We were lucky to catch up with Garrett Wedan recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Garrett, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
It’s probably cliche but movies and TV and their use of motivational phrases. Like “its always darkest before the dawn”, I get that some of these sayings are cheesy and meant to invoke those feelings, but they aren’t inaccurate.
I’m in that weird gap of the millennial generation where we grew up still on the notion work hard, go to college, and get a good job and you’ll be ok, but in reality that isn’t the case. I got lucky college wise and am not in a mountain of college debt like so many of my peers. But the notion of work hard, put in the effort and it will pay off still rings true in my head. So even when things seem tough, it looks like something is going to fail, if I put the work in, or a little extra energy I can just get through it and things will be ok again.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’ve always been a crafty person but nothing has ever stuck in my brain and soul quiet like chainmaille has. A lot of ways when I look at it, its the math of it. The reoccurring patterns in an almost fractal like way, the specific ways in which the rings interlock for various weaves my brain just gets it. Which is one of the reasons I love it so much, and there is so much variety with it as well, even if I get board with one weave there is five others that I could easily pick up.
With any craft based business you aren’t going to be the only one, its what you do and how you do it that makes you unique. So by far I’m not the only chainmaille artisan out there, there are tons of us all over the world but we each offer our own unique perspective and flair with our products. For me my big thing is making it nerdy, cause thats who I am as a person and so many of the people I know. I have two favorite parts of what I do. First is vending at comic/scifi/anime/etc cons, people that are passionate about their fandoms are so fun to be around, you can ask the simplest of questions and get a half hour answer, people are dressing up as characters that they have spent weeks working on their outfits its just amazing to see. My second thing is making custom orders, whether its connected to a cosplay or not, making custom pieces for people and seeing the joy on their face is the best.
Getting to the end of the year I’m getting down to my last handful of events. End of September is Anime Fargo which is my second year with this con and loving it. Beginning of October for my first time I’m doing the 52nd annual East Grand Forks Art and Craft fair. Beginning of November I’m making a big plunge and doing Twin Cities Con in Minneapolis, which is going to be a huge and exciting event. Then beginning of December have the 4th annual Archive Coffee Shop holiday market that I’ve been a part of from the start.
I’m constantly adding new things, right now I’m working on some chainmaille cat ears, some large scalemaille pieces with tails and shoulder drapes. I’ve also started making my first pieces with titanium rings which are just so pretty. Next week who knows what I’ll be making!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Ooh thats a good question. Don’t stop improving, believe in yourself, learn from others.
Continuing to improve even when things work well. Even when I’m happy with my displays and how things are setup I don’t stop thinking about how it can be better, especially as I consistently add new products I have to have displays for those that work well. Just because you put time or money into a display doesn’t mean you should be married to it forever, if you find or think of a better way to do it, then make the change it will be worth it in the long run.
Believing in yourself is worth so much. Starting out in vending or a business isn’t easy, there are a lot of challenges. Believing in yourself and having self confidence can help you through those challenges and still have hope and excitement. When you’re out in front of people believing in yourself is visible in how you carry yourself, and if you believe in yourself then others will as well.
Learn from others, whether you have been doing something for 6 months or 6 years, or 20 years, don’t stop learning. Learning from your peers whether they do the same thing or not is so helpful. Everyone’s brains work different and have different ideas, take those good ideas and apply them to yourself.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Mental health is such a big component of life and when its not doing well it can effect so much. When it comes to big events or new events I have a tendency to get overwhelmed not thinking I’ll be ready, have enough, or will do well. For myself and my chainmaille easiest way I can work through it is physical lists. Whether that’s a piece of paper, a white board but something I can easily see with out the distraction of my phone, and something that I can physically cross out or erase tasks as I accomplish them so I can see that I’m making progress. Its very video game logic of completing small tasks to level up or complete a level versus just finish this level with no guidance. Breaking it down into little steps for measurable progress helps so much.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thenerdoftherings.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheNerdOfTheRings
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNerdOfTheRings/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-nerd-of-the-rings/about/
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
