We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ricky Burton-Romero a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ricky , appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
I often struggle with this issue. I tend to go hard and get a bunch of ideas and get them out of the door, but when I come down from that “high,” it takes me a while to get back into the groove.
When I am on a break from creating, I tend to look around me and gather ideas for my next project from the world around me, whether through fashion, home design, or just scouring the internet.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I have been creating handmade greeting cards for nine years. I have not always been creative, but I accidentally stumbled across this art one day on YouTube. I was researching how to blend colored pencils for an adult coloring book I was working on and stumbled across a person making a greeting card and also providing instructions on how it was being made. After watching that video, I decided to make Christmas cards that year. It has been uphill since then.
I now work for companies that provide products to customers to make handmade greeting cards. I provide instructional videos on their YouTube channels so that their customers can create them. It feels great knowing I am providing help to people who are interested in paper crafting.
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?
Keep an open mind – I limited myself to being an artist. Because I felt like I could not draw or paint, it meant that I could not be artistic. Keeping an open mind and trying different things will help on your journey.
Be able to accept criticism—For most of my life, I was unable to accept criticism because it made me feel like a failure. This is not the case. Keeping an open mind, taking someone’s criticism, and making change really does help!
Be brave – Be willing to put yourself out there. I am extremely shy, and it makes me very uncomfortable to be so open to other people. Once I tried it a few times, I realized it was not as bad as I thought it would be, and I flourished and opened myself up to more opportunities because of it.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
I often feel overwhelmed when it comes to my design team work. I believe most of that comes from having to generate new ideas all the time for projects.
One thing that helps me is I take a break from my duties. Once or twice a year I contact the companies I work for and let them know I need to take a month off to relax, refresh and reground myself. As I have gotten older, I have realized how important it is to step back when I need it and to take some time for myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://bromerocardsonline.com
- Instagram: @bromerocards
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bromerocards/
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@bromerocards
Image Credits
Photos taken by Ricky Burton-Romero
