Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Bloxsom.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started making toys and other crafts around 10 years ago. I was working at an arts & crafts store and had easy access to all these different mediums to try. I tried out a whole bunch of different things, but once I took sheets of felt and cut them into little creatures people seemed to really respond to them. I was making them just as gifts and for fun at first but once I had posted them online to show them off people were asking to buy them. I was super surprised and excited by it, and it motivated me to keep creating. I was in college at the time, and I was getting so many orders for custom monsters that it was getting in the way of my schoolwork. I wound up dropping out of college after a year and a half to just pursue making art full time.
For the next few years sewing, embroidering and drawing pretty much became all that I did. I wanted so badly for it to be my sole source of income. Using Etsy and social media well really rocketed my work pretty quickly. I never really stop working on things if I’m home, and it feels weird to not have something to work on when I leave for a trip. I’ve had some amazing opportunities that I never dreamed would be possible. The two most notable to me would be when I got to speak at a ‘geeky crafts’ panel at PAX East, and when I got to write a how-to crafts book for the Cartoon Network show Adventure Time.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Going from a full time college student to a full time artist definitely has its struggles. You’re relying on things you’ve made to be purchased, or for people to contact you with custom orders. So you never really know how much you’re going to make in one particular month. Some days you can be working hard all day on things and have made no sales. Other days things can blow up suddenly and you can make hundreds of dollars in just one day. The unknown of that can be daunting and stressful sometimes, but you learn eventually what months you do better, and how to find ways of bringing new business to you to relieve that stress. But at first you’re really having to be a bit of a ‘starving artist’ and live cheaply while you work on having backup money just in case the next month isn’t as great.
One aspect I still struggle with is not having any coworkers. I work from home in a corner of my living room that I’ve carved out into a drawing and sewing space. I’m alone (with my dog) pretty much most of the day, so when I have a lot of work to finish and have to be an art hermit for several days in a row it can feel pretty lonely. Another thing I struggle with that I think is common with other artists is just putting your work out there. Even after ten years, I’ll get disappointed when something I’ve spend 10 minutes on gets more attention and excitement over something I’ve spent multiple days on. And when things you think are great ideas don’t work out so well and no one is interested in them.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Love & a Sandwich story. Tell us more about the business.
Love & a Sandwich is just me. I started using that as a username back in high school on art sites, since many people would misspelled my last name. The name came from these two characters I always used to doodle, a boy and a girl, always doing cute stuff together on the pages of my notebooks. While they were doing them the girl was always thinking of a heart, and the boy was always thinking of a sandwich. And I’ve used that name for so long it just seems way too late to change it now.
I started out only drawing, it was my obsession. But I doodled little creatures and monsters a lot that I liked but were too simple to really be any sort of good illustration. So I started taking them and turning them into 3D with felt, fleece, and faux fur. That is definitely what I am most known for at this point, making stuffed creatures out of colorful faux fur. I’ll make monsters out of my own imagination, I make ‘fanart’ toys of characters from movies and TV, and I work with customers to make their ideas of things into reality. I also make fur hats, pins, patches, earrings, pillows, embroidery hoops, shirts, and I illustrate. Really whatever people ask me to make, or what I feel in the mood to make, I will.
I think what sets me apart is not very many people make toys like I do. I use brightly colored faux fur, and colored safety eyes for my creatures and combine them with big expressions and complimenting colors. My best selling product is what I call the ‘Monstroctopus’, which is part monster, part octopus. They’re made with faux fur and have big, sleepy eyes, swirling antlers and six stubby tentacles. I’ve made them in sizes ranging from fit in your hand, to almost 6 feet long.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t necessarily think luck has had any defining role in my life or business. I work a lot and am constantly making items, and that led me to be able to pay my bills with the things I make. Things tend to go well when I work hard, and when I slack off, they don’t. The more I’ve forced myself to put my work and myself out there, the more opportunities came to me. I don’t think luck has much to do with it at all.
Pricing:
- Newborn Monsters- $10
- Monstroctopi- $40-70 (Depending on size)
- Sloths- $40
- Earmuffs- $35
- Keychains- $8
- Pins- $9
Contact Info:
- Website: www.loveandasandwich.com
- Email: loveandasandwich@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loveandasandwichh/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loveandasandwich/
- Tumblr: http://loveandasandwich.tumblr.com/
- Other: https://loveandasandwich.deviantart.com/
Image Credit:
All images Credit to Love & a Sandwich (Chelsea Bloxsom)
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