Meet Megan Brown

We recently connected with Megan Brown and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Megan, really appreciate you joining us to talk about a really relevant, albeit unfortunate topic – layoffs and getting fired. Can you talk to us about your experience and how you overcame being let go?

For many years I worked a market-based corporate desk job, so my employment status always depended on how the market was doing. I always felt that I could lose that job due to whichever way the wind was blowing, and many times I did. During one of those layoff periods, I decided to do something for myself, and I signed up for an 8 week pottery wheel throwing class, which I had always wanted to do. I took to it quickly and enjoyed it so much that when the 8 weeks was over, I took another class, but this time in pottery hand building and surface design, which only solidified my interest and skill.

I started posting my work on my socials and began getting requests from friends and family to buy my work. I created a website, made my first sales, and began selling pottery part time. In the meantime, the pandemic hit, and rates dropped, and I began working full time at my corporate job again. Over the next two years, my pottery business took off, and I continued to work full time at my desk job, which became increasingly difficult to juggle, and I found myself wishing I could focus solely on my art.

When I was eventually laid off again, I was devastated, but then I realized that this was an opportunity to actually live that dream of doing what I loved full time. It was uncharted territory and I didn’t know if I could pay the bills just selling my art, but I am now in my third year of doing pottery full time, and while it is a lot of work and can be challenging, it’s extremely fulfilling, and I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to take a chance on myself.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am a full time, small batch ceramic artist, creating functional and modern ceramic tableware, home décor, and jewelry. A California native, my inspiration comes from the ever-evolving natural beauty around me, and the decorations on each one-of-a-kind piece that I create are designed to feel good. Whether hand painted and carved, or meticulously applied one piece of tape at a time, the techniques that I apply to my work create texture, making handling them a tactile experience.

My work is available on my website, meganbrownceramics.com, and year-round at fine art shows and craft fairs all over the Bay Area.

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?

Trusting myself was crucial to the success of starting my business. Things working out the way I’d hoped wasn’t guaranteed, but if I hadn’t trusted my instincts, believed in what I was creating, and deciding to forge ahead, I wouldn’t be here now.

Attention to detail has been the bedrock of not only the work I create, but has helped with the business side of being self-employed, including record keeping and creating content for social media. Double checking my work, re-watching and editing videos before posting, and re-reading emails or applications before sending has avoided mistakes and helps catch anything I’ve missed.

Follow through has kept me on track, but has also helped me earn trust from those that I work with. Little things like setting reminders for myself on my phone have been crucial to remembering deadlines and important tasks that need to get done.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

I am extremely lucky to have a very supportive and patient husband. He is always there to listen to any concerns or doubts that I have, give his opinion when I need it, and bounce ideas off of. Sometimes if I’m overthinking, which happens more than I’d like, discussing things with someone with a different viewpoint can take me outside of myself, give me a new perspective, and focus on what’s important.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Megan Brown
Sarah Montano

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is often the x-factor that differentiates between mild and wild success. The stories of

Productivity
Beating Burnout

Often the key to having massive impact is the ability to keep going when others

Leadership Development
Finding Your Why

Not knowing why you are going wherever it is that you are going sounds silly,