Meet Gabrielle Hakes

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Gabrielle Hakes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Gabrielle , we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?

The feel good answer is that I love the people around me, so it’s easy to give them the help they need in life, be it a listening ear, help working on something, etc.

The uncomfortable answer is that it’s probably a deeply ingrained habit from early childhood. I grew up in a house with a lot of strong personalities. I’m the oldest of four daughters, and my parents are relatively young, so at some point I decided that if I helped manage everyone’s lives by being thoughtful and helpful, it would make my life easier. Isn’t that funny? Pouring out my time and energy to make sure everyone else was doing ok, as a way to make sure I was ok.

Anyway, this mostly worked until it didn’t. It turns out family dynamics don’t work as well in friend and employment situations, who knew? I got to a point where I felt… hollow. I met with a few different therapists until I found one that I was comfortable with. With their guidance, I was able to untangle everything and understand what my needs were, how to meet them myself, and then be generous with what was left.

So NOW the generosity is truly from a place of love and the capacity to give, which feels great!

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m a ceramic artist and potter, and my main focus is making beautiful, functional pieces. Pottery is special because it goes hand in hand with the basic chores of life: cooking, eating, drinking, etc. We all need dishes to get through the day, and my goal is to make work that brings a little extra joy to those processes.

I also have a lot of fun creating sculptural and decorative pieces inspired by the seasons! The biggest hits so far have been tiny, happy ghosts and cowboy snowmen that you can light up like luminaries. I’ve also made some cute gnomes with knit hats, but those haven’t garnered an audience quite yet.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I think the three most important qualities and skills have been curiosity, patience, and customer service.

Curiosity is important as it allows us to be open to new ways of doing things. There are so many people doing what you want to do, and they all have their own ways that are successful. It allows you to constantly tweak your work processes until you find a method that fits you best, and teaches you more about your craft. I think it also helps keep what can be monotonous and mundane tasks interesting, as there’s always something that can be improved or that you can learn more about.

Patience feels like a really big one too, as it’s necessary when you’re trying to build a sustainable, long term endeavor. It’s incredibly important to start slow and build your experience so that when you do take on opportunities, you know how your business runs, what’s profitable, etc. I’ve been working on building my business for at least 5 years, and I still feel like a novice! Only recently have I been making work that is resonating with people, having successful markets, etc. Slow and steady means you won’t burn yourself out.

Customer Service feels like a given, but it really is so important. Striving to be kind, communicating clearly and anticipating needs will go a long long way to building a customer base that loves you and your work. Setting clear expectations of how long a project will take, what should be expected, communicating in advance of set deadlines, etc. saves everyone a lot of frustration. You want everyone that works with you to leave the interaction feeling good, but that doesn’t mean being a huge push over. Spend time thinking about what your ideal customer interaction would be, and then put systems of communication in place to support that.

Stay curious, work at your own pace, and be clear and kind to yourself and others and you’ll be well on your way!

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

The biggest challenge I’m currently facing is being in between studio spaces. I recently moved into a house that needed a ton of work done, so my work has been on the back burner for months. We’re nearing the end of the project so I should be able to set my studio space up and get back to work soon, but it’s definitely been taking a mental toll! I feel incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to be a home owner and have a house to work on, but it also feels like it happened at the worst time for my business. I’m worried that once I do get back to working a full schedule, everything will be starting from scratch again. I just keep reminding myself that this is my lifelong dream, and everything happens in its season. I will get back to making pottery again, and it’ll be great!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hakesandco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabriellehakes/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hakesandco

Image Credits

Jackie Marie Photography