Meet Rosalie Gale

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

Rosalie , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

I was working in a corporate job that wasn’t really inspiring but was hard to leave because it covered all of my basic needs. One day, after a recent doctor appointment, I received a phone call from my doctor at 7 p.m. on a weekday evening. I seemed like an unusual time for them to call. To my shock, they said that something odd was detected on a scan and they thought I may have a brain tumor. I had to go back in for more tests and then wait two weeks for the results. During those two weeks I really thought about whether I was happy and living the life that I wanted. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t. After getting the results back (no brain tumor!) I decided to quit my job and pursue my real passion: making things and teaching other people how to make things.

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?

Now, 15 years later, I’m the owner of two retail shops in Seattle, WA that feature the work of independent artists (including myself and my husband). Our brand is called Ugly Baby and we make Shower Art – waterproof art you can hang in your shower with a suction cup. Our first storefront shares the name Ugly Baby and is our headquarters located in the historic Pike Place Market. We carry our own line of products: Shower Art and a wholesale line of items based on our most popular Shower Art themes. In addition, we carry the work of other independent artists and DIY craft kits and supplies. In the summer you can find me there doing rug tufting demonstrations and shooting yarn out of a gun & into a canvas.

Our second shop, Monster, is located in the Ballard neighborhood. This is primarily our workshop space where we teach art & craft classes and host private events for folks who want to get their craft on in the company of friends and family.

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

My three most important qualities during this journey were:
1. Unwavering belief that it was possible. Lots of people create businesses based on their art and open retail stores. Why wouldn’t I be able to do that too?

2. A willingness to learn. I didn’t know everything I needed to know in order to start this business but I was willing to just sit down and try to figure it out.

3. An understanding of what I really didn’t want to learn. As I went through this process, I determined that there were some things better left to the professionals. In the beginning, I was doing my own bookkeeping. I wasn’t great at it and honestly – I dreaded it. When I was able to hire a third party to take care of it for me – WOW! What a day! It’s important to know what you’d like to hand off to another person – and do that as soon as it’s reasonable to do so.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

If you are in the Seattle area – or are traveling here – and teach art or craft classes – get in touch. We are always looking for new & fun classes to add to our schedule.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.uglybaby.shop & https://www.monstermonster.shop
• Instagram: @uglybabyshop & @monstermonstershop
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rosaliegale

Image Credits

Rosalie Gale