briefs or you have to create something specific, that can then take away the enjoyment out of it. But it doesn't for me because I still very much get to create whatever I want to create. I've not kind of been hindered in any way from that. I guess that's the benefit of me still being the designer, and I get to choose what patterns go live and when. So, yeah, I do still do that as a hobby, if that counts.
- [27:20]
A
Oh, I think so.
- [27:22]
B
My partner kind of says to me. He's like, are you working? I'm like, technically.
- [27:25]
A
But no, like, anytime I get to put together a new collection for my fabric company, Moda, I don't consider that work either because it's like I get to sit in front of the TV and I get to just, like, create and just sit there. And that's relaxing to me. And it gets me in, like, my happy flow place, which then means the other work I do is better for it. Right? So I actually love it sometimes.
- [27:52]
B
No, I do too, because I find that as my business have grown, like, the more time I'm spending on admin and laptop stuff and fixing things on the back end, and there's actually kind of less time that you actually spend creating. So those pockets of time when they're spent like that. Yeah, it doesn't feel like work.
- [28:10]
A
Well, thank you so much, Sophie, for being here today. If people are interested in learning more about your membership bloom, or just learning more about you and following you, where can they find everything?
- [28:21]
B
So I'm on Instagram @mindfulmantrenbroidery. My shop website is mindfulmantraembroidery.com and my membership website is bloomembroidery academy.com.
- [28:32]
A
Ah, wonderful, Sophie, thank you for talking with me today. And everybody, go follow Sophie. She's a breath of fresh air and a delight. And go purchase an embroidery kit or two if you're feeling extra awesome, because this is the most awesome audience of any podcast, trust me. And with that, say goodbye and I'll see you for the next episode of the Art Audience Podcast.
- [28:56]
B
Bye Bye.
- [28:58]
A
Thanks so much for tuning in. Hey, could you do me a favor? Could you subscribe to this podcast and then share it with one of your best art friends? I'd really appreciate it. And then head on over to Instagram and follow me at the Leverage your art account and you can keep up with all of our future episodes. Thank you so much for your support. It means everything to have you here, listening and learning.
- [29:20]
B
Bye.
- [29:26]
A
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