We were lucky to catch up with Grace Reber recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Grace, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
Grace is a 24 year old young lady with Down syndrome. She is capable and smart and we have always had high goals for her. During Covid we saw doing some specific pieces of art that she called her “WORK”. We decided to make some homemade cards and sent bundles of them out to family and friends to write someone they miss or is lonely. We had such a great response and we saw some great learning opportunities for Grace’s future as she was graduating from public education. We decided to build a website and turn Grace’s art into beautiful cards. She has over 100 cards and collections now. The great thing is each card has her story on the back. That turning her art into cards we want to empower others and inspire others to help us promote a culture of kindness and inclusion for all.
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?
Through GracePlace Art Grace has grown so much. Grace loves to do her “work” but more than that she likes to stay home!!!! GracePlace Art has provided a place where she can stay home and do art but pushes her in so many other ways. We do all our conversions, printing, packaging and shipping here in house. Each of those behind the scene jobs pushes her in sometimes not so fun ways but she does it. Thirdly, the social media aspect. Grace is so funny and we have so much fun with her but putting her out in the community is sometimes hard. Grace Place Art is a business and with our support from our customers we are also able to give back to our communities. This brings us so much joy and keeps us thriving forward.
Christmas is our best and busiest season. Grace and our team have worked hard to bring new cards, wrapping paper and tags to our collections. We have 11 different cards/collections this year and are anxious to share. Our cards and tags are very time consuming so we have been preparing all summer and are excited to launch.
In Grace’s store she also has other art related things she sells. We have also turned her art into tumblers. mugs and candles. It is a fun little gift and makes us happy to see her work.
Grace also brings out her seasonal originals and new art drops every other month. These pieces are one of a kind and are named and recorded by us.
GracePlace Art just moved from CA to OK and we are getting established here and excited to see what happens. We are really looking forward in doing more wholesaling and collaborations. These opportunities we think help expand our audience which what we are looking for.
We send out emails before every new project to tell our customers/supporters the story behind everything we do. Whether it is the name of the art, technique or inspiration. Telling Grace’s story and letting others keep updating on all our collaborations and other opportunities we have been fortunate to have.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Grace loves art and staying home. Both are important to her but there is way more out there. I, her mom, was a school teacher before having my children so, I am always thinking of ways to push her in positive directions even when they are hard. Owning a business was never in my thoughts but sharing her story was. GracePlace Art’s website and social media has given us a voice and are excited about that.
We have done zoom to adult transition classes all over the world and our goal is to empower others. We tell them to keep telling people what you love and if you don’t have the words then keep doing what you love. Someday someone will see all your unique and special talents and help you show your capabilities and offer a better future.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
We see sooo many opportunities to share our story and products. We are looking for stores to carry our products in their stores. We have been very protective making sure her story is also told with all her products. We have been developing our wholesaling plan and look forward in going deeper in this direction. We have had a few opportunities to collaborate with some large companies that use Grace’s art in their products. We have done exclusive calendar books, pajamas and more. We love doing this. We are such a small business that it is sometimes hard to keep up with all our production. We also have to buy products at higher cost with low volume orders which makes a very small profit margin.
We are excited about the future and the opportunities that we have ahead of ourselves and hope other companies believe enough in us too that we together can make a difference.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://wwwgraceplaceart.com
- Instagram: @graceplaceart.com
- Facebook: @graceplaceart.com
- Linkedin: @graceplaceart.com
- Other: Tik Tok @graceplaceart.com
Image Credits
Bonnie Reber
