Meet Miles McAlpin

 

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Miles McAlpin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Miles, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

I battle with this a lot having had very little artistic background when I left my corporate job to be an artist. Instead of school or years of practice, YouTube was my teacher. But, over the years since I started my art business, I have just had to force myself to acknowledge my accomplishments in those moments of questioning. It’s not unlike that phrase about comparison being the thief of joy. There are few good reasons for me to compare myself to other artists in this space just as there are few good reasons to let the imposter syndrome have any effect on me. That being said, I get to make toys for a living – so even that sometimes does not feel real to me…

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 started my business by auctioning off works of my own ideas and then had to adapt first to commissions – taking the ideas of others and bringing them to life in toy form. Then to scale my business I really had to dedicate time and energy to seeking out larger and higher paying commissions through working with brands and record labels and doing corporate gifts. It sometimes is difficult to just focus on other people’s ideas so I always make time for my own fun ideas and submitting work to art shows. This balance is very important to avoiding burnout…

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?

First and foremost, asking for help when you don’t know how to use something. I think this is the case for many ventures, but in my world specifically I used the internet to find a lot of shortcuts – why test ten different types of glue when someone else has already done so and could tell me the best two to test myself?

Second, keeping a schedule. Artists have to create their own schedule whether they have a full-time job or not – I am lucky to do my art full-time, but that does not mean I just have a 9-5. I have to schedule my days very efficiently to make deadlines and hit goals for my business.

Lastly, not losing sight of what I love about toymaking. It is so easy to get burnt out by commission work especially if it is simply not an idea I am passionate about. Making time for bringing my own ideas to life is necessary to avoid the creative exhaustion that is so easy to fall victim to.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

I am always looking for either other artists, creatives, brands, or even influencers to collaborate with. It is a very important part of my business and it has been integral to building nearly 27,000 followers and counting on Instagram. Sharing what I do with someone else’s audience has always been the best way for me to find new jobs. I also just like the process of working with someone else whether they are creating the packaging design for one of my figures or simply sharing their vision with me.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

All photos are my own.

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